Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison, and the poem "I Too", by Langston Hughes, were both written by African American men who felt invisible to the world in their time period. Both of these pieces shed light on the treatment of African Americans in our country. Being able to read first hand accounts of how these men were treated in our society helps us discover one of the true meanings of invisibility. Ellison and Hughes were made invisible by the society that looked down upon them and made them nothing their entire lives.
             In the poem "I Too" the author, Langston Hughes, expresses that he is discriminated against because of his skin color. "I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes." This is why he is made invisible by the society. The society does not perceive him as a real person, nor do they care that he is too an American just as they are. He is invisible because he is different than they are, and that makes him unacceptable in public. Hughes is sent away to the kitchen and nobody cares about him. Hughes makes a point in saying at the end of his poem that he and his people will change the society. They are now getting stronger to fight the battle and then they will make others realize that they are just as good as the whites. "Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody will dare Say to me, 'Eat in the kitchen,' Then. Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed-I, too, am America."
             In the book Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison discusses the hardships of living as a black person in his time period. Towards the beginning of the book, the narrator meets an old veteran who tells him what he believes the meaning of invisibility to be.
             He has eyes and ears and a good distended African nose, but he fails to understand the simple facts of life. Understand. Understand? It's worse then that. He registers with his sen...