SECTION B: NON-AFRICAN PROSE
Comment on the use of blindness as a metaphor.
Explanation
The Use of Blindness as a Metaphor in Invisible Man
In Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison employs blindness as a powerful metaphor to explore themes of ignorance, racism, power, and self-awareness. Throughout the novel, blindness represents the inability—or refusal—of individuals and institutions to recognize the true identity and humanity of the narrator and other marginalized people. It is a recurring symbol that exposes the limitations of perception, both on a personal and societal level.
One of the most striking ways Ellison uses blindness is to highlight society’s deliberate refusal to acknowledge racial injustice. Many characters in the novel are metaphorically blind because they refuse to see the narrator for who he truly is. Instead, they impose their own expectations and prejudices on him. The white leaders of the college, the Brotherhood, and even the black nationalist Ras the Exhorter, all try to use the narrator for their own agendas, failing to recognize his individuality. Their metaphorical blindness prevents them from treating him as a fully realized person.
The motif of blindness is introduced early in the novel during the "Battle Royal" scene, where the young narrator is forced to fight other black boys while blindfolded. This moment symbolizes how black individuals are kept ignorant and disoriented, unable to fully see or understand their own oppression. The blindfolding also represents how systemic racism blinds both the oppressed and the oppressors to the truth of their conditions.
Reverend Barbee, a blind preacher, delivers a sermon glorifying the founder of the black college the narrator attends. His blindness is symbolic of the blind faith that many people have in institutions that claim to support racial progress but are actually complicit in oppression. The fact that Barbee cannot see underscores the irony that he speaks so passionately about a vision he himself is unable to perceive.
The Brotherhood, a supposed revolutionary group that claims to fight for equality, is also metaphorically blind. Though they initially embrace the narrator, they later treat him as a mere tool for their ideological goals. They do not see him as an individual but as an instrument for their own political gains. Their inability to truly perceive racial complexities—reducing people to numbers and ideologies—demonstrates another form of blindness: the kind that comes from rigid ideology rather than open awareness.
Ras the Exhorter, a militant black nationalist, represents another form of blindness—the inability to see beyond racial divisions. While he rightfully criticizes the oppression of black people, his extreme views prevent him from understanding the complexities of identity and individual agency. His refusal to acknowledge any solutions beyond violent resistance mirrors the ideological blindness of the Brotherhood.
At the beginning of the novel, the narrator himself is blind in a metaphorical sense. He does not yet understand the forces controlling him and is manipulated by various groups. However, as the story progresses, he gains awareness of the truth. By the time he retreats underground, he has come to see the reality of the world around him. His journey is one from blindness to insight, symbolizing the struggle for self-awareness in a society that seeks to keep individuals blind to their own oppression.
Blindness in Invisible Man serves as a powerful metaphor for ignorance, manipulation, and the failure to recognize truth. Whether it is the blindness of white society, the black college leadership, the Brotherhood, or even the narrator himself, Ellison uses this symbol to critique the ways in which people refuse to see reality. Ultimately, the novel suggests that true vision—seeing oneself and the world clearly—requires breaking free from societal illusions and embracing a deeper understanding of identity and humanity.