One Flew Over the Invisible Man

Recently, I started reading Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. This novel tells the story of an African American in the south and how his experiences and major life events made him become and invisible man. A man who goes around without being noticed. As I started reading it I could not help making connections with One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. I came to the conclusion that Chief Bromden and the narrator of Invisible Man are very similar. 

The narrator, who is also the protagonist of the novel, goes through various situations in which he is mocked and judged because of stereotypes. Just because he is an African American, he is seen and treated a certain way. For example, when he goes out for breakfast and the waiter asks him what he would like to eat.  He says he’d like a coffee, a toast and an orange juice and the waiter replies, “ You fooled me, I would have sworn you were a pork chop man” (Pg. 178). The narrator feels uncomfortable because he is seen in a certain way because of a stereotype. He is actually the complete opposite. The same thing happens with Chief Bromden. He is judged as stupid and almost invisible because he is a Native American. Many times when the Chief is having flashbacks about his childhood he says that just because he was a Native American, people assumed he didn’t know how to speak English or understand it. Both of these characters have to deal with stereotypes just because of their ethnicity.

 A common theme that both novels mention is identity. While Chief Bromden prefers to pass as an underdog and be unnoticed, the narrator from Invisible Men is the complete opposite. He wants to be someone and be recognized for what he does. However, both of them have to fight against society’s standards in order to be what they want to be. While the Chief does it by acting as a deaf man, the narrator does it by searching for a job and being persistent. Both of these character’s cross paths with a person who helps them find their identity, or realize their identity is just what society tells them it is. In OFOTCN it is McMurphy who helps the Chief get his real identity and defy society. In Invisible Man, Mr. Emerson’s son is the narrator’s person. Mr. Emerson’s son tells the narrator he still has a chance to create a real identity and that he shouldn’t do it in the south. He should do it in New York where he will have a chance to progress. He opens the narrator’s eyes to the truth and hardships of society. He tells him he has a chance to start from zero and he should take advantage of that when he says, “You’re free of him now. I’m still his prisoner. You have been freed, don’t you understand? I’ve still my battle” (Pg. 192)

Both of this novels have many things in common. Not only the themes they use but the characters and how they deal with and unfair society. These two characters have many things in common. They are ethnic minorities, are judged merely by stereotypes, and have a chance to start from zero. The way they approach their problems is very similar too. They are both Invisible Men.