High Tensions Exposed In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man

The author of Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison, was born in 1914 on March 1, in Oklahoma City. Invisible Man was published in 1952 by Random House. Segregation was in full-swing and the country was divided. It was the only novel published during his lifetime but he also published some of his own poetry. Ellison used his personal experiences, the period’s high tension and the influence of other powerful writers to produce a brilliant social commentary about overcoming racism and empowering oneself despite racial differences. Similar to the narrator in Invisible Man, Ellison traveled to Ney York City in order to pursue his writing career. He originally went there in order to make money to pay for college where he was studying music but after meeting Richard Wright, Langston Hughes and Alan Locke, he became a writer. New York City is a very large city and at this peak time of segregation battles there were many protests and movements in order to end the racist laws. He used a setting that he was familiar with in order to accurately provide an environment for the character to grow and face obstacles just like he did throughout his life. These societal tensions are reflected in the book by the many themes revealed throughout the life of the narrator. Ellison’s encounters with the writers in New York influenced his story greatly, they also wrote about similar topics reflecting the

With one of the main themes of the book focusing on racism he used the racist comments and laws that restrained his race during this period to create an influential work of literature. It actually won the National Book Award in 1953 because of the relevant and amazing topics covered in the book. The success of his book led him to publish a few more poems although none were as significant and well-known as Invisible Man because of the weight it carried during this