This force is always identified in the mind of the individual but is never actually that which he perceives it as. Likewise, the removal of the one identified opposition will merely cause another to take its place. Further, the protagonist is told to play the "game" in his own style, to take it to the edge but and beat the opposition at its own game. This game is the manipulation of various levels of society by others, mastered by those like Bledsoe, who in spite of his claims, are merely pawns of people like Mr. Norton. The Vet is sure to tell the protagonist to "leave the Mr. Nortons alone." In other words, do not become the pawn of the established authorities.

Later, the protagonist arrives in New York where he is initially struck by the by the number of blacks that exist in one area. Even more mind boggling for him is the manner in which they interact in society without the slightest concern from the passerby. This incredible contrast to the Jim Crow South baffles the narrator considerably. The impersonality of the average city dweller also upsets the narrator somewhat. He views the average resident of Harlem as acting in a mechanical manner, talking to others only as an issue of either courtesy or need. This impersonality is further driven home on the protagonist's first subway trip. There he has the misfortune to be confined in direct contact with a white woman. His experiences in the South told him that death was eminent, but to his surprise, nobody seemed to notice or care. While the environment has changed and the protagonist now has previous restrictions on his behavior removed, his past upbringing has ingrained in his psyche a code of "ethics" that for now, still remain and manifest themselves as anxiousness when he unwillingly violates Southern standards on the subway. Here the protagonist is still invisible, somewhat more so than before. But, as the Vet suggests on the bus, invisibility can be an advantage as people are less likely to trouble one who does not exist in their minds. On the other hand, neither will they regard him. As long as Invisible Man does not align himself with any faction or openly profess some sort of idealogy, he will remain invisible. Part of the conflict the protagonist consequently faces is whether or not to sacrifice invisibility, gaining certain attentions but risking security in the process. (Eventually, he will by giving his oration and in the process attract attention and hostility).

TIM is also intrigued by an assembly of individuals, listening to Ras, with a fiery rhetoric akin to that of Hitler, ferment discontent among his audience While the protagonist is somewhat tempted initially by the rhetoric, he recognizes it as empty and, heeding the advice of the Vet, proceeds on. He is further astounded by the fact that the police did not stop the protest, allowing it to fester, and that a riot was expected to break out then and there. Yet, it seems that the allowance of the protest serves the establishment, allowing for the venting of frustrations and at the same time, creating a plausible excuse for action against any protestors. The police could not help but laugh because while Ras and his followers were raising the stakes of the "game"; the establishment had the trump card: a standing army also known as the police force.