Invisible Man - Quote

“I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.”
This quote shows the narrator’s realization that he is invisible to society because they choose not to see him. It is almost ironic how this statement is in the Prologue, yet throughout the entire novel the narrator does not see this truth until nearly the end. The fact that the narrator does not see how he is being abused by white society from the very start shows how they are not only blind to him, but how he is also blind to their true intentions.
Blindness is a prevalent theme throughout Invisible Man. In this quote, the narrator speaks of the prejudice he is forced to endure everyday. While this is a very simple statement, it is one of the most significant ones throughout the entire novel because it sets the stage for what is to come. The narrator also mentions how “[…] you curse and swear to make them recognize you. And, alas, it’s seldom successful.” This quote shows the pain he feels from being unnoticed. So despite how he tries to cope with this dark reality by saying it is sometimes advantageous to be invisible, this small, voiced truth shows his angered and depressed emotions from knowing that no matter what a black person tries to do, he or she will remain invisible because they are not white.