Invisible Man- Analysis and thoughts

One of the most intriguing characters in this novel is Mary Rambo. Mary Rambo stood for so much. She was a motherly figure to the narrator, providing him with food, shelter, acceptance, and pushing him to strive to be the best he could be.

Mary was the first person that the narrator felt a connection to. She seemed to like him for who he was, and even if she did not always understand him and his ways, she was always there to support him. Mary trusts the narrator, and expects him to make something of himself. She never expects anything from him, and even lets him stay in her house when he is not able to pay the rent. Mary would rather see to it that he is kept warm, dry and full, than out in the streets cold and hungry.

Mary Rambo is also an allusion to the Virgin Mary. While the most obvious connection is their names, the tie goes further. They both showed kindness to others and the ability to put the wants and needs of people before their own. Mary Rambo and the Virgin Mary were both extremely trusting people, for they both trusted other people and believed in the help of angels. Another similarity between these two women is their want to help, but their inability to fully understand the extent of the situation around them. Mary Rambo wanted to help the narrator, but she was incapable of doing so because she did not see the world the same light as he did. She could not comprehend, or did not want to comprehend, the problems that their race was facing. Because she could not do this, he was unable to fully communicate with her and bond on a deeper level and so had to leave her before he ruined the innocence that she had. The Virgin Mary, on the other hand, did not always understand the actions of her son, Jesus. She could not see the bigger picture and wanted him to remain her son forever. She did not want him to travel off and leave her behind, she wanted to be there and protect him, like every mother should. She could not see that her son was part of a bigger plan, and when he left her, she could not understand. But he had to leave, he had to continue the course that he was destined to take, much like the narrator, and he had to learn to leave some people behind in order to help the people as a whole.

Mary's last name is also important Rambo=Sambo. Sambo was the doll that Clifton had at the end of the novel, representing prejudice and degrading stereotypes of the black race. The doll represents a stereotypes power to control the actions of others, manipulating the movements and range of motion of the person. Mary was manipulated by society. She was made to believe that nothing was wrong, but if she was just to throw away this veil, she would have seen that everything as not OK and that something had to be done. While Mary was very courteous and friendly to the narrator, she was controlled by society and so could never understand his actions and so was of no help to him. If anything, his presence was a risk for her, since he was involved in so many 'battles' with other speakers in the city.

I found the Invisible Man to be a very long book. Now don't get me wrong, I am a fan of large books, but this one was just so bogged down by motifs, symbols and allusions that reading it became much like a chore to me. Overall I did like the book, it wasn't that hard to follow which made dealing with all the symbols a bit easier. To me, it just seemed like so many symbols were packed into this novel that it was very hard to discuss because everything could be picked apart and you could spend one period going over half a page. Getting past these things, the novel itself was not bad. Although this is probably not a book that i would pick out for a read on my own time, i believe that it has a good message and deserves to be read.