Symbolism Week 2

The invisible man has now entered Dr.Bledsoe’s office, waiting for him to reveal the punishment he will undergo after introducing Mr. Norton to Jim Trueblood and the Golden Day. Dr. Bledsoe is infuriated as he is yelling at the invisible man for performing such actions on his campus he has control over. As Dr. Bledsoe is screaming at the narrator, he “reaches over for something beneath a pile of papers, an old leg shackle from slavery which he proudly called “a symbol of our progress””(141). The “leg shackle” is a symbol that is used to portray many things. The shackle represents being in control, which is why Dr. Bledsoe chose to keep it. The shackle shows how far African-Americans have come since slavery, but Dr.Bledsoe has a deeper meaning for picking it up off the shelf. It shows how proud he is of his accomplishments and how he started as being “trapped,” but now holds the thing that represents power, referencing his leadership at the college. The invisible man is now trapped by Dr. Bledsoe, and this is shown through the shackle he wishes to share with the narrator. The shackle holds a strong sense of power and Dr. Bledsoe has complete power over the invisible man, yet he does not know such thing yet. This also ties to another form of “blindness” possessed throughout. Without the use of this symbol we would not be able to see how the invisible man at this point is trapped.