Mr. Norton’s Destiny

In class, we discussed how Mr. Norton and Mr. Dalton represent similar stock characters in the two novels. They believe they are contributing to Bigger’s and the Narrator’s “people” while they are practically doing the opposite. In Ellison’s Invisible Man, Mr. Norton is portrayed as a type of white god, who graces the campus with his presence, once or twice per year. He comes “bearing gifts” when he visits, as he is a wealthy donor and important contributor, and the Narrator compares him to St. Nicholas. As the reader learns in later chapters, it is of the utmost importance that these wealthy benefactors only see what they are meant to, never truly learning about the surrounding environment of the campus. The narrator, oblivious to this implicit rule, breaks it, in every way possible.

            “Will you promise to tell me my fate?” asked Norton. The narrator totally baffled by the question is surprised that he would ask such a thing. Why would it be important to Norton that the Narrator succeed? Norton has already acquired fame and prestige, but he claims that he desires to be like the founder of the college, who “had tens of thousands of lives dependent upon his ideas and upon his actions.” He claims that the Narrator is important because if he fails, then Norton will have failed by one individual. “But you don’t even know my name,” is one of the most telling lines of this passage. While going on and on about his fate, Norton doesn’t even realize that in front of him is sitting an individual, with his own dreams and aspirations. Norton views him as part of a greater whole, which is his destiny.

            Not only has Norton failed to acknowledge the individuality of his “test subjects”, but he also does absolutely nothing to encourage them to journey the “correct” paths. While he stresses the importance that the Narrator have a productive future, he isn’t willing to put in the work to make that possible. He visits the college once or twice a year, but only witnesses the show that is put on for him. He doesn’t assist students with their studies or talk to the Narrator about his interests. All of this is of no importance to him. The only thing that matters is his own fate.

            The vet describes the situation to Norton in very earnest terms saying, “to you he is a mark on the score-card of your achievement, a thing and not a man; a child, or even less - a black amorphous thing. Mr. Norton leaves hurriedly with Narrator, not just because he is confused and outraged by what the vet is saying, but due to the fact that he has realized that there is truth in what he has said. Similarly, the Narrator seems to begin to question some of his beliefs about the system and the “way of things”. He quickly stops this train of thought, by telling himself that the vet is mentally unstable and doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Instead of changing his entire worldview, the Narrator protects his false ideology and the “veil” before his eyes remains firmly in place.

            Although we haven’t reached the point in the novel where we can definitively say what the Narrator’s “destiny” is, and therefore what Norton’s fate is, we do have a pretty clear idea of what he has become, from the prologue. Would Norton be pleased that the narrator is draining power to light thousands of light bulbs, just to see how many he can fit in his small abode? Probably not, but the question really should be, is the Narrator is happy with his personal identity and who he has become, which Norton obviously failed to ask.