Invisible Man: Prologue Summary & Analysis

An unnamed narrator introduces himself as an “invisible man.” He says that he is a real man of flesh and bone, and that he possesses a mind. He also states that he is invisible “simply because people refuse to see me.”

The narrator elaborates on his invisibility. He indicates that it is not a physical defect of his own, but rather a mistake of the “inner eye” of others. There is something flawed in the way they perceive the world outside themselves. He also states that there are certain advantages to remaining unseen, although sometimes he doubts if he really exists.

The narrator recounts an anecdote: one night he bumped into a white man who cursed at him. Enraged, the narrator attacks him, head-butting him and demanding that he apologize. The other man continues to struggle, and the narrator nearly slits his throat. The narrator realizes that the man doesn’t even see him, and that he is like a nightmare to the man. The narrator runs off, unnerved but laughing.

The narrator notes that most of his action now is done softly, to not awaken the sleeping. In this way, he siphons off power from the electric company, using it to light his hideout for free. He tells us that he lives in a forgotten section of the basement of a whites-only building. He calls his home a “hole,” and compares himself to a bear in hibernation.

The narrator has lined every surface of his apartment with light bulbs to consume as much energy as possible. He says he needs the light because he is invisible, and that it “confirms my reality.” When he is alone, the narrator listens to Louis Armstrong, who has “made poetry out of being invisible.”

The narrator recounts an episode of listening to Louis Armstrong. He is accidentally given marijuana instead of a cigarette one night, and smokes it at home while he listens to music. The experience triggers a vision, where the narrator finds himself “hearing not only in time, but in space as well.” He is drawn down into the dream of the music.

In the vision, the narrator hears an old woman singing a spiritual, and then sees a fair-skinned woman being bid over by slave-owners. He then hears a passionate sermon being preached on the “Blackness of Blackness,” complete with call and response. The preacher emphasizes that black is “bloody” and that the sun is “bloody red.”

The narrator tears himself away from the sermon and encounters the old singer of spirituals he heard before. The woman tells him that she loved her white master, who fathered her sons, though she also hated him. They hear the woman’s sons laughing, and the woman explains that the master promised to free them but never actually did it. She admits that she poisoned her master to keep her sons from murdering their father.

The woman tells the narrator that she loved her master, but she loved freedom more. The narrator asks her what freedom is, but she tells him that she has forgotten and that “It’s all mixed up.” The woman becomes confused, and one of her sons appears and threatens the narrator for upsetting his mother. The son grabs him but lets him go. The music becomes thunderously loud, and the narrator thinks he hears Ras the Exhorter before coming out of the dream.

Back on the surface, the narrator hears Louis Armstrong singing the words of “Black and Blue.” The narrator realizes that the music demands action, although few really listen to its message. He also notes that he has now stopped smoking marijuana, as it “inhibits action.” He tells us that he believes in action, and that his hibernation is a preparation for “a more overt action.”

The narrator addresses the reader, sensing that the reader must find him irresponsible. He admits that he is, indeed, irresponsible, as someone would have to recognize him for him to have responsibility. He says he is not responsible for attacking the white man on the street, as the white man controls that “dream world” in which he has been made invisible. Finally, he asks the reader to “bear with him” while he explains how he got to this point.