Invisible Man Quote

"'To Whom It May Concern: . . . Keep This Nigger-Boy Running.'" Chapter 1, pg. 33

Though this quote it short and very too the point, it encompasses a strong message that is ultimately the backbone to the novel. The idea where an individual, or in this case a black individual, can work and work to move into the light of respect but never really get anywhere.

This quote is in a dream that the narrator has, where he opens envelope after envelope, eventually arriving at one which contains a letter saying the quote. This idea really stands true throughout the novel as it does seem that no one, no matter what they say, really wants the narrator to get anywhere. He is used, and controlled, he is manipulated, and abused, but not once is there one person who can truly help him. Mr. Norton tries to help him, I believe he really wants to in his head but doesn't know how. This doesn't make Mr. Norton a bad person but he is, even if he doesn't know it, contributing to the never ending path that the narrator is set on.

Brother Jack is another prime example of this, he seems like he may be a solution to the problem, but really he only fuels the narrator's race towards finding justification in a world that is, for the most part, against him. Brother Jack does hand in hand with Reverend Barbee, another stop on the narrator's path that keeps him running. He is a powerful black man, who has opened a college to educate, or so it seems. But his views are skewed and the narrator identifies the corruption that he holds. So, he continues running. At the end of the novel, we have to ask if he really found his destination at all, honestly I don't believe he did, but the lights in the basement signify almost an enlightenment that was not felt before.