Liberty Paints In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man

In the novel Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison uses the contrasting yet connected settings of Liberty Paints plant, the Brotherhood, and the underground sewer to communicate that becoming a self-actualizing human being, or the Emersonian “Man Thinking,” involves being proactive and contributing to society in order to break free of the stereotypes that society confines one to. However, how successful a person is in doing this is dependent upon whether he or she is part of the dominant culture (white) or subordinate (non-white) culture. Although this task may be painstaking, one must not let racism and society’s prescribed roles limit his or her individual complexity. Ellison uses the setting of the Liberty Paints plant to portray how hard it is for the narrator to realize his identity because of the deceit of society. Immediately, we see the irony in the name “Liberty Paints.” The word liberty is often used to mean freedom and justice for all; however, the narrator is constantly being oppressed by the preconceived notions of identity placed on him along with
Initially, the narrator sees the Brotherhood, which is led by whites, as a way to discover his own identity and as a way to be recognized in society. However, this organization gives the narrator a very false sense of identity. This is seen when Brother Jack gives him the white envelope with his “new identity” and tells him to “start thinking of yourself by that name from this moment.” The narrator, then, is tricked into thinking that he is actually becoming a “Man Thinking” when he embraces this false identity – he is caught in the grand scheme of the Brotherhood which involves sacrificing individuality for equality. This is yet another example of the concealed dishonesty of society and its success in stripping away of