Ralph Ellison Research Paper

Ralph Ellison was one of the many great authors of American literature. Ellison was born on march 1, 1914 in Oklahoma city, Oklahoma.(beacham's guide) He and his younger brother were raised by his mother.(read) His father, Lewis Ellison, was a very adventurous and accomplished man. He served in the military overseas and had lived in Abbeville, South Carolina and Chattanooga, Tennessee before he moved to Oklahoma. This was a short time after the former Indian territory achieved statehood. Lewis Ellison worked in construction in Oklahoma city, Oklahoma. He started his own ice and coal business. Ellisons father had often told people he was raising his son to be a poet.(Beacham's guide) Ellison's mothers name was Ida Millsap Ellison. She was

She would bring him magazines and books from residences she cleaned for him to read. A black priest succeeded in giving African American people in Oklahoma City the opportunity to use the public library, a privilege which lead Ralph to a different world.(Famous Authors) He also loved music growing up. He wanted to be a magician and a composer. He played his first instrument, which was a cornet, at age

Which was an offshoot of the Works Progress Administration. He also began writing essays and short stories for the “New Masses,” “The Negro Quarterly,” “The New Republic,” “Saturday Review” and other publication.”(read) From 1943-1945 Ellison served as a cook on a merchant marine ship during World War II. He saw action in the North Atlantic and began to think of writing a major novel. After the war he traveled to New Hampshire, that was when he began writing what was to become “Invisible Man”. (read) Ralph Ellison got married to his wife Fanny McConnell in 1946. She was a great support to Ellison. She supported him financially, working as a photographer. She would help edit his work and would also type his text.(famous authors) Ellison's story “invisible man” was released in 1952. He had spent a few years writing the story. “In invisible man an unnamed african american narrator describing his journey to and understanding of himself and his heritage through his exposure to many different types of people.”(masterpieces of american literature). The story takes place in a small southern town at a nearby college for blacks, in new york city in the 1930s. It tells a story from a young black mans perspective who is in new york and is struggling, he feels misplaced and traumatized because of the racism in south harlem. Because of that the protagonist withdraws from society to a basement,