Racial Stereotypes in Invisible Man and Huck Finn Essay

Throughout the years, racial stereotypes have played a major role in society. Even today, one combines racial stereotypes and prejudice thoughts before one even says a word to the person. Just seeing an African- American man while in a parking lot and pulling out ones phone, can be a simple example of modern-day racial stereotypes. Both novels illustrate the difficulty of overcoming racial stereotypes, while the narrator in The Invisible Man is invisible; Jim in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is identifiable. The narrator encounters racial stereotypes throughout the novel. He first encounters Tod Clifton selling Sambo dolls on the streets. Clifton is singing a jingle trying to promote the dolls: Shake it up! Shake it up!†¦show more content†¦The bank represents the white stereotype of a good slave, a slave who treasures every little coin. This racial stereotype even follows the narrator around even when he tries to throw away the bank; a person returns it to him. It is difficult for the narrator to overcome this degrading stereotype when he can’t even get rid of the bank. Because of these degrading symbols, the narrator feels invisible. These racial stereotypes depict how the white people believe African-Americans (including himself) should behave. He tries to fight the racial stereotypes created, but it just forces him to act counterfeit. Both of these symbolize show racial stereotypes that follow the narrator throughout the book. Ultimately, the narrator realizes because of racial stereotypes, people see him for how they want to see him; he decides to be invisible. During the battle royal scene, the black men, including the narrator, transform into the racial stereotype of a violent animal, â€Å"The boys groped about like blind cautious crabs crouching to protect their mid-sections, their heads pulled in short against their shoulders†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (23). The men don’t realize they are acting like servile savages because they are wearing blindfolds; they are blinded by the truth. In addition, when the African-Americans try to collect the fake coins on the electrified ground, again theyShow MoreRelated Examining Mark Twains Work to Determine If He Was Racist Essay4909 Words   |  20 Pagesdowntrodden and oppressed. The only example of potential racism is his treatment of the Goshoot Indians in Roughing It. The main body of his work points to innovative anti-racist themes. Even if one admits that Twain fosters some derogatory stereotypes labeling his work scabrous, unassimiable, and perhaps unteachable to our own time is shortsighted and revisionist. Even if Twain was racist the process of learning is supposed to combat backwards teaching from our past through exposition and discussion