Invisible Man Rinehart Character Analysis

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The world is an unlocked door in which the handle is visible to those who allow themselves to accept the possibilities and fluidity of identity, and accept that visibility and the acceptance of others does not go hand in hand. In the novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, the nameless narrator as well as protagonist struggles with who he is as a young black man in the eyes of a judgmental and oppressive society. It is not until the narrator is misidentified as a mysterious, extremely ambiguous man named Rinehart that he realizes that having a strong sense of self and sustaining an ever-changing, malleable identity is crucial in surviving in a world where other people are always trying to impose who they think others should be. This is especially …show more content…
By pretending to be Rinehart, even though the narrator is not initially intending to be perceived as Rinehart, the narrator eventually realizes that he has been invisible all along. When the narrator puts on a hat and a dark pair of sunglasses, he is seemingly transformed into Rinehart. He is stopped several times by different people, addressing Rinehart in different ways. The narrator, dressed as Rinehart, even runs into Ras the Destroyer at a rally, violently criticizing the Brotherhood. To the surprise of the narrator, he can get by the rally unnoticed by Ras. “I trembled with excitement; they hadn’t recognized me. It works, I thought. They see the hat, not me. There is a magic in it. It hides me right in front of their eyes.” (485). At this point, the narrator still has not recognized his invisibility, but he has realized how easily changed identity can be. This confuses the narrator, and is revolutionary in his thinking of identity. He thinks, “What on earth was hiding behind the face of things? If dark glasses and a white hat could blot out my identity so quickly, who actually was who?” (493). The narrator now knows how manipulated and twisted identity can be, and with little effort. He donned a hat and glasses, and suddenly to the …show more content…
With this discovery, a new reality is opened up for the narrator. There is suddenly endless possibility for the narrator. He says, “The world in which we lived was without boundaries. A vast seething, hot world of fluidity, and Rine the rascal was at home. Perhaps only Rine the rascal was at home in it. It was unbelievable, but perhaps only the unbelievable could be believed. Perhaps the truth was always a lie.” (498). When the narrator discovers that Rinehart is invisible, and figures out that he himself is invisible, he is able to look at life and the world with new eyes. He realizes that he has permission to “lie”, and create himself as a person without any restraints. “I now recognized my invisibility. So I’d accept it, I’d explore it, rine and heart.” (508). He is not afraid of his invisibility, because he now knows that he can be invisible and yet defy what it means to be invisible- he does not have to let others define him and he can move without the fear of being held down by anyone, for no one truly has the power to do so anymore, now that he has recognized what he is. Rinehart is an essential character, even though he himself never truly emerges, because he is what allows the narrator to see his invisibility, grasp it, and live life for himself; looking forward in a way he had never
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