Invisible Man: Chapter 1 Reading Questions

Chapter 1

1.     How does the Battle Royal illuminate to the narrator the differences between Blacks and Whites?  The Battle Royal illuminates the social struggle. The white men were described as animals. The differences between Blacks and Whites were the ability to see, the narrator was blindfolded, which was a disadvantage for him but also a reality. The Blacks were treated badly like animals and the whites are not treated bad at all. 

2.     What shocking surprises does the narrator have that night?

-The Blonde that was dancing and the amazement on the faces of the men.

-The royal battle: He was blind folded

-His speech: the rejection he saw when he said “social inequality”

3.     How does the Battle Royal symbolize the narrator’s struggle for identity? The battle royal symbolizes as the social and power of those superior (whites) struggle. It specifically targets that the life of Blacks is a struggle and that they have to work really hard to obtain it.

4.     How does it symbolize the plight of Blacks in that time period in general?

It symbolizes the plight of Blacks in that time period by showing how back then Blacks were tread horrendously, they were made fun of, and they were kept down from their dreams. In the time of racial segregation in schools, students of “color” were given the worst education and material, even if these students wanted to learn they couldn’t. Just like today, Blacks in that time period believed that education can take you far in life, however in IM, we see that it doesn’t matter how much Blacks try, they will never get what they desire, they will always be put down by those in power.

5.     The narrator gives a number of speeches throughout the novel. This is the first. Study it carefully and write a brief summary. What is the topic and why is that topic ironic?

Summary: In the speech, the narrator tells them it about social equality but the white man get very upset and he tells them that he meant to say “social responsibility”, he talks about people of all different colors working together to make life easier and he quotes Booker T. Washington. His speech is ironic because his audience is white people. People who are racist and don’t care about a word that he has to say, the same people that have just beaten him before his speech.

6.     In what ways are the Blacks at the smoker humiliated? Why do the White men take such pleasure in that humiliation? Blacks are humiliated in many ways, they were made fun of, insulted, they were forced to watch the naked women, fight, and in the rug scene they were tricked and told that they would receive money.

The whites took pleasure in this humiliation because they believe that that’s what the blacks deserved.

7.     The narrator clings to the White man’s chair and thinks of tossing the man on the electrified rug. How does this scene symbolize the consequences of Black rebellion in a White world?

The scene symbolizes the consequence of a Black rebellion by showing them (Blacks) that they are weak and that the Whites are stronger since he didn’t succeed in putting him down. So in society, they are set for failure.

8.     List all reference to the image of blindness.
     a) The blindfold 
     b)"Had the price of looking been blindness..." 
      c) "..but now I felt a sudden fit of blind terror" 

9.     What is the significance of the narrator’s dream at the end of the chapter?

The narrator’s dream is significant because it symbolizes the idea of the “American Dream”, that people can obtain their own dreams and desires by working hard enough. However, at the end of his dream in a letter he finds in a briefcase, he reads “keep this boy running…” this quote is a reference to slave history when Africans were forced to run for their lives. This quote is also symbolic because it could also mean that to actually “keep this boy running” or to not give him anything no matter how hard he/they try they will never achieve what they want.