Sex and Power in the Prologue, Chapters 1 & 2

The Prologue
Power in the prologue of Invisible Man is easy to find. The Invisible Man beats up a white man, almost killing him, in an attempt to gain some sort of power over him. He says, "...and I yelled, 'Apologize! Apologize!' But he continued to curse and struggle..." Any fight is a struggle for power, and this one perfectly encapsulates this motif in Invisible Man. 

Sex in the prologue is a little harder to find, but it is there. During the dream sequence on page 9, the narrator describes a scene, "...and beneath that lay a still lower level on which I saw a beautiful girl the color of ivory pleading in a voice like my mother's as she stood before a group of slaveowners who bid for her naked body..." This moment appears to be something of a precursor the stripper who shows up in chapter one, as they are both white women who are being taken advantage of by white men, and they might even be the same person.

Chapter One
Power shows itself in chapter one in the form of the white men. Everything they do throughout the chapter radiates the power and influence that they have. Later in the chapter, however, the Invisible Man has a moment where he attempts to take back the power from the white men. He says, "I feared the [electrified] rug more than I feared the drunk, so I held on, surprising myself for a moment by trying to topple him upon the rug." This small moment is an incredible power struggle, because this white man is taking part in torturing the Invisible Man, and for a moment the Invisible Man tries to take power from the white man by turning the torture upon him.

Sex shows itself incredibly quickly as the chapter begins. A stripper dances for the entertainment of the white men and the horror of the black boys who watch her. The Invisible man takes almost a whole page to describe her. He says at the end of his description, "I wanted at one and the same time to run from the room, to sink through the floor, or to go to her and cover her from my eyes and the eyes of the others with my body...I had a notion that of all in the room she saw only me with her impersonal eyes." The Invisible Man is obviously attracted to her, but he shouldn't be, isn't allowed to be according to the rules of society, because she is white and he is black.

Chapter Two
Power in chapter two takes the face of two people: Dr. Bledsoe and Mr. Norton. They both wield power over the Invisible Man in two different ways. When the Invisible Man burps while driving the car for Mr. Norton, he immediately worries about the repercussions of an incredibly natural actions. "'I'm awfully sorry, sir,' I said, worried lest he report me to Dr. Bledsoe, the president, who would refuse to allow me to drive again." The Invisible Man fears the figures of power in his life and the control they have over him.

Sex is once again quite obvious in this chapter. Jim Trueblood raped his daughter, simple as that, and Mr. Norton wanted to do the same to his daughter before her death. Mr. Norton demands Jim tell his story this way, "'You did and are unharmed!' he shouted, his blue eyes blazing into the black face with something like envy and indignation." Mr. Norton desired to commit the greatest sin with his daughter, but did not, while Jim did, and got out unscathed. Mr. Norton is jealous of Jim for the sexual sin he was able to commit, the power he had that Mr. Norton did not.