Considering I'm white and female, it would shock some (mostly my friends...to whom I gripe to) that I identify with the invisible man at all. But art is a reflection of self, and it requires the application of the viewer. And this week there was no better time to be "viewing" Invisible Man. There's a passage in the prologue that spoke to me in particular:
I am one of the most irresponsible beings that ever lived. Irresponsibility is part of my invisibility; any way you face it, it is a denial. But to whom can I be responsible, and why should I be, when you refuse to see me?...Responsibility rests upon recognition, and recognition is a form of agreement.
Maybe it's just because school kind of knocked me on the ass with all of its responsibility. Maybe I really did slack off this summer. But I viewed the entire novel as the narrator's discovery of his visibility. Acknowledging his responsibility to the community. Using his gifts to finally reveal himself again after forcing his invisibility by ignoring his responsibilities.
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