Through the character of Bledsoe, Ellison shows how the concept of race functions in order to provide certain types of people with power and privilege. Bledsoe represents not only that upholding the idea of race supports white privilege, but that race can also be manipulated in order to uphold individual power. While it is evident that this power can cause white people to feel certain anxieties, Ellison explores the extent at which black people experience race. Not only does Bledsoe actively uphold race when he is in contact with white people, he is convinced that he must maintain his power even at the cost of others. Ultimately, Bledsoe’s approach to racism is an adaptation to his circumstances as he feels as though he must sacrifice the reputation of others in order to maintain his power to continue being able to pull the strings of the wealthy white men who think they are in charge. Bledsoe’s ability to manipulate race for his benefit seems like one of the most practical way to adapt to Southern society during the time the book takes place in for the advancement of social power for African Americans, but only comes at the expense of his individual freedom.

When Bledsoe chooses to expel the narrator, it becomes clear that although he claims to have indisputable power, it is only maintained through the creation of a false image of himself as a “superior” black man and the upholding of negative perceptions of black people which he says whites want to believe. He believes that the only way to maintain any sort of power is by giving white people what they really want, regardless of what they may think they want. The narrator’s failure to lie to Mr. Norton and show him parts of the campus which will “uplift the race” and instead show Mr. Norton the realities of the school lead Bledsoe to believe that although Mr. Norton says that he understands the narrator is not at fault, he still expects him to face consequences. Bledsoe feels no remorse for expelling the narrator and admits “I’ll have every Negro in the country hanging on tree limbs by morning if it means staying where I am” (143). Once the narrator reaches New York, he realizes that Bledsoe never had the intention of letting the narrator return to the college and no longer believes that he is capable of attaining the type of power Bledsoe has since he is not willing to make the sacrifices Bledsoe makes. Instead, he believes the narrator is on a different path and will find his own way to understand race in his life.