David Horowitz Period 7 Quinn Invisible Man Themes 1) Balancing social and personal responsibility The central problem the narrator encounters throughout his life deals with the balance between social and personal responsibility. The public and private self of a black man come into continual conflict. Most often, the personal nature of the man is forced to give up his morals and or family values in order to present himself in better light to the white society. Trueblood …showed first 75 words of 760 total…

…showed last 75 words of 760 total…Man responds with this question, "Why couldn't he leave them alone?" (50). It presents the idea of the "white man's burden" and its unwelcome reaction. Bledsoe becomes outraged at the Invisible Man for not recognizing the struggle of the black man. "He ordered you. Dammit, white folk are always giving orders, it's a habit with them. Why didn't you make an excuse?…You're black and living in the South - did you forget how to lie?" (139)