The book starts out with the narrator sharing the reason behind his name as the “Invisible Man”, stating that it is based on the fact that others choose to ignore him. Feeling invisible, the narrator lives underground as he tries to hide from the world that has been so cruel to him. In the 1920’s the narrator tells a story of an offer to speak in front of important men within his town. But when he arrives he discovers these men are running a fight with other young black participants. After this horrific brawl they are forced to scramble for what are said to be golden nuggets on a rug but turn out to be fighting over copper coins on an electric rug. Only after all of these brutal events is the narrator allowed to give his speech in which none of the men listen. He is handed a brief case containing a scholarship to a well-known college for blacks. The story then fast forwards 3 years later when the narrator is attending that same college. He acts as a driver for a rich white man involved with the college. One day the narrator drives Mr. Norton to a bar where a fight breaks out and Norton passes out from the craziness of the fight between black veterans. Following the fight, the narrator listens to a speech given by Reverend Homer A. Barbee on the topic of the college’s founder. Homer learns of the fight involving Mr. Norton under the narrator’s watch and expels as homer feels the narrator should have shown a more pleasant view of African American social life and activities. The narrator then moves to Harlem is search of work. Following up on one of the references handed to him, he discovers the “letters of recommendation” are actually documents stating the narrator's incapability’s. He finds a low wage job at a paint factory but does not last long as he gets into a fight with a coworker who suspected the narrator of talking with unions, resulting in the narrator being knocked out. During his time in the hospital, doctors proceed to conduct shock experiments on the patient as he is temporarily mute. After leaving the hospital the narrator comes to meet members of a group called the “Brotherhood” who proclaim to fight for social equality. The narrator moves with the group and gains high statues within the group thanks to his strong public speaking capabilities. After returning to Harlem, the narrator finds that many black members have left the organization. The narrator finds one of his friends originally in the Brotherhood selling stereotyped dolls on the streets. Some white police officers discover the man’s lack of a permit for selling goods and get into a fight resulting in the narrator’s friend being shot dead. The narrator holds a funeral for his friend and gives a speech in which he holds his friend in high regards. The Brotherhood is angered by the fact that the funeral was held without their permission and as a result, the narrator is sent back to Harlem to learn of the groups new plans. Upon the narrator’s return to Harlem, he is accused of failing to continue with problems proposed at the funeral. An angered member sends men to rough up the narrator but he goes into hiding, disguising himself as a different man. The narrator soon learns of the Brotherhood’s lack of interest in black rights and plans to fight against the Brotherhood. He attempts this by flirting with a white woman close to the Brotherhood in hope of obtaining secrets. After failing to do so he gets a call in which he returns to Harlem during a dangerous riot. Attempting to escape, the narrator runs into the same man who tried to have him beat up and then encounters police who suspect him of being involved in the riot. As the narrator attempts to evade the police he falls down into the sewers where the police above laugh and cover up the entrance of the sewer. The story is then placed at the same point as the beginning, the narrator reflecting on his past as he remains underground ever since. At the end of the book the narrator stresses the importance of your own identity without compromise finishing with the proposed idea of returning to the surface.
The narrator is also the invisible man. This is because the reader never learns of his name, college or hometown. The narrator is introduced as an innocent young man unknowing of extreme troubles in the world. He often placed too much trust in people which always resulted in damage towards him. Such as gladly accepting a scholarship after being degraded in a racial brawl, or not checking his letters or recommendation beforehand, believing that were what was promised. In these cases the narrator is almost blind to the hard truths of his own experiences until later on. He only realizes these truths after looking back on his life while hiding underground. Many of the narrator’s misconceptions of people and how things work led him to some of the biggest challenges in the story.
The leader of the Brotherhood, known as Brother Jack shows the lack of capability people had at effectively carrying our plans for equality and social justice. While brother Jack seemed warm and kind hearted in the beginning, with plans for black equality, later on the narrator sees his similar racist views as many other men at that time, even within the Brotherhood itself. Jack is just another example of the injustice placed upon blacks at this time, hiding under a mask claiming to want equality.
I personally was interested in this book, originally picking it because my mother told me it was a great read. It is also a very strong book with a lot of depressing truths about this time period. I found it helpful to read as well because in APush, we cover similar concepts and events that are related to this book and time period. I think the way the story is told is also intriguing as it relies on flash backs and previous memories and how they relate to the narrator’s thoughts and feelings now. The idea of beginning and ending at the same point is similar to The Outsiders, another book I thoroughly enjoyed. A big caution I feel the author introduces in this book is the danger of taking things as they are, to completely and wholeheartedly believe something to be true based upon little to no substantial evidence. It is a sad truth as well as things often do not appear to be as they are, a truth that the narrator took a while to learn over many struggles related to it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone but with the caution that a lot of the book is dark and sometimes depressing to read, but none the less it is a very powerful book. Another big take away for me from this book is truly how horrible and horrific people were to blacks and other minorities at this time. The painful extent to which individuals would abuse, torment and oppress those who were simply seeking the same rights and opportunities that their white counterparts had. This book left me speechless at times where there would be a horrific event, partly due to the action itself and partly because, sadly, the events in this book are more than believable and even aren't as horrible as some other real events that had taken place at this time. I believe the Invisible Man is a book that addressed large parts of the black struggle during the early to mid-1900s and can even be related to struggles that can still be seen today with inequality and racism.
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