As one grows old, he or she gains maturity, knowledge and a sense of completeness. In the novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, the narrator goes through a series of events that molds and shapes him into the person he is by the end of the novel. It took him time, effort, and many setbacks to become that person. Our narrator goes through a “great migration” from the South to the North like so many other African Americans during the time the novel takes place, through his travels he goes through an extreme character development as he witnesses racism at its worst. He started as a timid naïve boy but after his travels he ended up finally being “free”. By the end of the book he finally understands the fact that life in America mainly consists of a color barrier between two colors; yet, he is still invisible, but no longer is he blind to reality. Ellison shows the narrators development through significant events within the novel as well as significant roles of characters. From the beginning of the novel our narrator has no identity, for this reason he is constantly influenced by others and with these influences he does not act the way he wishes to, hence the title of the novel. He confesses this in the quote: “My problem was that I always tried to go in everyone’s way but my own. I have also been called one thing and then another while no one really wished to hear what I called myself. So after years of trying to adopt the opinions of others I finally rebelled” (Ellison 573). In novel he is influenced by the ideas of his grandfather, the University he attends, and the characters Norton and Bledsoe. It was the words of his grandfather that shaped the philosophy in which the narrator believes and lives by in the beginning of the novel. His grandfather states: “overcome ‘em with yeses, undermine ‘em with grins, agree ‘em to death and destruction, let ‘em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open” (Ellison). It is this advice that makes the narrator think that is the only way to succeed in the world of white men, which ultimately made him naïve when it came to his interactions with white people. For example, author displays the narrator’s naïve and innocent ways as well as the blindness he has when it comes to racism in one significant event in Chapter one when the narrator attends “Battle Royal”. After being blindfolded and beaten and electrocuted the narrator accepts a scholarship after a speech he gave despite the white audience smart remarks throughout he accepted the award with great gratitude and honor.