I am an Introverted Man (meaningful book/event)

Let me say it is a rough rough draft. I originally wrote another of these essays for Columbia, and had it proof read and everything. Finalized, printed, complete. But as I red over it today, I simply hated it. So I wrote another one to replace it with. Here it is, and thank you to all editors.

Prompt: "Write about a book/cultural event/etc that had a meaningful effect on you." I wrote about "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison.

The Invisible and the Introvert
A laughing group of animals always stare at him. Him, as he swaggers in the boxing pit; him, as he is excommunicated from school; him, as he degenerates to poverty and exile; him, as he incites the unions and old-light black men; him, as he rises through the Brotherhood; him, as he feeds Rhineheart's enigmatic image; him, as he staggers through the Harlem riots. Only in a darkened sewer does he escape them and become invisible.

He is Ralph Ellison's narrator in "Invisible Man" and his odyssey to become visible seems to me as counterproductive. In acknowledging being invisible as he burns his documents in the sewers, the narrator shows how being invisible is useful. Being an introvert and invisible myself, I find the reclusive narrator by the end of the novel venerable and fantastic. I, like the narrator, have tried to be seen, and I have desperately tried to change myself. But with my own inevitable and continued failures to do so, I find the invisible man's overwhelming defeat to be corroborating to my own hopeless efforts.

I have no Ras the Exhorters, no Dr. Bledsoes, no Rhinehearts to distort and deter my image; but I have something just as real; my mental introversion. I create mental barriers that hinder me more-so than tangible people. Like the narrator, I have tried to defeat these demons, but I have failed, and so I stay invisible. And that is why I praise "Invisible Man". It justifies my failure, shows me how it is acceptable for me to continue as I am. Though I certainly live "one, yet many" lives in my introversion, I have come to understand myself. I can act freely as I am, and I do not need to mold to the extrovert to do so. I am me.

Hi :) This essay sounds pretty good. I can pick out a few things that you may want to revise.

Being an introvert and invisible myself, I find the reclusive narrator by the end of the novel venerable and fantastic.
I think the grammar sounds odd in this sentence, just re-word it to make it sound more clear.

But with my own inevitable and continued failures to do so, I find the invisible man's overwhelming defeat to be corroborating to my own hopeless efforts.

Can you put a more positive spin on this? I mean, you can say the same thing in a brighter way, "hopeless efforts" sounds so sad, maybe give a detail or mini story to show this concept.

Be sure to clearly explain how the book effected you, the only thing I can find that responds to this prompt is: "It justifies my failure, shows me how it is acceptable for me to continue as I am. Though I certainly live "one, yet many" lives in my introversion, I have come to understand myself. I can act freely as I am, and I do not need to mold to the extrovert to do so. I am me."

I'd like to hear more about how the book made you have a realization about yourself as a person, how you accepted the fact that introversion is ok, that you don't need to stand out in a crowd, it is ok to do what suits you and nevermind what others think.

Thank you for your advice. I've edited this essay a lot and have added more connections to the story as well as fixed up some of the grammar.

I appreciate your time.