The Significance of the grandfather's advice in Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

One of the most important quotes in Invisible Man are the instructions the grandfather gives to the narrator at the beginning of the novel. He tells the narrator, "Son, after I'm gone I want you to keep up the good fight. I never told you, but our life is a war and I have been a traitor all my born days, a spy in the enemy's country ever since I give up my gun back in the Reconstruction. Live with your head in the lion's mouth. I want you to overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em with grins, agree 'em to death and destruction, let 'em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open...Learn it to the younguns". The narrator uses his grandfather's words as a guideline for his actions in the rest of book. The grandfather wants the narrator to wear a facade in which he acts as if he agrees with the whites while internally he retains his resentment for them. The grandfather calls himself a traitor because he becomes blinded by what the whites tell him. However there is no definite right or wrong and it remains ambiguous throughout the novel whether the grandfather’s words are the best way to combat inequality. The grandfather believes that in order for blacks to progress, they need support from the whites but that they shouldn’t become blinded by the vision of the whites. The whites mask their true intentions by appearing to be helping the blacks so the blacks must do the same to no become manipulated. The narrator is given similar advice by the vet later in the novel who says to him, “Come out of the fog, young man. And remember you don’t have to be a complete fool in order to succeed. Play the game, but don’t believe in it – that much you owe yourself”. The invisible man is conflicted on whether he should follow his father’s advice. The narrator says that “The old man’s words were like a curse” which connotes that the words were a burden and a standard he had to live up to rather than something he wanted to live by. As a result of following the advice, the narrator becomes invisible and unable to affect his surroundings. His invisibility protects him from being attacked by whites because they believe his views align with theirs; however in doing so he loses his own individuality. His grandfather’s words plague him as he is trying to find his own identity. The narrator says that “When I discover who I am, I’ll be free” which suggests that he feels confined within his invisibility and lack of identity because it leads to stagnation. In the brotherhood for example, he becomes a cog in a machine. Brother Jack tells the narrator, “You’re a soldier now, your health belongs to the organization” which suggests that the narrator must sacrifice his own individuality in order to progress the goals of the brotherhood and that within the brotherhood he is just a body that they use to get tasks done.