Invisible Man

Invisible Man 

It's always significant to read the title of a work inside the work, and for Invisible Man, the first sentence of the prologue reiterates the title by saying, "I am an invisible man" (3), which puts heavy emphasis to the title. Because this book is not a scientific book, the narrator explains how the invisibility has to do with only how society refuses to acknowledge his existence; therefore, he becomes invisible to the eyes of fellow men. Due to his in-existence, he seeks to prove his existence to himself in his "hole", where it is "warm and full of light" (6). However there is a huge irony with the source of that light: Monopolated Light & Power. Monopolated is not actually a word, but I am assuming that monopole is related to it. Monopole, after doing some research, I found that it does not only not exist but it is only a hypothetical assumption that most scientist declare that it is impossible for it to exist. Monopole is where only one of the poles, north and south, exist. Although it is easier to think about a magnet and imagine it not having one of the pole, monopole doesn't really have a lot to do with magnets. However, the connection to the book is that the narrator is saying that he is getting his light, truth, and warmth from this company called the Monopolated Light & Power. Therefore, looking at the word, it causes me to doubt the narrator due to what a monopole really is. Also, to have 1,369 lights in one room, a person would probably die from the heat emitted by the lights. I understand that the literary significance is that the narrator is trying to cover himself with truth in order to escape the loneliness and invisibility by letting the source of illumination cover him, but it may all be a sign of madness. Another interesting thing is the "sense of time" that the narrator explains when he talks about music. It is obvious that he does not conform to the social structure because he 'is aware' of his invisibility. Therefore, he is "never quite on the beat" (8). Of course the strangeness also has to do with the fact that he was high, but I guess the drug helped him realize and illuminated some certain aspects. I am not going to attempt to explain what he is talking about because I don't quite understand it. One interesting thing is that there are a lot of color discussed towards the end of the prologue. The irony is that he is invisible and invisibility does not have a color, so for there to be blue, black, white and red gives another meaning to ponder about. Even though the narrator and other black people are invisible to society's eyes, they have color both physically and figuratively, which emphasizes the cruelty of society. So far, I do not know if what I have talked about makes any sense, but there are so much things I know I missed, and I think I should reread the prologue to get a better sense of what the narrator is trying to portray, especially about Ras the Destroyer and Jack the Bear.