The Role Of Invisibility In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man

The novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is a classic American literature novel. The story sheds light onto an arbitrary character who seeks to find himself in a post slavery America. The novel portrays a first person point of view of young black man finding his African American identity in New York during the Harlem Renaissance. Ralph Ellison provides the readers with an insightful account consisting of great literary elements with his choice of theme, perspectives, and exigency; furthermore, Invisible Man consists of various literary elements to make it a profound novel.

A major literary method use used if the adamant Southern gothic nature highlighted in the novel. The novel portrays a Southern- bred, compliant black teen seeking identity.

As demonstrated by the title Invisible Man, the motif of invisibility is a focal point of the work. Invisibility is first introduced as the means for the narrator to avoid confrontation. The reference to “sleep walkers” - stands for the white moderate- cannot see an invisible man. In order to accomplish his goals he must mobilize without their notice. An example is when the narrator orates a crowd into action after a wrongful eviction of an elderly couple. This protest causes the police to interrupt and receives media attention. As the riot starter should have been in trouble but due to the narrator’s invisibly he scathes free. Ellison concludes the novel with“So after years of trying to adopt the opinions of others I finally rebelled. I am an invisible man” (Ellison 573). This quote concludes the purpose of

The plot begins when Ellison is expelled from college; he strongly connected his identity to his intelligence and being a student. When his education is gone he loses a major characteristic of himself which he struggles to reconnect with. Furthermore, a major theme prevalent in Invisible Man is finding one’s self. The idea of being the invisible man is how the narrator creates his identity. His hardships force the narrator to realize he is not only a student, an orator, or a brother he is anything he wants to