There are two types of illusions: optical and perceptual. Optical illusions are objects that are distorted due to the anatomy of the eye. Perceptual illusions are objects that are distorted due to the nature of the brain. A child hears a monster outside his window, but when the parent turns on the light, it turns out to be just a branch hitting the window. A survivor develops frostbite on her leg and a ranger must amputate it before she dies. After the amputation, the woman sees the leg separated from her body, but she can still feel it. Perceptual illusions are an unconscious form of self-protection, but too much protection can isolate an individual. In Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, the main character, a nameless and faceless black man, falls victim to the illusion that his identity is determined by others and thus cuts himself off from society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The Invisible Man is narrated by a character who recently discovers that he is invisible to others. The book is a memory of moments in his past before he realized his invisibility. From his adolescence in the South to a black college to political organizing on the streets of Harlem, the Invisible Man explains how the illusion began. He looks back on his life and realizes that he has only defined himself by how others see him. Throughout the book, the Invisible Man attempts to convince the reader that he is a victim of his illusion and that little can be done to prevent his invisibility. One of his earliest memories of invisibility is when he gives a speech to white leaders at an event called a Battle Royal. Once there, he realizes that the event is actually entertainment for wealthy white leaders. They urge black youth to fight against each other and throw money at the beaten boys. The Invisible Man reluctantly fights in hopes of reading his speech. When the whites tell him to read his speech, he is bloodied and bruised. He stammers words while the drunken white men mock him. At the end of the speech, he receives a scholarship to attend a Negro college and quickly forgets the pain he endured. The speech was about "social responsibility" and "equality", something he quickly regretted having said, which is ironic since he was among the men who asked him to put aside his nature by elsewhere peaceful. He explains that he never considered himself a fighter, but in the Battle Royal he becomes the stereotype of white people: an undereducated courtier. Because the Invisible Man has not developed the illusion that he is invisible, he recites his speech louder to the white men while they are drinking, and speaks as if they truly cannot hear his voice. The men only make more noise and laugh at the blood spurting from the boy's mouth. This scene is the birth of the illusion that one's identity is malleable. He believes he can submit to these men in order to succeed without neglecting his true self. The older Invisible Man recalls the scene stating that he was happy to have received the scholarship, proving that he still does not see reality. As the Invisible Man walks the streets of Harlem, he sees white men throwing away the belongings of an old black couple. the window of the apartment for which the couple could not pay the rent. The Invisible Man makes a speech about the event as it occurs and a man named Brother Jack asks him to join a political organization. Brother Jack promises him a new name, a past, clothes, a.