Perception
In both Native Son and Invisible Man , perception plays a critical role in the development of the plot and characters, and through this, ultimately displaying the profound and perpetual effects of racism. In Native Son , there are several moments when Bigger uses others’ demeaning perceptions of him to his own advantage. He uses it to avoid suspicion and to carefully craft his cover-up story. Similarly, as the narrator of Invisible Man begins to become more and more self-aware, his understanding of others’ perceptions of him plays a big part in the way he acts. The narrator is constantly calculating how the implications of a certain event may affect his image. However, while Bigger uses the negative perception (specifically the false perception of black people being unintelligent) of black people to his advantage, the narrator of Invisible Man wants to break the stereotypical lens through which black people are looked upon, and instead build himself what he thinks of as a more...