Violence Week 2

While walking around New York City, the invisible man comes across an angry group of men yelling and protesting in outrage. The leader of this group, “shakes his fist angrily over the uplifted faces” (159). Ras is in protest against the government, just as many people of the crowd are. Ellison’s portrayal of violence through Ras and the crowd in the city helps readers investigate one of the many problems associated with the invisible man, which is the choice he has to revolt or conform to society. His two options are portrayed when, “The clash between the calm of the rest of the street and the passion of the voice gave the scene a strange out-of-joint quality” (160). The invisible man understands that Ras the leader is just trying to convey his passion through protest, versus conforming to the bustle of the busy streets as the invisible man decides is the better choice when he declares, “ And I was careful not to look back lest I see a riot flare” (161). The invisible man is torn between yearning to search for his true passion of equality, versus playing the “game of life” and conforming to what is expected of him. Through the nature of violence, Ellison portrays how people such as the invisible man must choose between violence (such as protest or any form of going against the norm) versus conformity to the expectations of himself as a black man.