In Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison the anonymous narrator shows us, through the use of motifs such as blindness and invisibility and symbols such as women , the sambo doll and the painting plant, how racism and sexism negatively affect the social class and individual identity of oppressed people. Throughout the novel, the African American narrator tells us the story of his journey to succeed in life which is sabotaged by the white dominated society in which he lives. Throughout her journey, we are also shown how the patriarchy oppresses all the women in the novel. One of Invisible Man's major motifs is blindness. The first time we are shown blindness in the novel is during the "battle royal". The headbands that all the candidates wear symbolize how black society is blind to the way white society continues to demean them, despite the abolition of slavery. Our unnamed narrator attends the battle royale to deliver the graduation speech he had written. Upon arrival, the narrator says, "I was told that since I was going to be there anyway, I might as well participate in the battle royale that would be conducted by some of my classmates as part of the entertainment." (Ellison 17). Although the white men asked him to come to the battle royal in order to give his graduation speech, they make him participate in the battle royal, where the white men force the young black men to fight each other as a form entertainment for them. When black men put on their blindfolds to fight in this battle, they are blind, both figuratively and literally. They cannot see the people they are fighting against, just as they cannot see how white men exploit them for their own gratification. Another example of blindness used as a motif in Invisible Man is...... middle of paper ...I neither see nor hear nor feel the truth of what you see - and you, at the same time search for destiny! It's classic! And boy, this automaton, it's made of the very mud of the region and it sees much less than you. Poor stumblers, neither of you can see the other. For you, he is a mark on the scoreboard of your success, a thing and not a man; a child, or even less- a black and amorphous thing. And you, despite all your power, are not a man for him, but a God” (95). Here the veteran tells them both that they are blind to what is really happening in American society today. Mr. Norton, or the white man, is like God. And our narrator, the black man, is one of God's many followers who try to appease Him with everything they do. Ironically, the mentally disabled veteran, labeled stupid and crazy by society, is the only person who can see the truth; he is the only one who is not blind.