bookalicious

  Upon reading Invisible Man , I found myself questioning whether or not the level of power and success that the narrator so desperately strives for is truly achievable. In its first few chapters, Invisible Man depicts the narrator in his youth, a man whose identity is completely defined by white validation and who is desperate to attain power under an oppressive, white society. However, one thing that the narrator does not realize is that the “authority” that he has worked for his whole life isn't true power, as it has been molded by white society to make black people complacent in the oppression of the very marginalized group that they are a part of. This “power” is limited, made to keep black people in “their place,” subordinate to white people, and works to prevent the origination and spread of ideology that threatens the legitimacy of a white-supremacist society. Invisible Man shows the distorted version of power that black people are able to attain under a racist society. M

  In Native Son we are presented with a seemingly new, dangerous form of white person; The “woke” leftist, as seen in the character of Mary Dalton. Mary identifies herself as a communist, cares about social issues, and is interested in improving the lives of black Americans, but fails to include one important thing in her activism; understanding of those who she is trying to help. This shortcoming in her activism is something that many white activists lack, and Native Son warns us of how dangerous this can be. We see each of Mary’s attempts at activism in her interactions with Bigger, as well as how they end up endangering or worsening things for him.      Mary first meets Bigger in the middle of his job interview with Mr. Dalton, immediately asking him if he belongs to a union, something that was very frowned upon by possible employers back then and could have cost him his job, which Bigger acknowledges, saying “She's making me lose my job! He thought. Goddamn! He knew nothing ab