Beyond Racism

Many social changes were taking place during the time Ralph Ellison wrote "Invisible Man". Although he says the story is not about racism, I find it hard to disassociate some of the themes within the story from his statement. The beginning scene of "Invisible Man" starts with a group of wealthy, intoxicated, cigar-smoking white men, a naked white woman, and black young men getting ready to box in a battle royal. The fact black men were able to view a naked white woman during this time period is one example of underlying racial tones. "Some of the boys stood with lowered heads, trembling. I felt a wave of irrational guilt and fear. My teeth chattered, my skin turned to goose flesh, my knees knocked. Yet I was strongly attracted and looked in spite of myself" (1256). It is clear from this quote that the black men knew what they were doing was inappropriate and it was obvious that they were scared of the consequences that could take place if they were caught acting as so. The battle itself is also pretty gruesome and racist. These black men were blindfolded and asked to punch each other out while the overly-confident white men placed bets on who could take out whom. "Quite a struggle was going on. Chairs were being kicked about and I could hear voices grunting with terrific effort. I wanted to see, to see more desperately than ever before. But the blindfold was tight as a thick skin-puckering scab..." (1257). The last and final bit of racism in the story was when the wounded black men were asked to pick up coins on an electrified mat. "A hot, violent force tore through my body, shaking me like a wet rat. The rug was electrified... But I saw this was not stopping the other boys. Laughing in fear and embarrassment  some were holding back and scooping up the coins knocked off by the painful contortions of the others" (1260). It is clear that the only point of these young, beaten black men picking up coins was for the entertainment of the white men. Regardless of the story's racist themes, Ellison wanted to prove a bigger point. His point was determination and how to wisely choose who we aim to impress. The fact he never gave up on his dream to give a speech, to be heard by the white men, shows that Ellison was writing from a time period where equality was challenged. It was not just blacks, but it was also women, gays, and anyone not of the "standard" white identity. No matter what Ellison wrote during this time period, it would have been pegged as racist because of these social changes.