Innocence and Delusional Optimism in Invisible Man

Having read the first half of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, we observe several situations during which our unnamed narrator exhibits unrealistic optimism with respect to the events leading up to and during his college life, resulting in multiple instances where the narrator appears disillusioned at times astonished by the harsh reality of how these events unfold. This optimism stems in part from the narrator's overwhelming, genuine desire to succeed and make something out of his life, which initially enables the him to receive a scholarship to college, but later provides fuel for the unrealistic "perfect world" scenarios which he so often envisions his future will provide. This notion of the narrator's unrealistic optimism first manifests itself during the Battle Royal scene in the first few pages of the book. We quickly learn what kind of character our narrator is, as Ellison delves deep into the narrator's reactions and thought process in response to the situation he is placed in. He seems to largely take adversity at face value, not really understanding the deeper meaning behind the mockery and exclamations of those around him, but instead appearing innocent and oblivious despite his attempts to portray himself as genuine and professional. This notion of delusional optimism is furthered during the first scene in New York, as despite the narrator just recently having been abruptly kicked out of his beloved college, he immediately dreams of his prosperous future and almost takes his return for granted. While the narrator's enthusiasm and ardor in matters of educational prestige act as the driving forces that cause the narrator to work so fervently at first, it is an excess of these forces that causes the narrator's plans to backfire, as they induce a sense of excessive optimism and inevitable greatness in the narrator, causing him to appear oblivious to the cruelty of the world around him and only strengthening the shock he feels when he finally snaps out of his delusions.

We observe the narrator's initial obliviousness during one of the first scenes of the book with the Battle Royal. The narrator is led to believe that he will be performing a speech in front of a multitude of local prosperous men in order to receive a scholarship and is told that some ambiguous event called the "Battle Royal" will be taking place beforehand which he is designated to fight in. Upon entering the Battle Royal and observing the boys who he is supposed to fight with, as well as the polished appearances the of men, the narrator immediately jumps to distinguish himself from the rest of the crowd: "I didn't care too much for the other fellows who were to take part. [...] And besides, I suspected that fighting a battle royal might detract from the dignity of my speech. [...] I felt superior to them in my way, and I didn't like the manner in which we were all crowded together into the servant's elevator" (17-18). The narrator stresses to make his distinction from the rest of the boys as clear as possible to the reader in this scene, a distinction which the wealthy spectators don't necessarily see or even care about. He feels that he is not here to fight, like all the other boys are, but is instead there to make his speech. Despite this, we can observe the beginnings of the narrator's obliviousness in this scene. While the narrator is correct is his analysis that partaking in such an activity will likely degrade from his ensuing speech, he is so preoccupied with the logistics of performing the speech itself that he fails to stop and even think about why an event such as the Battle Royal is taking place before his speech. Instead of understanding inconsequential nature of his speech and realizing that he is essentially being subject to a form of entertainment, the narrator focuses on appearing different from the rest of the boys, and indulges in his fantasy of delivering a perfect, attention-holding speech.

While the Battle Royal scene itself shows a significant ignorance, with respect to the situation at hand, of the narrator, we can observe the shocking extent of the narrator's delusional optimism and impracticality in visualizing his future when the narrator first arrives in New York following his expulsion from the college. The narrator is quick to reset and lose himself in an unrealistic future, one that involves him returning to the college in an honorable way: "Then my old confidence and optimism revived, and I tried to plan my time in the North. I would work hard and serve my employer so well that he would shower Dr. Bledsoe with favorable reports. And I would save my money and return in the fall full of New York culture. I'd be indisputably the leading campus figure" (156-157). Despite the gravity of recent events that have occurred, due to his unwavering ardor and love for the college, he immediately takes for granted the fact that New York will change him, and he will make a triumphant return to the college. Bledsoe never exactly made it clear to the narrator that he had any intention of letting him return, and we can see later that this is exactly the case, but even so he assumes this fact and carries on with his fantasies. The fact that the narrator can shrug off such devastating news as expulsion so quickly and turn immediately to planning his return back to the very same college shows the extent to which his excessive enthusiasm and unrealistic optimism have deluded him, as he fails to realize that the chances of his return, after what occurred, are slim to none. Because of the narrator's failure in this respect, the blow that he receives when Emerson shows him Bledsoe's letter is made all the more powerful.