In Ralph Ellison's novel, "Invisible Man," the narrator is influenced by many. Although there are many acting on him, he becomes ambivalent to the two characters, Dr. Bledsoe and his grandfather. While toiling between which one he should follow, he finds himself in numerous situations. Finding himself in these sticky situations brought about a realization of who he really was, rescuing himself from his own believed invisibility.
The central theme of the novel is the search for identity. As for individuality, "Invisible Man," it is a struggle through reality and illusion. He is also concerned with communal effort of African-American to define cultural identity. However, Ellison does not restrict himself to concerns of African-Americans because he believes that their culture is a disentangled part of American culture. Even though, Ellison still shows the narrator's struggle as an individual. Dr. Bledsoe, the narrator's college President, has to be one of the most influential characters. He is a man of high-power and stature along with his power-hungry opportunist demeanor, who, after while, perpetuates the myth of white supremacy. He constantly makes a mockery of the college founder's dream of lifting the veil of ignorance of black people. .
The narrator, who suspects that Bledsoe is keeping the veil in place to ensure that the students remain in the dark, is unfortunately greatly influenced by him. Invisible Man sees education as a pathway to a sense of pride and dignity along with identity. Bledsoe believes that he can disillusion the narrator and tell him the truth about his perceived role in society rather than allowing the narrator to discover it himself. In relation with the overall theme of the novel which is the search for self-identity rather than societal-identity. Ironically in agreement with Booker T. Washington, who is supposedly the founder of the narrator's college, Bledsoe portrays that there is a necessary behavior of black people in order to maintain support and approval from white America.
