Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews June 10, 2023 June 3, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
Broadly speaking, the antagonist of Invisible Man encompasses the entire racist society in which the narrator lives. Anti-Black racism is so pervasive that nearly everyone the narrator encounters seems like an enemy, whether they are white or Black. Consider the opening chapter, when the narrator finds himself involved in a battle royal. The white elites who arrange the battle royal are the narrator’s obvious foes. Yet the event itself places him in direct competition with several other Black boys his own age, turning those who should be allies into enemies. Elsewhere in the novel, Ellison makes it clear that whites in positions of authority have the most power over the narrator’s livelihood. Even in the Brotherhood, an organization supposedly devoted to uplifting Black men, gatekeeping by the leadership works to disempower the narrator and other Black “Brothers.” But the narrator also finds enemies in many Black characters. He feels ashamed of Jim Trueblood, whom he considers an embarrassing stereotype of poor Southern Black people. He spars with Lucius Brockway, the aging engineer at Liberty Paints who feels threatened by the narrator’s presence. He even feels disillusioned with Mary when he finds a racist coin bank in her apartment.
Although the world at large represents the main antagonist of the novel, several specific characters emerge as the narrator’s most concrete and urgent enemies. The first major antagonist to arise in the book is Dr. Bledsoe, the president of the narrator’s college. When Dr. Bledsoe mercilessly expels him, the narrator realizes that the man is more concerned with protecting his reputation among the college’s white donors than with supporting his Black students. The next major antagonist to appear is Brother Jack, one of the leaders of the Marxist-Leninist organization known as the Brotherhood. Despite his initial support, it eventually becomes clear that Brother Jack thinks of the narrator as little more than a pawn in a larger political game. Another major antagonist is the West Indian immigrant Ras the Exhorter, who preaches Black nationalism. When he fails to convince the narrator of the Brotherhood’s treachery, Ras turns against him and declares him an enemy of all Black people. Ras’s declaration proves somewhat prophetic. Indeed, the narrator eventually comes to see himself as so awash in the racist crosscurrents of society that he ended up betraying his own people. This realization leads him to retreat from the world.
Please wait while we process your payment