Ralph Ellison, born in 1914 and named after author Raplh Emerson, was a well known novelist, poet and critic. After being awarded a scholarship, he attended Tuskegee Institute to study music.
About The Invisible Man
Exploring themes of searching for one's identity and finding one's place in society. The nameless narrator searches for himself throughout his life, identifying with whatever group it is he is associated with at the time. Each time he finds "himself" through this association, he is eventually disillusioned because the identity has been fabricated and is not truly himself. Ellison uses the narrator to also explore the alienating effect of racism and invisibility in the fact that no one sees him, figuratively, and instead they see who they want him to be.
Discussion Question 1
A statue depicting "The Invisible Man"
In the Prologue, the invisible man tells us that he is invisible because others refuse to see him. On that note, does he see himself? Is he visible to himself? Are all black people invisible? Or is everyone invisible?
Discussion Question 2
Why is Mr. Norton so interested in Trueblood and the unfortunate situations that led to him impregnating his daughter and why does he give Trueblood $100?
Discussion Question 3
In chapter 10, our narrator says "“Our white is so white you can paint a chunka coal and you’d have to crack it open with a sledge hammer to prove it wasn’t white clear through.”" How does Ellison use the paint as a metaphor in regards to the power structure of whites in America?
Discussion Question 4
What sort of symbolism does the hospital scene portray for our narrator?
Fact 1
Ralph Ellison attended Tuskegee Institute, founded by Booker T. Washington, which served as a model for the university attended by the narrator in Invisible Man.
Fact 2
At one point Ellison developed an interest in jazz music and became friends with Walter Page's band "Blue Devils". In the novel, the narrator also listens to a song "What Did I Do To Be So Black And Blue".
Analytic Paragraph
Ellison uses racism as a device throughout the novel as it is an obstacle to the identity of our narrator because he is a black man living in racist white society. Every facet of society that our narrator passes through also has differing expectations in regards to how African Americans should act. This leads to a very conflicting ideal of identity to our narrator as he does not know how to act and these prescriptions seem to limit his behaviors. When he starts working in New York, he starts to find financial success and is heavily depended upon, however, the company he works for does acknowledge their need for his work because he is a black man and he feels cheated. Later, he joins the Brotherhood, who he believes is for racial and social equality, but in reality they just need him as their "token black guy" and he feels cheated and used once again. All of this prejudice makes him feel as though they only see him through their ideals and prejudices in regards to his race. These limitations and perceptions are what cause him to believe he is invisible in the eyes of society and leads to his isolation as he is unable to be himself in every situation he is presented with.
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