The prologue of the Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is unlike one I have ever read before. Within these few short pages the author has been able to eloquently give us an inside look on the complexities of this character in a truly remarkable way. He begins this introduction by letting us know that he is invisible, not in a physical sense but in a way where the whites can never truly see him. His “ghostliness” is an presence of absence to those who can not see him.There is a bit of a paradox within this, as though he describes himself in this manner he also states that everyone else around him is blind. To call others blind means that they are physically unable to see him, as though he makes it appear that he may find comfort in his ability to remain unseen, just because they are unable to view him, makes me think at the same time he yearns for them to see him in a light outside the color of his skin, yet labels them as blind as an excuse of being able to do so. He makes a case that he is so keen on remaining on staying invisible, yet his actions speak differently. He gets by, by residing in a shut off basement in an apartment building that only houses white tenants, this may be his way to desire to be one of the whites by choosing to live in a building where only they are able to live. Though his place to live is shut off by the rest of the building he lights up the his place to live with over a thousand light bulbs. This is an extremely evident detail as for a man who spends his days wanting to be invisible and is told by others that the dark complexion of his skin define him, chooses to live in a place consumed of light. This is where his bout of existentialism comes in as he is searching for his own individuality and believes he is able to find it throughout his own endeavors despite outside factors telling him otherwise. His expedition continues while he blasts Louis Armstrong song “Black and Blue”, and wishes to be able to own more francophones to play this song even louder. The paradox in this continues with him playing this song at the loudest volumes with lyrics containing “my only sin is my skin”, where you are able to understand his struggles with his identity and how his skin color is an obstacle is what prevents him from being seen, yet wanting to play this loud enough to even hear the vibrations shows that he wants to break through from the barrier that his skin grants and does in fact want to be seen and heard. This leads to a state of confusion and feeling lost and he doesn’t know what to feel he is stuck between two worlds, one being consumed with light and music, and one where he must succumb to his darkness and the invisibility it entails.

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