Stereotypes are an integral part of everyone's life. Humans, by nature, categorize things. We name animals and classify them according to common characteristics, but stereotypes can have negative repercussions, and everyone does them. In a recent study, it was proven that everyone has an unconscious need to stereotype (Paul). In Juneteenth and The Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison argues that stereotypes can cause chaos by making people what they are not. People are forced by society's views to be something they are not. The Invisible Man is forced by society to be a well-behaved boy, even after treating him like black trash by calling him a "nigger" and forcing him to strip, along with other boys of his age, in front of them. Then, when he had to give a speech, the same men moments later called him "the smartest boy we have in Greenwood." (The Invisible Man p.29). Even the Invisible Man's grandfather's last words told him to adapt to society. He said to “overcome them with yeses, to undermine them with smiles, to agree with them to the point of death and destruction” (The Invisible Man p.16) because when he could have been what society wanted him to be, they lost something. But he knew it was wrong and even though he knew that all this time he was "carrying out his advice against my will." And to make matters worse, everyone loved me for it. (The Invisible Man p.16). Society tried to force all black people to act this way, so when they saw him act exactly like they thought he should, they praised him, trying to make sure he would never act differently. In Juneteenth, Reverend Hickman is used as a symbol of black society. Hickman uses Bliss, the little white boy, to show everyone that black people can lift a piece of paper about his grandfather and what his grandfather said to him right before he died, and how the he invisible man has finally given up and sees what the world has taken from him, a part of himself that he can never get back, which is depicted when the brotherhood "came forward with a knife...and they took... two of the bloody drops and threw them over the bridge” (The Invisible Man p.569). When people change to fit in, they lose something of themselves that they can never get back, no matter how hard they try. Works Cited Ellison, Ralph. The invisible man. New York: Vintage International, 1995. Print. Ellison, Ralph, John F. Callahan, and Charles Johnson. Juneteenth: a novel. New York: Random House, 1999. Print. Paul, Anne M. “Where Prejudice Begins: The Truth About Stereotypes.” Psychology today: health, help, happiness + Find a therapist. Psychology Today, May 1, 1998. Web. April 16. 2014.