Invisible Man-quote

"I am standing puzzled, unable to decide whether the veil is really being lifted, or lowered more firmly in place..." (36).
This quote just reiterates the common theme in INVISIBLE MAN that as soon as the narrator starts to believe that he, as well as black society, is making a positive progress, there is another wrench thrown in the problem. The narrator starts questioning the intentions as well as the results of black leaders as well as philanthropic whites (Norton).
The narrator is starting to wonder if society is vigorously trying to keep him down as well as others like him, that they do not want men like the narrator to prosper, but instead give him the illusion of contributing to society when in reality they are just having him run around in circles.
It is an endless cycle for the narrator. As soon as he takes one step forward, he feels as though he is going three steps back; he is being distracted by false hopes and promises and being misled by men he thought he could trust. The veil represents this mentality, that everything is just an illusion, a deceptive exterior wanting to pull in the narrator and many like him only to blind them further.
Society wants men like the narrator to believe they are making a difference and have a voice that carries through to deaf ears; however, they are just prolonging the system of keeping them down and forcing them to live a life of confusion and suppression.
White society wants to the keep the narrator and the black race blinded and unaware of their own potential, promise and capability, and they are using black and white people alike to achieve such a goal. Instead of the veil being lifted for the black race to see the truth, it is being forced down, keeping them with their unseeing eyes.