Post #2

   In the Invisible Man, the narrator receives a recommendation for a job position at Liberty Paints. While seemingly an opportunity on the surface, deep down Liberty Paint is as "dark" as the Empire State Building and Broadway. It is perhaps even darker. While not "invisible" yet, the narrator is still has an experience with racism in the work environment.

   One of the sources of the racism comes from the labor union at Liberty Paints. Once our narrator is introduced to this labor union, most of the members label him a "fink". They call him this because his superior, Mr. Brockway, is a long standing member and founder of the company who happens to be black. The labor union, which contains entirely white men, are trying to get Mr. Brockway removed from Liberty Paints. Racism is apparently a leading factor to the labor union's hatred over Mr. Brockway. Being met with heavy racism, the narrator feels uncomfortable working in Liberty Paints and feels the urge to quit the job.

(Face paint with white stretching out and covering the black paint that reveals a face.)

   Another form of racism occurs more subtly as a symbol. This is hinted at when the narrator is working on white paint. The narrator has to improve the quality of white paint by adding a substance known as dope. The dope resembles the black society in the eyes of white men. The narrator describes the dope as black and gives off a heavy stench which correlates to how whites view blacks in the story. When mixing the dope into the white paint, the dope seemingly vanishes. The vanishing represents the white society's efforts to get blacks to conform to their standards and views of blacks of the time. While refilling the dope container, the narrator accidentally deposits paint remover to the container which also happens to be black. The remover acts as a killer to the paint when mixing the two together. The hideous mixture acts like an interpretation for what the white society fears will happen if the black community is left unchecked. According to the company slogan, "If it's Optic White, it's the right white," or more accurately, "if you're white, you're right."