The main character in The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is not literally invisible as is the main character in the same-titled work by H.G. Wells. Rather, the character is invisible in a metaphorical and symbolic sense. He is invisible both to himself and to others, in a way that has resonance for other characters in modern literature and for modern man himself. The hero of this novel is a black man who is invisible to himself and in two societies. He is invisible in white society because he is black, and in black society because he takes on various expected roles accepted by white society. He is invisible to himself because he has been subsuming his real character in these roles and has not allowed himself to exist as a real person with his own point of view.
One of the primary reasons the man is invisible is because he lives in the city, and the modern city is a place where anonymity approaches the state of invisibility -- here people are able to pass by one another without ever seeing each other. This novel is the story of one black man who was born in the American South and whose exceptional abilities brought him educational opportunities. In the North, his education also brought him social and cultural advantages that are denied to most black men. He does not start out invisible -- he is a part of his society and is as visible as anyone else in his home town and his college. He becomes invisible in the city in the North. His experiences in the North lead to a sense of disillusionment, and he encounters a number of examples of American society as he moves down the road to invisibility. Among the ranks of those who contribute to this sense are the Uncle Tom educator, the Northern do-gooder, the black military racist, the Harlem messiah, and the organized Brothers and Sisters who follow him.
In the course of his travels through this society, the Invisible Man subsumes his personality in a variety of characters t...