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Social Protest in Invisible Man
Social Protest in Invisible Man
Social Protest
The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison was a momentous novel of its time. The story
follows a young college-age black man (IM) in his quest of personal identity. The novel
exposed the evils of racism that are difficult to eradicate. Ellison portrays the racial
barrier that prevents blacks from gaining their rights. Without their rights and say, blacks
become invisible and dispossessed. Social protest is a way to address dissatisfaction and
Racism is a prominent evil in the novel that provides the fuel for many events of
social protest. First, IM obtains a job in Harlem to work for The Brotherhood, a society
that is involved in the protest for equality and harmony. IM loyally worked for them as a
speaker, but towards the end of the novel he finds out that the group is racist through their
planned riot to sacrifice African Americans. IM felt betrayed when he discovered the
society’s true meaning. The social protest he had devoted himself to was fraud, thus
driving IM to seek solitude to discover himself. When IM first arrives in Harlem, he sees
Ras the Exhorter using his racist attitude to rally up people with the objective of chasing
the whites out of the area. However, in return, the original racism of whites to blacks is
the root of his protest. This is a clash of double racism. When the whites were evil to Ras,
he in turn developed an attitude against the whites that influenced his actions. Also in the
plot, a policeman shoots and kills a black man named Clifton on the street. Beforehand,
he had caused no trouble other than doing his job in the street. Social protest arises from
this racist act. In Clifton’s eulogy, IM encourages the population of Harlem to take
immediate action in a riot. This is a clash of double racism. These events that IM
witnessed lead him to escape the evil and find his own path in life.
Significant speeches given by IM and others outline several paths for people to
follow to obtain what they want. Here, IM used his own bottled up anger and the anger of
other blacks to his advantage. First, IM’s graduation speech implied social protest in the
education in climbing the steep ladder of equality. In IM’s view, education allows for
whites to see that blacks could blossom in educated. Thus, they would earn there respect
from whites by implying that blacks are not the ignorance in society. IM gave his second
important speech when part of the community was about to riot in illegal actions during
an elderly couple’s eviction from their apartment. Here, IM suggested that all blacks must
be “law abiding people and slow-to-anger people.” (275) IM was implying that if a
person truly believes in a non-violent approach to equality, they will act respectively,
even if dispossession comes into the issue. Later in the story when IM works for the
crowd was doubtful at first, he identified the problem. “And do you know what makes us
so uncommon?......we let them [disposess us!]” (343) In this line from his speech, IM is
continuing to urge the public to react to the apparent inequality of blacks to whites.
These speeches use social protest to express the path of non-violence to gain equality. In
contrast, Ras the Exhorter is at the opposite pole when it comes to ideals to gain equality.
He and his men engage in violent forms of protest. At the riot due to Clifton’s death, he
rallied up his followers to obtain guns and ammunition to doom the opposing population
to death. Both approaches of social protest can be chosen by people depending on what
they believe. IM’s approach defines a calm person who will take a slow and passive
approach in life. In contrast, Ras defines an efficient person who will do whatever it
The setting of 1930s America was perfect for Ellison’s novel, Invisible Man.
Social protest arises, often concentrating on the evils of racism. Through the novel, IM
did whatever he could to help Harlem defeat racism. He gave several speeches that
influenced many African Americans to act in social protest, encouraging that population
to no longer remain invisible. In return, evil backfired and IM used his own experiences
and ideals to escape underground. Here, IM discovers who he is and what he believes in.
After this experience, he solidifies his discovery by writing about his experience. IM
further realizes that he must, instead of remaining invisible, in order to alter the status
quo.