Why is invisibility a sure sign of maturity? Ralph Ellison may know…
Any novel in which a character grows will likely suggest that maturity requires strength, because maturity demands growth, and growth almost always comes from adversity-- and adversity isn’t easy. In his novel Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison displays the weary road that one will inevitably travel as he grows in maturity. This weary road takes strength. In the case of Invisible Man, Ellison’s main character must fight to identify what is true about himself and the world around him in a society that limits him because of his race. Ellison illustrates this when the narrator attends the first successful African American university in America, and learns that even in places known for progression, society remains tainted by corruption and racism. Through the narrator’s story, Ellison depicts a universal truth. The world is full of contradictions, and the road to maturity is messy. However, it is essential that one seeks truth and traverses down that road, even when what he finds opposes society and culture.
Maturity embraces a challenge, as Shakespeare and previous authors have displayed, especially when that challenge proves to be a catalyst for growth. Ellison presents a challenge in his novel that not only grows his narrator, but allows his narrator to find himself. That challenge is this: attempting to discern what is true and what is false in the immaterial sentiments that present themselves in society, amidst the confusion of a selfish and complex human nature. Throughout the novel, the narrator must confront various “group thinks” that claim to promote the truth. One of those “group thinks” comes from the well-known African American university that he attends, and the man who leads it: Dr. Bledsoe. Bledsoe preaches his belief in the African American people, and becomes a figurehead for the entire Civil Rights movement. He promotes that equality among races is possible with perseverance, that his sole mission is to see his African American students succeed in life, and that he himself is proof that with sustained integrity and hope, one can achieve the dream, even with racism present. Naturally, the narrator “believed in the principles of the Founder with all (his) heart and soul, and believed in (the Founder’s) own goodness and kindness” (99), because he had no reason to think differently. The narrator describes that at his college, “in this quiet greenness” (99), he “possessed the only identity (he) had ever known” (99). In this passage, Ellison shows the danger in an organization or group of people who are united around a set of ideals: people find their identity in them. And through this example, Ellison displays the inherent folly in aligning one’s self with a group think: because group thinks are comprised of individuals, they are bound to be corrupt. The narrator trusted in who Dr. Bledsoe was and what he stood for blindly, yet quickly discovers that Dr. Bledsoe lives solely for his own power. When the narrator “bucks against me (Dr. Bledsoe), you are bucking against power, rich white folk’s power, the nation’s power-- which means government power!” (100). The narrator believed in a man with pure intentions, who sought for freedom and equality, and embodied humble character. Yet human nature is not that simple, and certainly not that clean. Through the young narrator’s mistaken belief, Ralph Ellison displays that what appears to be real often differs from what actually is, and maturity must have sharp eyes to spot the difference.
Ellison leads the narrator through various experiences and times of self growth, until he emerges at the end of the novel as one who has grown, and one who is mature. After he has matured and experienced the events of the book, the narrator introduces the concept of “inner eyes, those eyes with which they look through their physical eyes upon reality” (3). (Because the narrator introduces this concept after he has matured, the reader understands the concept of “inner eyes” as an element of maturity). One’s “inner eyes” see past what seems to be, and into what is, and it is through these eyes that a mature person observes the world. If what is true is what is real, then reality includes all of the selfishness and complexity of human nature, as well as the hope that humans are not reduced to their corrupt nature alone. At the end of the novel, the narrator identifies that “in spite of myself, I have learned some things” (579). A mature person, despite his own corrupt human nature and the corruption within society, seeks to understand and make sense of the world around him. Even when everyone else sees with their outer eyes, and to them he is invisible. It is better to see what is real than to see what appears to be real, and most of society sees only the appearance. A mature man has no choice but to risk invisibility, if he ever hopes to live a life of substance.
