Generations from now, the world will be a completely different place. Only a few decades ago, computers were invented and represented a new technology for the future. Now, society cannot survive a day without modern technology. Similarly, Invisible Man (IM) in Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man builds on his past to become the character he ends up becoming towards the end of the novel. A character who contains external conformity but asks questions internally would be IM, as he is dealing with a lost identity as well as being manipulated by the other characters around him due to his invisibility throughout the proceedings of this novel. These themes of manipulation and identity seeking are demonstrated throughout the novel with an increasing tension between outward conformity and internal questions about MI, as well as establishing the book's meaning that identities can be established by the environment one lives in . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay At the beginning of the novel it seems that IM has a sense of knowing where he is going in life, but as the novel progresses, IM becomes uncertain of his future and there is a growing tension between outward conformity and internal questions. Instant messaging is constantly manipulated throughout the novel and he does not seem to realize how the members of society around him actually treat him. At the beginning of the book, I.M. receives the "state college scholarship for Negroes" which he sees as a major turn of events by the battle royal in retrospect of his future, but the college scholarship will only cause I.M. be manipulated more. and more as time goes by (Ellison, 32). IM's excitement does not accurately reflect the turn of events that will unfold, as it will lead down paths that will ultimately not prove positive for IM's future. IM's scholarship to the Negro college will evidently enable him to meet Mr. Norton, whom he will have to show around for the week he visits the college. During the week of taking Mr. Norton around, I.M. is asked to take Mr. Norton to Trueblood, where Trueblood explains his life story and Mr. Norton seems mesmerized by the story he tells. IM respectfully follows everything that is happening, but when IM reflects to himself on the situation and how Trueblood has essentially hypnotized Mr. Norton with the traumatizing nature of his story, he states "...but he was listening to Trueblood so intently that he didn't I couldn't see myself and sat down again, silently cursing the farmer. To hell with his dream! to demonstrate his frustration (Ellison, 57). he is manipulated when he is unknowingly expelled from college and sent to Harlem with seven letters Since IM believes that he will be sent to look for work outside of college to complete it and once he finishes he will return to college, IM believes that the letters that Dr. Bledsoe attached. they should help IM get this job However, once IM realizes that he was manipulated into being sent to Harlem after meeting with Mr. Emerson's secretary, IM feels trapped and like he doesn't know who he is or. will become in the future. The letter states: "I beg you, sir, to help him continue in the direction of that promise which, like the horizon, always moves brightly and distantly beyond the hopeful traveler" to makebouncing IM from college and into working class Harlem (Ellison, 191) . IM doesn't know how he could have done anything wrong to get expelled from college, but he complies with the expulsion and continues to find work in Harlem. However, I.M. never did anything to get expelled, Dr. Bledsoe manipulated I.M.'s weak ability to recognize the situation around him and forces him to leave college, as Dr. Bledsoe knows that if I.M. were to stay in college, eventually it could change the future of African American civilization, which no one except IM wants to happen. I.M. realizes that Dr. Bledsoe has been manipulating him and tries to get a job somewhere, so that he can at least continue living there, as he has nothing to return to. Once I.M. begins working in the paint factory and is knocked unconscious due to the explosion, he is manipulated back into his temporary vegetal state. IM was lobotomized without consent, as the factory hospital needed someone to test the electroshock treatment on. After being lobotomized, the man in black asks IM some questions, such as "WHAT... IS... YOUR... NAME?" and “WHO…ARE…YOU?” to see if the lobotomy had been successful (Ellison, 240). IM's lobotomy shows how vulnerable he was to the society around him, so vulnerable that he was lobotomized without anyone asking him, and IM never seems to question it. This proves the fact that IM was still trying to figure out who he would be in the future, but lobotomizing him most likely ruined his future plans but set him on a path of discovering the world around him. Evidently, IM joins the Brotherhood after living with Mary, and the Brotherhood manipulates him into working for them, when at the end of the novel IM realizes what the Brotherhood is actually trying to accomplish, which is to take advantage of IM to gain their rights. to his advantage, IM became very distressed. IM externally conformed to the brotherhood, Dr. Bledsoe, and many other characters, while internally questioning whether or not he should conform, as well as internally questioning his true identity. As demonstrated through IM In life in the South and North, one's identity can be created based on the environment in which one lives, whether internal questions and external conformity present great tensions or not. IM was already feeling a strong tension between internal questions and external conformity, so when he was forcibly lobotomized, he was forced into a new identity based on his surroundings. This is evident as IM couldn't even answer questions like "WHAT IS YOUR MOTHER'S NAME?" and "WHO WAS YOUR MOTHER?" however, even if his lobotomy had not taken place, he would not have been able to answer the question "WHO...ARE...YOU?" because he had not learned his true identity (Ellison, 240, 241). Since IM would not have been able to answer the question of who he was regardless of whether the lobotomy took place or not, the question still represents a turning point in the story as IM sees that he can change his identity to whatever he wants . to be, even if it will evidently be imposed on him. After the lobotomy takes place, IM is taken to Mary, where he learns his new identity based on how Mary treats him, as she wants IM to be whoever he wants to be and knows that IM will do something beneficial for the African American . civilization at one point or another, or so he thought. Once I.M. gives the speech to try to save the elderly couple from eviction, he is called out for coffee and cake with one of the fraternity members, where he is manipulated into.