Denis Shannon
AP English
Symbolism in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
February 29, 2008

Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man is one that is clearly very symbolic. Ellison uses many symbols in his novel that are intended to give the reader insight to the meaning that Ellison is trying to communicate. In Invisible Man, that meaning is one based on race relations. Ellison is clearly trying to convey a message to the reader about the way that whites have impacted the way that blacks live. There are numerous examples of this throughout Ellison's novel. Perhaps the time when this message is most clear is just before th main character leaves for New York City. This is a time in the novel during which the main character himself learns about the relationship between these two races.
One of the many symbols that Ellison uses to convey his idea about the impact of whites on blacks is the scene when the main character, who remains nameless to the reader, discovers what Doctor Bledsoe has written to the northern trustees of the college. This occurs when he visits Mr. Emerson's office and converses with Mr. Emerson's son. The reader discovers with the protagonist that Dr. Bledsoe had never intended to let the protagonist return to college after all. This is an example of how whites have influenced the way of life for blacks in many ways. For one thing, in ht letter, Dr. Bledsoe refers to himself as, "your humble servant," despite the fact that he holds the important position he retains at the college (Page 191). This shows the level of inferiority that blacks still had during this time period. Despite the fact that Dr. Bledsoe had obtained a very important position through years of hard work, he still had to refer to himself a a servant to whites. In addition to the attitude that Dr. Bledsoe is forced to have towards himself, the influence of whites on blacks is also clear to the reader when Bledsoe explains how he plans on dealing with the situation of the protagonist's expulsion. Bledsoe hopes to accomplish this by making the protagonist work to earn the tuition so that he can can earn the money to return at a later date. This is a method that whites have applied to blacks many times. This is comparable to a business manager withholding wages from an employee stating that he will be payed if he simply works for a little while longer. This section of the novel is easily comparable to Langston Hughes' "Dream Differed". It is clearly a message from Ellison to the reader showing how white have applied this method of submission to blacks many times, such as with civil rights, so blacks are learning to use it to their own benefit.
Another important symbolic event occurs when the protagonist seeks a job after learning that he will not receive one from Mr. Emerson. He is referred to a paint factory that will probably hire him. It is obviously symbolic that the protagonist is sent to a factory owned by a company that is famous for making the world's best white paint. This is obviously Ellison's message to the reader that the whites are trying to make the entire world become as white as possible. It is obvious that this is the message that Ellison is trying to send to the reader from the company's slogan. The slogan reads, "If it's Optic White, it's the Right White." The protagonist then relates this to something he commonly heard as a child, "if you're white, you're right." The fact that the company he works for is named from an old racial adage is a clear message to the reader that whites are doing their best to make the white culture universal by eliminating black culture as much as possible, effectively painting the world white.
The paint factory is filled with symbolism, especially the first job that the protagonist is given: mixing a black liquid into white paint that has gone bad. This is clearly a message from Ellison that black culture is being dissolved by white culture. The same symbolism is used again later when the machine that the protagonist is supposed to be monitoring explodes, filling the room with white paint and covering the protagonist. This is an obvious reference to the impact that whites have had on blacks, forcing them to cover up their culture and become as similar to whites as possible.
The symbolism in Ellison's novel Invisible Man is very pervasive. The novel is very symbolic as a whole and s very effective at conveying Ellison's message to the reader about the impact that whites have had on blacks. The symbolism of Ellison's novel makes it much more meaningful to the reader. Because of the symbolism, the message is conveyed so that the reader can easily grasp it, but not forced into the reader's mind.