Dr. Blesdoe is a Hypocrite!

As I began reading Invisible Man, I quickly noticed a certain character, Dr. Blesdoe. Dr. Blesdoe is the president of the university that the narrator attends and is a greatly respected individual in this society. In the beginning, the narrator views Dr. Blesdoe as a role model he aspires to become. He even states that Dr. Blesdoe “was the example of everything I hoped to be: Influential with wealthy men all over the country, consulted in matters concerning the race; a leader of the people; the possessor of not one, but two Cadillacs, a good salary and a soft, good-looking and creamy complexioned wife” (101). In my opinion, Dr. Blesdoe seems a bit superficial probably due to his possessions and immense power. As I read more of the novel, I realized the true nature of Dr. Blesdoe. Dr. Blesdoe is a hypocrite! He is a conniving, selfish, and ambitious individual who will take extreme measures to maintain his status and power. We get a first glimpse of Dr. Blesdoe’s true nature when he learns that the narrator took Mr. Norton to the slave- quarter section. Dr. Blesdoe gets extremely angered by this fact that he passionately exclaims to the narrator, “Haven’t you the sense God gave a dog? We take these white folks where we want them to go, we show them what we want them to see.” (102). His revelation reveals his superficial and insincere character. He is basically admitting that he is acting to be someone else in order to get what he wants. He even has this ability to put on a mask to conceal his inner emotions. He acts as a wise leader of the African- American race when in reality he is not.  Therefore, he is a hypocrite. He is secretly a manipulative person which the narrator catches on. For example, the narrator states that Dr. Blesdoe “demanded that everyone attend” these chapel meetings which focused on inciting hope for the college students (115). It is later inferred that Dr. Blesdoe forces this activity on his students to appear as an individual who believes in them. In reality, Dr. Blesdoe manipulates this meeting in order to prove to the white leaders that he is a powerful and intelligent man. He doesn’t care about the students. He even says, “I’ll have every Negro in the country hanging on tree limbs by morning if it means staying where I am” (141).  What kind of person says these kinds of horrible things? Can you imagine what the narrator must feel when his role model bluntly says this to him? I greatly dislike Dr. Blesdoe because he is a liar who even lies to himself. He decides to ignore the world around him in order to advance himself in the power hierarchy. He has no intention of helping the African- American students because apparently he is “the king down here” who cannot be stopped (141). He seriously needs to get over himself. I hope Dr. Blesdoe gets what he deserves.