Refused+to+Be+Seen

Jacob Weiss __Invisibility: Refused to Be Seen__ To Ellison invisibility is defined by America’s refusal to see black people. It’s not that people are color blind, they simply “refuse to see” (3) black people. When people look at them they see “everything and anything except” (3) the black people that are standing right in front of them. Instead they only see their “surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination” (3). For example when the character in the __Invisible Man__ delivered his speech, barely anyone listened. Ellison stood in front of them bloodied and electrocuted; the majority of the men didn’t even notice. They sat there “still talking and laughing” (30), only a few listened. It was as though he was “deaf with cotton in dirty ears” (30). He was merely an act for them to laugh at, “Whenever I uttered a word of three or more syllables a group of voices would yell for me to repeat it” (30). He was just something for the white men to laugh at. He was invisible to the men in the room. They even knew that they were treating him as though he was invisible. When he said social equality, the laughter paused; he was out stepping his invisible boundaries. One of the white men made sure that he knew his place, “We mean to do right by you, but you’ve got to know your place at all times” (31). He is referring to the invisible, confined and silenced state of the black man. Even when his speech grants him a scholarship for state college, his dead grandfather quickly reminds him in a dream that he is still invisible. No great speech can concur the invisibility of the black man or the invisibility of any group of people.

In America, people with criminal records are invisible. Like black men in the __Invisible Man__, people refuse to see former inmates. After being released from jail, they are at a tremendous disadvantage in almost every aspect of society. When applying for a job, they must say that they have a criminal record. Their work output, intelligence and qualifications for any job are looked past because of their criminal record. It is their version of the “A” that Hester Prynne wore in __The Scarlett Letter__. They are hidden behind their record; it defines them, much like black people’s skin color in the 1900’s. They are seen as useless and below us. When people know that they are looking at a former inmate they refuse to see them. They don’t look at who they are, but rather, what they are. Only their label defines them, and thus, people look past them.

People with criminal records can only become visible if most applications didn’t ask if the applicant has a criminal record. That question alone, makes people with criminal records invisible. As a result of their record, they sometimes have difficulty in obtaining loans, are put on “no-fly” lists, cannot immigrate, lose their right to vote and struggle to find housing and a job. If the question isn’t asked, then people with criminal records are visible. But then again, society won’t allow this to happen in the near future because there are still people that see all former inmates as second-class citizens. Shouldn’t a punishment of years in jail away from family be enough?