Blindness 1

After Mr. Norton and the Invisible Man witness a brawl among some supposedly insane black war veterans at a tavern by the name of Golden Day, Mr. Norton goes unconscious a second time. One of the vets tells the Invisible Man that he was previously a doctor, and offers to help him. Once Mr. Norton regains consciousness, he begins to explain to the vet that the reason for his dedication to the college is because he believes that blacks are, “tied to his destiny,” and, “the success of his work,” (chapter 3). The vet finds this reason to be preposterous and claims that both men are blind (chapter 3). In this case, the vet, who is labeled insane, seems to be thinking more clearly than Mr. Norton and the Invisible Man. He points out that Mr. Norton claims that his involvement in the school is for a good cause, when the truth is that he does it because deep down, he feels that whites are superior to blacks and it makes him feel as though he is controlling their destiny. The vet refers to the Invisible Man as blind, because he believes that he is ignorant to think that Mr. Norton sees him as an individual, as well as an equal.