When you examine the inner workings of a machine, you don't see each individual cog as separate, but as an essential part of a larger system. The gears of the gear move in such a way that losing one of them would cause the entire machine to fail. This concept of mechanics lays the foundation for many issues touched upon in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. The imagery of the machine emerges in two conversations with men the narrator may idolize, although he – the invisible man – does not realize it at the time. The first of these conversations is with the veteran, while the second is with Lucius Brockway. While the two may not be considered "main characters", they both play a crucial role, or as two cogs in the Invisible Man's system. Although one focuses more literally on machinery than the other, both men have similar ideas about the topics they inadvertently discuss. Both discussions pave the way for the awakening of the storyteller and the realization of his enjoyment among the general public; the awareness that the narrator is a cog in civilization. Within Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, the invisible man's various interactions with people regarding machines allow him to gain knowledge regarding the workings of society; this allows him to progress from an invisible "mechanical man", to a man who implements his newfound awareness to embrace the power of his invisibility. The metaphor of machines enters the story early, as in the third chapter the narrator meets a veteran who claims to have graduated from the same college the narrator currently attends, as well as being a doctor. At the same time, the veteran is institutionalized, which demonstrates the public's resistance to a free-thinking black man - or specifically white supremacy... middle of paper... near death, the invisible man finds solace in his invisibility and understands his place in humanity (Ellison 4). Instead of publicly fighting – whether verbally or physically – against his treatment as a machine by white supremacists or submitting to the characterization of a cog in a machine, the invisible man forges his own way of dealing with people. In ways such as stealing electricity from the Monopolated Light & Power Company, the narrator not only respects the company, but is also able to get his “revenge” in a sense (Ellison 7). Realized through the symbolism of machines, the invisible man is able to not only understand the mechanisms of civilization, but is also able to use this information and his newly understood free will to organize how he is perceived by others. Works Cited Ellison, Ralph. The invisible man. New York: Vintage International. 1995. Print.