Blindness: Week 5

The Invisible Man finds himself trapped in a manhole after the exposure of the Brotherhood's ultimate plan and Ras's riots. Preceding these tumultous events he has just had a discussion with Brother Hambro that brought The Brotherhood's deception to light and sparked the notion of doubt inside the Invisible Man that prompts him to do the reevaluating he does in the manhole.  Instead of doing all he can to escape he decides to stay and reflect on his life and the events that have transpired. He is plunged into a physical blindness which enables him to realize he has been living his entire life in a metaphorical blindness. We can allude and compare this to that of the Greek mythology character Oedipus whose blinding serves to provide him with the truth that he lacked when he was exposed to physical light and the distractions that came with it. When the hole is covered and all visible light is removed he remarks, "This is the way it's always been, only know I know it,"(566).This only reinforces the idea that the Invisible Man has now fully awakened to the fact that he has been living his life as a blind and invisible shadowy figure, only seen to be used for the benefit of others. This period of time spent in the manhole is absolutely essential for the Invisible Man's growth and 'rebirth' and to have the veil finally lifted from his eyes. Every time he is above ground there is always a person, idea, or group of people taking advantage of him or anchoring him to themselves. In the beginning it was the wealthy and powerful white men in his community, next it was the college and Dr.Bledsoe, then it was Dr.Bledsoe’s letters, Mary, The Brotherhood, and countless others who never allowed to Invisible Man to live his life for himself. While he is removed from society the Invisible Man is finally able to come to terms and be virtually enlightened. It is in the hole that he eradicates any evidence of his old life, a life with clouded eyesight. It's the burning of these artifacts that provide him light, both in a physical and symbolic sense. After he has transcended and found the truth he states that he, “The hibernation is over. I must shake off the old skin.”(580) He is able to now go through life with clear eyes and notes that he can no longer spend it underground, he has a ‘social responsibility’. He must carry out his Grandfather’s dying wish and participate as an active, but free-thinking- member of society, working aggressively to progress the natural ideologies of his own people.