Coming Out Of The Vast Fog And Searching For The True Existence

Through the analysis of the hero's search for his true existence in Invisible Man by employing Sartrean existential theories, this thesis intends to reveal the individual's persistent pursuit of his own worth and the sense of meaning. The hero, known as the invisible man in the novel, is an African American. He experiences his existential predicaments in the context of the anti-black racism in postwar America. For this reason, he feels anguished, despairing and lonely. But instead of being resigned to his tragic fate, he gains his freedom and assumes his responsibility for everything he does by overcoming his sufferings and transcending the vicious conditions. Thus, by going out of the nothingness of existence, he finds his true self. And his journey exactly bears a marked brand of Sartrean existentialism.My thesis consists of two chapters. In the first chapter, the thesis explores the invisible man's invisible existence by employing Sartre's "being-in-itself, "self-deception", and "the Other". In the second chapter it explores the invisible man's visible existence by employing Sartre's "being-for-itself', "freedom" and "responsibility". Before the invisible man awakens, he originally exists on the level of "being-in-itself as a spiritual slave. This mode of being, says Sartre, is "the mode of being of matter, which is not in any sense free and responsible." Existing in this way, the invisible man doesn't know he is entitled to the freedom of making choices and taking actions. Instead, he defines himself according to other people' views and tries to fulfill their expectations. Therefore, the invisible man's being is an inert and simple one as an object. Keeping him in this way, the invisible man believes innocently that if he worked very hard, he would have achieved his personal success. Thus, he falls in the self-deceptive state of mind. "Self-deception", in Sartre's opinion, is to "conceal the truth from himself and it is what it is not." Thus, the invisible man conceals the racist reality from himself and escapes into self-deception, believing that he will uplift himself with his humility and hard work. However, the facts turn out that he is only an invisible man whom other people refuse to see. For "the Other", he is only an object, a tool exploited for other people's ends. Therefore, deprived of his individual humanity, the invisible man is reduced to an object. After experiencing this dehumanized life, he finally awakens. Then, after encapsulating his past experiences the invisible man resolves to define himself according to his free will. Thus, he converts his "being-in-itself to "being-for-itself. And this being, according to Sartre, is "a sense of free and responsible." In this way, "man becomes what he makes of himself through his free choices and decisions." Therefore, transcending his sufferings, the invisible man gains freedom and assumes the responsibility for everything he does. In this way, he comes out of the vast fog and finally finds his own worth and true existence.