The Invisible Man Character Analysis - 1150 Words

H.G wells and Joyce Carol Oates utilize negative emotions of their characters in order to showcase the complexities of their motives. Griffin, the protagonist of the book The Invisible Man, is egotistical and selfish, but this is just his outer emotions. Throughout the story there are hints at a complex background behind the famed invisible man that contribute to the reason for his erratic behavior. This is the same with the Arnold Friend, the main antagonist for Wells short story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? For instance there are suggestions about Friend’s self hate of his appearance and actions. Therefore this might provide a reason for his unstable personality. Under circumstances like these, Wells and Oates are both able†¦show more content†¦Friend yearns to be the dominant figure and control his surroundings ,and he tries to dress and look like a man that every girl would like. Striving to become someone else, he changes himself â€Å"His whole fa ce was a mask† â€Å" He plastered make-up on his face† (Oates 6) this indicates that he resents his actual self and feels self-condemnation. Ellie is the representation of what Friend really looks like and how he really is. Arnold tries to fulfill his wish of becoming a modern masculine ideal but Ellie is always with him representing the unfavorable traits of himself. Ellie gets verbally abused â€Å"I toldja shut up,Ellie† â€Å"Don’t mind him, honey, he’s just a creep† and this represents the self hate that Arnold feels. With the realization of what he’s doing and Arnold’s progressing guilt Ellie becomes increasingly more vocal. Friend tells him to shut up and calls him slurs that represent himself and his personality. There are indications that Ellie is the representation of Friends dark thought and insecurities. For example Ellie possesses unpleasant characteristics â€Å" face of a forty year-old baby† and these t raits contrasts with the the ideal Arnold Friend aspires to be. He may also portray Friends inner darker conscience that in addition gives Friend the dark thoughts that attribute to kidnapping Connie through force such as â€Å"cutting her phone-cord.† Arnold is ashamed of Ellie and resents him because he representsShow MoreRelatedInvisible Man Character Analysis1760 Words   |  8 Pagesmoment in the text, if they ever physically make an appearance at all. It is the comical distortion of their nonexistent or brief physical occurrence in the text that demands a closer examination and analysis of the character to the text as a whole. Ralph Ellison fabricated such a character in Invisible Man, famously known by all of Harlem as Rinehart. Rinehart never physically appears in the novel, and is only known to both the reader and the narrator for his various reputations. 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