Nor is my invisibility exactly a mater of a biochemical accident to my epidermis. That invisibility to which I refer occurs because of a peculiar disposition of the eyes of those with whom I come in contact. A matter of the construction of their inner eyes, those eyes with which they look through their physical eyes upon reality. I am not complaining, nor am I protesting either. It is sometimes advantageous to be unseen, although it is most often rather wearing on the nerves. Then too, you're constantly being bumped against by those of poor vision. Or again, you often doubt if you really exist. You wonder whether you aren't simply a phantom in other people's minds. Say, a figure in a nightmare which the sleeper tries with all his strength to destroy. It's when you feel like this that, out of resentment, you begin to bump people back. And, let me confess, you feel that way most of the time. You ache with the need to convince yourself that you do exist in the real world, that you're a part of all the sound and anguish, and you strike out with your fists, you curse and you swear to make them recognize you. And, alas, it's seldom successful."
-the beginning of Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Ralph Ellison is brillant and the Invisible man is spellbinding. I think this passage is replica of W.E.B DuBois's magnum opus The Souls of Black Folk (1905)that introduced the concept of double consiousness into the discourse of blackness in America. You may be familar with the quote from his essay, Of Our Spiritual Strivings:
ReplyDelete"After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world,—a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.
The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife,—this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He would not Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa. He would not bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message for the world. He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face..."
The Souls is an amazing text of great philosophical, historical and cultural importance. It influenced the direction of art, music, and American culture in the early Harlem Reniassance era and was a strong influence on the political thought of organizations such a NAACP and Club Women movement. Of all of Dubois books The Souls is the most loved and cherished and still remain a central text in African America studies.
Thanks Safa. The Souls of Black Folk is next on my list in sha Allah :)
ReplyDeleteThe concept of double consciousness is so deep and I think so relevant to what a lot of Muslims are struggling with - we have so much resources and insights to tap into from Du Bois and others. :)