The Invisible Man and the Pre-Created Identity Society forms definitions, or stereotypes, of people based on color of their skin, their economic status or where they happen to live. Stereotypes define how society believes these people should act and how they should be treated. These stereotypes are, in effect, a pre-constructed identity. There are three options that an individual faces when presented with this preconceived identity. The individual can accept this identity as their own. This would maximize the acceptance of individuals in society, but at a considerable cost. The individual would lose power, become exploitable, suppress and consequently lose their “true identity,” and then become one of many faces in the crowd. The “true identity” would be suffocated and strangled under the one imposed by society. Anger, frustration and confusion would occupy the individual's mind. The individual may reject this identity entirely and avoid the accumulation of anger and confusion, but not without consequences. This person may be labeled a heretic and be rejected by society. They would lose their agency and their legitimacy in society and lose all hope of bringing about change. The third option involves living a lie. On the surface the individual would embrace the identity of society, but keep his true self hidden on the inside. This option would allow the person to maintain their free will in society and their individuality. However, like the other two options, there is a downside. The person should constantly wear the mask that a particular community wants him to wear to conform to that community's ideals. It therefore becomes almost impossible for anyone to know the real person, hidden... in the middle of the paper... who has become invisible. Works cited and consulted Below, Saul. "Man Underground" review of the film Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. Comment. June 1952. December 1, 2001 Available: http://www.english.upeen.edu/~afilreis /50s/bellow-on-ellison.htmlEllison, Ralph. Going to the Territory. New York: Random House, 1986. Fabre, Michel. "In Precious by Ralph Ellison." Unpublished manuscript. 1996. November 30., 1988.