In Invisible Man, Clifton is selling a Sambo doll to a crowd in Harlem after he disappears from the Brotherhood. The small doll is a racist representation of African-Americans, complete with big lips and dark skin. It is described as moving “up and down in an...infuriatingly sensuous motion” (431). As funny and harmless the doll may seem, this doll is one example of the oversexualiatization of black bodies, blindness to racism in popular culture, and societal indifference to commercial racism. Sambo is not just a doll. His “boneless bouncing” is not amusing (432). Sambo represents the oversexualization of black bodies because of his suggestive, revolting movements. The doll is gyrating its body, moving in an overly sexual way, representing how society perceives black people: as sexual creatures.
It is unsurprising to see what the narrator thinks after he sees the doll. His initial reaction is not to be angry with the racist doll, but to laugh. He says he “struggled between the desire to join in the laughter and to leap upon it with both feet” (432). It truly is difficult to be frustrated by something society wants all citizens, including blacks, to think of as funny.
The Sambo doll is a slightly less revolting version of the life of Saartjie Baartman. Also known as Sarah, she was sold into the circus during the 19th century because of her medical condition called steatopygia. Her large buttocks, breasts, and genitalia were put on display for Europeans to gawk at. Sarah was forced to fall to prostitution to support herself after she escaped. Although Sambo is not a living man, he still represents the scrutiny and ridicule many blacks receive because society looks at them as sexual beings, not as humans.
When the narrator exits his old office building and sees Clifton on the street selling the Sambo dolls, he feels disappointed. The narrator thinks about how Clifton, a man who was once a part of the brotherhood, could sink down the level of selling the Sambo dolls. A man who once took pride in his black community now sells dolls that represent the stereotypes of a black person-something he would have never done before. After seeing this happen and watching Clifton scurry once the police arrive at the scene, the narrator sees how much Harlem has changed now that the brotherhood has stopped helping. It strikes awe in the narrator's mind for what could have been if the organization had continued.
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