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Innocence And Corruption In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man

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There are different locations throughout a city that can have various effects on the human psyche. In Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, the narrator struggles with his relationship to innocence and corruption as he moves from the South to Harlem. The corruption he experiences is him being affected by having identities imposed upon him by different people and not being able to define his own identity. Mistaken as a traitor during a riot, he is left alone in a manhole, forced to burn the contents of his briefcase in order to be able see his new surroundings (567-568). The allusion to the womb, as signaled by the manhole, marks the narrator’s metaphorical reversion into the womb and process of rebirth into an innocent being, signifying that isolation along with psychological rebirth is the salvation against corruption …show more content…

The safety of the manhole allows for the three stages of his rebirth, allowing him to shed his city-imposed corruption: action, epiphany, and resolution. The action the narrator takes to shed the the identities that have been imposed upon him symbolizes that he is ready for a new life and is moving on from the past. As the narrator burns the contents of his briefcase, he sets a piece of paper on fire, and it “burned so quickly that as it flamed I hurriedly unfolded another. It was that slop upon which Jack had written my Brotherhood name” (568). The idea of “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is applicable: the narrator is taking this piece of paper that is now meaningless to him and turning it into a useful “treasure” that will help him navigate this new life. He turns corruption into innocence because he is left with opportunity. For example, when a baby is born, they are initially considered innocent because they have not gotten to experience the world. The opportunity the narrator is left with is innocence; he has not experienced the world through his new identity.

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