Duboisian Double-Consciousness in Invisible Man

Double-Consciousness in Invisible Man

How does Ralph Ellison portray and incorporate Duboisian Double-Consciousness in Invisible Man?

Since it was introduced by W.E.B Du Bois in his essay, “Strivings of the Negro People,” in 1897, and further explored in his book, Souls of the Black Folk, published in 1903, the concept of double-consciousness has been examined and commented on over the years. Initially, white academicians had commented on the idea of double-consciousness, but then it was later studied by African American scholars. African American double-consciousness, as described by Du Bois, is having “…two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder” (Du Bois, 2). The concept of double-consciousness can be found in Ralph Ellison’s novel, Invisible Man, which was published in 1952. Ellison portrays double-consciousness through the eyes of his unnamed protagonist in order to immerse his readers into the mind of a character struggling to reconcile his two identities as an American and as a southern black man. Even though Duboisian double-consciousness is prevalent in Ellison’s Invisible Man, Du Bois’s definition of double-consciousness leaves Black Americans with an “irrevocable truth” that they cannot escape double-consciousness. Du Bois’s description of double-consciousness denies African Americans and Black Americans the opportunity to embrace their “true self-consciousness.” On the other hand, Ellison’s Invisible Man seems to empower Black Americans byacknowledging the power relations within a white-dominated world, showing how Black American perceptions should not be manipulated by the white world’s indoctrination, and empathizing with the fact that African Americans are capable of rejecting white people’s world perspective. By telling the story through the eyes of the protagonist, Ellison gives readers a unique view into the mind of a character struggling with double-consciousness, along with the social, intellectual, and identity issues that many black Americans face within today’s society. While Du Bois did not focus on the illumination of black American perception and thought, Ellison did focus on this aspect of double-consciousness.

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 W.E.B Du Bois used double-consciousness as a way to characterize the issues of race and the internal conflict an African American or Black American may face when defining what is being an American and what is being Black. According to an article within the journal, American Literature, titled “W.E.B Du Bois and the Idea of Double-Consciousness,” written by Dickson D. Bruce Jr., shows how DuBoisian double-consciousness is heavily influenced by its history. The article explained how Du Bois drew on a mix of American Transcendentalism and European Romanticism, which are the more figurative elements of DuBoisian double-consciousness, and the other elements can be drawn from a medical perspective due to the emerging field of psychology at the time. The medical term for double-consciousness was used to identify split personality. Keeping these in mind, in his essay, “Strivings of the Negro People,” Du Bois used this concept to refer to three issues: the effects of white stereotypes on Black life, practical racism contributing to the formation of double-consciousness, and the idea of being an American, while at the same time, not being an American. Although Du Bois used the term double-consciousness to refer to these three issues, he mainly stressed on the importance of the internal conflict that is encountered by an African American. For Du Bois, he described double-consciousness “as this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others…One ever feels his two-ness, an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings” (Du Bois, 2), in his book, Souls of the Black Folk, and that “…the essence of a distinctive African consciousness was its spirituality.” Looking at Ellison’s Invisible Man, as the story is told through one perspective; readers are looking through the eyes of the narrator. This is made clear in the very beginning of the novel when the narrator starts off with a monologue of how he will tell the readers how he became aware of his invisibility. Du Bois stresses that double-consciousness is the awareness of simultaneously being American and not being an American, which readers of Invisible Man see through the mind of the protagonist. Within DuBoisian double-consciousness, there are two parts: “second sight” and “behind the veil.” “Second sight” refers to the inherent duality of African American identity, and “behind the veil” refers to the limitations in seeing.

 In Ralph Ellison’s book, Invisible Man, the unnamed protagonist experiences what is described to be double-consciousness. By placing readers into the head of the protagonist, Ellison is able to make readers more empathetic by having them see what the protagonist sees. Through this, Ellison was able to incorporate the idea of “behind the veil” by pushing the boundaries of what we can see by limiting readers with only one perspective. In the beginning of the novel, Ellison’s Invisible Man, the unnamed protagonist, seems to see himself through the eyes of society, specifically, white society. The Invisible Man mentioned, “I identified myself with the rich man reminiscing on the seat” (Ellison, 45), which shows how he does not identify himself, but rather through someone else. This implies that the Invisible Man is looking through the perspective of a rich, white man rather than his own. For example, in the prologue of the novel, the Invisible Man tells a story of when he almost killed a white man for insulting him until “…it occurred to me that the man had not seen me…” (Ellison, 4), and how “It unnerved me. I was both disgusted and ashamed” (Ellison, 4). The Invisible Man’s feeling of disgust and shame falls into the perspective of how the white society views black individuals: violent, criminals, or muggers. Not only is the Invisible Man identifying himself through the eyes of white society, but also having it influence his thoughts, which he later realized when he stated, “I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer” (Ellison,15). Ellison suggests to readers the Invisible Man’s lack of “second sight” in the beginning of the book, which is illuminated when the Invisible Man mentioned, “It took me long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with: That I am nobody but myself” (Ellison, 15). The protagonist is not blind, but rather keeps blinding himself from his black American identity and reality. The Invisible Man chose to suppress his blackness, a part of himself and his identity, by deadening his sense of perception. This can also be connected to the concept of “behind the veil” as the Invisible Man’s lack of “second sight” limits readers’ own sight by being restricted into one perspective. As the novel goes forward, the protagonist begins to realize the duality in his identity, hence the name “Invisible Man.” Ellison was able to portray DuBoisian double-consciousness by incorporating the elements of DuBoisian double-consciousness such as the ideas of “second sight,” which the Invisible Man lacks, but later achieves, and “behind the veil” by engaging readers into a restricted viewpoint. Although Ellison employs elements of DuBoisian double-consciousness, Ellison puts much more emphasis on the idea of “second sight,” which reverses the pattern that Du Bois’s original definition of double-consciousness established. Even though Du Bois acknowledges “second sight” within his definition, he mainly focused on the distorted perceptions of black Americans rather than their illumination.

 Within the beginning of this chapter, the Invisible Man mentioned his grandfather and his grandfather’s “deathbed curse.” On his deathbed the protagonist’s grandfather said, “…after I’m gone I want you to keep up the good fight. I never told you, but our life is a war and I have been a traitor all my born days…Live with your head in the lion’s mouth. I want you to overcome ‘em with yeses, undermine ‘em with grins, agree ‘em to death and destruction, let ‘em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open” (Ellison, 16). Here, the grandfather is referring to white men; he was telling the Invisible Man to obey white society in order to undermine them. Connecting this to double-consciousness, the grandfather’s words stuck with the Invisible Man “…whenever things went well for me I remembered my grandfather and felt guilty and uncomfortable. It was as though I was carrying out his advice in spite of myself. And to make it worse, everyone loved me for it. I was praised by the most lily-white men of the town. I was considered an example of desirable conduct—just as my grandfather had been. And what puzzled me was that the old man had defined it as treachery” (Ellison, 17). In terms of “second sight,” Ellison shows a contrast between the narrator’s lack of “second sight” and the grandfather’s possession of “second sight.” Looking at the grandfather’s advice, readers can see that he was aware of his duality and felt that he was a traitor to his black identity and community. Despite the Invisible Man’s lack of “second sight,” Ellison shows that the protagonist is not completely blind; the Invisible Man just had not come to the realization. The Invisible Man mentioned that whenever something went well, he remembered his grandfather, hence the “deathbed curse,” and feel guilty. This goes to show that the Invisible Man does possess some “second sight,” but chooses to mute his sense of perception in order to run away from his self-conscious. This can link to DuBoisian double-consciousness through the Invisible Man’s distorted perception, but Ellison also focuses on the Invisible Man’s journey towards illumination.

 A notable passage presented in Invisible Man is the battle royal scene as it shows the hierarchy and power relations between the white and black communities. In order for the Invisible Man to present his speech, he was told to participate in a battle royal as entertainment for the town’s leading white citizens. Looking at this, Ellison establishes a hierarchy, with white men being at the top and black men being at the bottom. The scene was almost reminiscent of slavery as the black men were being used as a source of entertainment for the white men. It was even mentioned when the Invisible Man stated, “In those pre-invisible days I visualized myself as a potential Brooker T. Washington…I felt superior to them, in my way, and I didn’t like the manner in which we were all crowded together into the servants’ elevator” (Ellison, 18). The protagonist was known to be the best in his class, and he had felt superior compared to the other nine black men that participated in the battle royal due to his education, which garners him praise from white society. During the battle royal, the Invisible Man began to ask himself questions regarding the speech he would present such as “How would it go? Would they recognize my ability? What would they give me?” (Ellison, 24), which goes to show how the Invisible Man cares about how the white men would perceive him. Also, when the narrator was one of the two left in the boxing ring, he had asked the other, Tatlock, to fake being knocked out in exchange for the winning prize. When Tatlock had refused to do so, the protagonist asked, ““For them?”” (Ellison, 24), which Tatlock had replied, ““For me…”” (Ellison, 24). Here, Ellison highlights the difference between the Invisible Man and Tatlock. For the protagonist, he wanted to win in order to be perceived well by the white men, but for Tatlock, he wanted to win for himself. By presenting this difference, Ellison shows readers how the Invisible Man connects his identity and actions towards how he can make the white men perceive him well and differently than other black men. This is emphasized when the Invisible Man says, “I wanted to deliver my speech more than anything else in the world, because I felt that only these men could judge truly my ability…” (Ellison, 25). Ellison showed how the protagonist was dependent on the validation of these white men because of their status and power in society. When the protagonist was presenting his speech, there was much ridicule and laughter from the white men, and when the Invisible Man mentioned social equality, the white men had responded with, “…We mean to do right by you, but you’ve got to know your place at all times” (Ellison, 31). Here, readers see the hierarchy being set in place and the amount of power that these white men hold over the protagonist. Despite being disrespected, the Invisible Man does not rebel because “I was afraid. I wanted to leave but I wanted also to speak and I was afraid they’d snatch me down” (Ellison, 31). This connects to double-consciousness through “second sight” once again. The Invisible Man shows that he is aware of the manipulations of white people when he spoke of “social equality” during his speech, but quickly terminates all apprehensions. In other words, the Invisible Man ignores his intuition both subconsciously and consciously, thus ignoring his “second sight.”

 As the story goes forward, Ellison introduces Jim Trueblood, “…a sharecropper who had brought disgrace upon the black community” (Ellison, 46). It should be noted that Trueblood was described to have brought disgrace to the black community, this implies how Trueblood fits into the negative black stereotypes perceived by white society. When driving around Mr. Norton, one of the college’s founders, the Invisible Man encountered Trueblood, who told them the story of when he committed incest with his daughter. While the Invisible Man thought, “How can he tell this to white men…when he knows they’ll say that all Negros do such things?” (Ellison, 58), Mr. Norton had asked Trueblood, “How are you faring?…Perhaps I could help” (Ellison, 52) and took out his “…red Moroccan-leather wallet from his coat pocket…“Here,” he said, extending a banknote. “Please take this and buy the children some toys for me” (Ellison, 69). Here, Ellison shows a surprising difference in reactions between the Invisible Man and Mr. Norton. Due to the Invisible Man caring about how the white society perceives him, he was disgusted with Trueblood’s story and had taken on the viewpoint of white society; because he could not identify with Trueblood, the protagonist chose to identify with Mr. Norton. In other words, the Invisible Man had not yet realized his duality, but rather is something that he must realize through fundamental experiences and discoveries about his identity. Despite the Invisible Man’s repulsion, Mr. Norton had listened to Trueblood intently and even gave him money. It’s true that Trueblood had committed a heinous crime, and that it’s reasonable that people would refuse to see him, rendering him as an invisible man. However, he seemed to feel some guilt for what he had done considering how he said, “Won’t nobody speak to me, though they looks at me like I’m some new kinda cotton-pickin’ machine. I feels bad” (Ellison, 65). Looking at this passage, there is also a sense of hierarchy present. Despite the awful crime Trueblood committed, Mr. Norton had given him money. This can be interpreted in how the dominant community, the white society, is almost rewarding the types of behavior that corresponds with their ideas of how black men should act. Connecting this to double-consciousness, Ellison shows the Invisible Man’s lack of “second sight” as the protagonist blames Trueblood for having been given the money, instead of questioning why Mr. Norton had given Trueblood the high sum of money, which is shown when the Invisible Man had mumbled towards Trueblood, “You no-good bastard! You get a hundred-dollar bill!” (Ellison, 69). This highlights how the Invisible Man is aware of the manipulations, but subconsciously blinds himself.

 Another important scene towards the Invisible Man’s illumination is the sambo doll scene. Sambo dolls represent black entertainers that are willing to serve or please their white masters. Once again, Ellison uses the sambo dolls to symbolize the power plays between the black and white communities. Upon seeing who was selling the sambo dolls, Tod Clifton, a black man, the Invisible Man was shocked. The protagonist had questioned, “Why should a man deliberately plunge outside of history and obscenity…Why should he choose to disarm himself, give up his voice and leave the only organization offering a chance to “define” himself?” (Ellison, 438). Ellison’s use of repetition of “Why should…” (Ellison, 438), suggests how the Invisible Man does not see or understand the message that Clifton was trying to convey because the Invisible Man was looking at the scene through the lens of white society, not realizing his duality. This scene is important as Ellison uses the sambo doll to help the Invisible Man realize his “second sight.” When the narrator examined the doll, he “…noticed that it had two faces, one on either side of the disk of cardboard” (Ellison, 446), and how “Clifton had been making it dance all the time and the black thread had been invisible” (Ellison, 446). Here, Ellison shows a shift in power play. By pulling the strings of the sambo doll, Clifton was rebelling against white hierarchy, which wanted to control Black American representation. Through this realization, the Invisible Man was beginning to achieve his “second sight,” which could be seen while the protagonist examined the doll and thought of how “It had grinned back at Clifton as it grinned forward at the crowd, and their entertainment had been his death. It had grinned when I played the fool and spat upon it…” (Ellison, 446). It could be said that the sambo doll became a reflection of the Invisible Man as the sambo doll continues to grin while providing entertainment to white society, but it was also the fool by being controlled.

 Since DuBoisian double-consciousness was introduced, according to a journal article in The Massachusetts Review, titled “DuBoisian Double-Consciousness: The Unsustainable Argument,” written by Ernest Allen Jr., Allen Jr. had mentioned how the concept of DuBoisian double-consciousness has been misused or misread in literary works.When discussing the differences between Du Bois’s definition of double-consciousness and Ellison’s take on double-consciousness, it’s important to take note of the amount of time between Du Bois’s Souls of the Black Folk, published in 1903,and Ellison’s Invisible Man, published in 1952. The time span between both publications is forty-nine years, which is significant to note as this time lapse affects the distinctions between Ellison’s and Du Bois’s definitions of double-consciousness, especially when there were advances in the field of psychology and identity studies within those forty-nine years. So, while Ellison’s approach to double-consciousness is different than Du Bois’s original definition, Ellison still incorporates elements of DuBoisian double-consciousness, specifically the concept of “second sight.” In terms of the Black American self-conscious, Ellison and Du Bois also seem to differ in approach. Ellison does not solely draw from the identity of being an “American” and being “Black,” but also on the whole human experience, allowing for multiple layers of identity. Connecting this to Du Bois’s definition, DuBoisian duality helped Ellison give way to the multiplicity in Invisible Man. One of the major differences between Du Bois and Ellison’s approach to double-consciousness is that Ellison focuses on individuality while Du Bois focuses on the collective experience of African Americans and Black Americans.

 Although Ellison did not follow Du Bois’s original definition of double-consciousness, he did include elements of it within Invisible Man. Ellison was able to convey double-consciousness by putting readers through one perspective to insinuate “behind the veil,” which limits readers from seeing any other perspectives. By doing this, Ellison was able to keep readers immersed into the mind of a character struggling to realize his duality and his identity. Ellison’s take on double-consciousness is similar to Du Bois’s original formula, but the difference lies in the fact that Ellison put more emphasis on the element of “second sight” than Du Bois, who focused more on the blurred perceptions of African Americans, which makes them overlook white society’s deceptions and manipulations. When approaching double-consciousness, Ellison invests his focus on the individual dealing with double-consciousness and their illumination, while Du Bois invests in the collective experience of double-consciousness and distorted perceptions, rather than illumination. So, while Ellison does not exactly follow Du Bois’s formula of double-consciousness, it is DuBoisian double-consciousness in reverse because of Ellison’s emphasis on “second sight” and illumination, which Du Bois puts less emphasis on. Invisible Man has been considered, according to a journal article in PMLA, titled “The Signifying Modernist: Ralph Ellison and the Limits of Double Consciousness,” written by William Lyne, “…as the apotheosis of African American tradition of “ascent” and “immersion” narratives that has its first full flowering in Du Bois.” Ellison was able to use the Invisible Man and his journey towards illumination as a way to empower Black Americans, hence the African American “ascent.” Ellison tries to convey how Black Americans are capable of rejecting white society’s perspective on the world and how Black American self-perception cannot be manipulated unless they let it. Ellison’s use of telling the story through one perspective helped to immerse and engage readers, while also limiting what they can see, which connects to Du Bois’s “behind the veil.” Despite having a different approach to double-consciousness, it can be seen that DuBoisian double-consciousness is present within Ellison’s novel as he does incorporate elements of it such as “second sight” and “behind the veil.”

Works Cited

• Allen, Ernest. “Du Boisian Double Consciousness: The Unsustainable Argument.”
• The Massachusetts Review, vol. 43, no. 2, 2002, pp. 217-53. JSTOR,  www.jstor.org/stable/25091848.
• Bruce, Dickson D. “W. E. B. Du Bois and the Idea of Double Consciousness.” American Literature, vol. 62, no. 2, 1992, pp. 299-309. JSTOR,  www.jstor.org/stable/2927837.
• Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. Random House, 1980.
• Eze, Emmanuel C. “On Double-Consciousness.” Callaloo, vol. 34, no. 3, 2011, pp. 877-98. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41243197.
• Lyne, William. “The Signifying Modernist: Ralph Ellison and the Limits of the Double Consciousness.” PMLA, vol. 107, no. 2, 1992, pp. 318-19. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/462643.
• Szmanko, Klara. “The Concept of Double Consciousness and Striving for Self-Consciousness in W.E.B. Du Bois’s Double Consciousness Formula and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.” Anglica Wratislaviensia, no. 50, 2012, pp. 101-21, awr.sjol.eu/download.php?id=40a6b4e0d366fcdb493105364ab323fdcd1c2797.