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In the novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, the amount of symbolism is abundant as the narrator goes through a journey of hardships and self-discovery. One key symbol in the novel is a briefcase which becomes arguably his most valuable possession throughout the novel. Without his briefcase, he would not have experienced the realization of his purpose in society or his lack of substance to those around him. The motif of the briefcase in Invisible Man symbolizes the prejudices forced upon the narrator as well as people everywhere in today’s society, that they are forced to unknowingly carry.
The narrator comes to be in possession of his briefcase after he is compelled by white men to fight other men of his race. After he had been beaten so badly that he could hardly stand, he gave a speech that had earned him the briefcase. ‘“Keep developing as you are and someday it will be filled with important papers that will help shape the destiny of your people.”’ (Ellison 32). Through the acquirement of this briefcase, he is also given a false sense of hope for his future. It is believed by him that with such a dignified and professional possession he may soon become a person of importance in his community. As the story goes on, this possession goes on to not only carries an abundance of other symbols that shape him as a character but also gives insight into the narrator’s emotions and hopes. “…my prize briefcase, still as shiny as the night of the battle royal…” (Ellison 157). In this quote, the narrator had just arrived in Harlem where he was sent for a new beginning which is why he has such a positive outlook on his future that is reflected in the description of the briefcase.
Not only does the briefcase provide a bright outlook on the narrator for his future, but it also gives insight into the way his peers perceive him. The narrator is unaware of the ongoing prejudices that the world has cast upon him but the briefcase serves as a constant reminder of his skin color and what that means in his society. “It was still as new as the night of the battle royal, and sagged now as I placed the smashed bank and coins inside and locked the flap.” (Ellison 327). The narrator is still hopeful for his life in Harlem despite his rough start in the city but he also is dragged down without his knowledge by the racial bank as well as the nonvisible assumptions put upon him. During the riot, he is assumed to be a thief aiding in the cause against white people because he is black. Without doing anything he was not supposed to, he still was judged unfairly by the color of his skin as well as his possession of the briefcase. “The dizziness left and I managed to stand, holding onto my briefcase, pressing a handkerchief to my head.” (Ellison 537). The participating rioters assumed that the briefcase was loot because they would not expect the narrator to have obtained it in the way he did or even for him to be a college-educated individual.
The briefcase served as a tie for the narrator between the life he had always dreamed of and the life he was now a part of. Inside of it were symbols of the life he had been leading that had led him up to where he was, he could never go back to the life he had before Harlem. Without cutting the symbolic tie between the two worlds, the narrator could never be free. “I stumbled in circles, blindly swinging the briefcase….turning and swinging blindly with briefcase and leg chain and hearing the gallop begin as I floundered helplessly…” The narrator is lost with the briefcase because it serves no purpose other than to remind him of what he does not wish to obtain, he no longer refers to it as his but instead, as its own being, showing that the life before is no longer really who he is. In order for the narrator to move on with his existence, he has to let go of what he had before which at the moment he does without realizing it by burning the contents of his briefcase. “Well, there was only one thing to do if I was to make a torch. I’d have to open my briefcase.” (Ellison 567). The action of setting ablaze his documentation of his journey he is cutting ties and becoming free. He is metaphorically and truly lighting a new path for his life.
In this novel, the motif of the briefcase is the physical embodiment of baggage. The narrator is weighed down by the constant prejudices put upon him by his peers and those who don’t even know him. Assumptions are made about him based on what he carries and what he does which is very similar to how people in today’s world are treated. Unknowingly the narrator is carrying the weight of opinions from others with him and by burning the symbols of his life, he is able to let go of those assumptions are starting over with a better understanding of the world he lives in. In conclusion, the briefcase in Invisible Man is a symbol of the narrator’s life as well as people in this modern era.
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