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Overcoming Racial Discrimination In Ralph Ellison's The Invisible Man

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Throughout American history, African Americans have been treated as unequal to whites and were not given the same rights. People suffered through this belief for a long, difficult time. During the twentieth century, African Americans realized living in a segregated society was unjust and finally decided to make a change. Several individuals rose to power to speak out against segregation and give a voice to those unheard. African Americans unified and fought to create a future in which they were equal. In Ralph Ellison’s novel The Invisible Man, the author incorporates the idea of envisioning the future into the motif of dreams, which is exactly how African Americans overcame racial discrimination. Using dreams as motivation, African Americans were able to spark a revolution and create change. During the Civil War, African Americans traveled to …show more content…

In the Invisible Man, the narrator searches for his identity throughout the novel. When admitted to the Brotherhood, he realizes “this was a new phase, a new beginning… I was becoming someone else” (335). The narrator accomplishes his dream of inclusion and feels himself changing, much like African Americans felt during the Civil Rights Movement. For years, society was segregated with the belief that African Americans were inferior to whites. Living within this prejudiced society caused African Americans to hope for a better life, and these dreams gave them a sense of purpose. They realized “the black man in America is in a perpetual state of slavery”, and their dreams gave them a reason to transform society’s mindset (SNCC 264). Looking forward to the future and dreaming of civil rights gave African Americans a reason to unite and rise up together as one group. Dreams gave them a purpose to continue fighting. African Americans did not stop pursuing these dreams, and they ultimately accomplished their goals and obtained civil

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