Ralph Elison-‘Invisible Man’ SS2 Literature-in-English Lesson Note

INVISIBLE MAN BY RALPH ELLISON

Background Of The Author

Ralph Ellison was born at 406 East First Street in Oklahoma City on March 1, 1913, to Lewis and Ida Ellison. His father named him after Ralph Waldo Emerson. It was very common for blacks to name their child after a prominent American figure in the hope that he or she would become successful. Ralph died on April 16, 1994.

Plot Summary

The Narrator reminisces about his search for identity and shares how he eventually discovered that he is an invisible man in America; an invisibility that is a direct manifestation of the racist tendencies of white dominated America. The story starts when the narrator is invited to Battle Royal because of his outstanding performance when he delivered his high school graduation speech in his speech he emphasized the point that humidity is the very essence of progress the invitation comes from the school superintendent who epitomized a system that encourage blacks to see themselves as inferior to the white.

Themes

1. Disunity among blacks
2. Racial inequality
3. Invisibility
4. Search for identity.

1. Disunity:

There is a feeling of superiority between the negros from the south and those from the north. The negros from the north feel they are superior and more accepted than those in the south. That is why the woman in the north in whose house the narrator had tried to dispose of the package from Mary’s house accuses him of being one of those southern negros who make life unbearable for those of them in the north.

On the other hand, Ras sees the narrator as a traitor for collaborating with the Brotherhood. The narrator sees Ras as an extremist, whose radical views about American society would lead to conflict between the white and blacks.

2. Racial inequity:

The racist-minded white Americans believe they are superior in every aspect of life to blacks and therefore cannot be treated alike. In the novel, the battle royal is one of the major incidents that foreground the issue of racism.

3. Invisibility:

The most natural theme in the novel is invisibility which comes in different dimensions.

Invisibility suggests the unwillingness of others to see the individual because people see in him only what they want to see, not what he is. Invisibility in this sense has a strong racial prejudice. White men do not see blacks as human beings.

Invisibility here suggests separation from 5he society while the narrator is in the hole he is invisible because he chooses to remain apart. In this case, it is associated with hibernation, with the narrator’s conscious choice to remain in his cave and think. Invisibility which suggests a lack of self-identity.

4. Search for identity:

In the novel “Invisible Man”, there is a conflict between an individual’s perception of himself and the perception of others about him. This conflict is depicted in the narration of the nameless protagonist of the novel who later realizes that his self-perceived identity is unknown to those around him. In a bid to understand and assert his identity, he moves from place to place until he eventually goes into isolation. Towards the end of the story, he contemplates stepping out of his hibernation to validate his identity to other people.

ANALYSIS OF CHARACTERS IN “INVISIBLE MAN”

1. The narrator
2. Dr. Bledsoe
3. Mr. Norton
4. Tatlock
5. Ras Exhorter
6. Brother Jack
7. Tod Clifton
8. Mary Rambo
9. Young Emerson
10. Jim True Blood

The Narrator:

The narrator is the protagonist of the novel, he tells the story of his transition from naivety to enlightenment; from visibility to invisibility, and from Illusions to reality. His quest for meaning Their identity as a black man leads them into numerous dangerous situations. He is invisible because he is a black man living in the racist atmosphere of America in the 1920s and 1930s. He is recognized because of the colour of his skin.

2. Tatlock:

The largest of the black boys were forced to participate in the battle royal. Tatlock and the narrator are the final contestants in the bloody boxing match, which results in a temporary deadlock. In the end, Tatlock defeats the narrator and proudly accepts ten dollars.