Invisible Man
By
Ralph Ellison
Copyright 1947
A work of fiction
Plot Summary
● A young, African American man attends
college in the South
● Soon, he is kicked out and moves to New
York where he tries to prove he is worthy of
returning to school
● The rest of the story follows his various
attempts at finding a place in society where
he will fit in, and his ultimate realization as
to where that place is.
Narrative Style
● First person narrator
● Indirect Characterization
○ Example: Pg 163 (narrator) - "The [letters] were tightly
sealed. I had read that letters were sometimes steamed open,
but I had no steam. I gave it up, I really didn't need to know
their contents and it would not be honorable or safe to
tamper with Dr. Bledsoe. I knew that they concerned me and
were addressed to some of the most important men in the
whole country. That was enough." After reading letter - Pg
191: "I could not believe it, tried to read it again. I could not
believe it."
○ ^Shows how he really trusted Dr. Bledsoe, without saying it
outright.
● Reliable narrator- could be biased due to point of view
Literary Style
Syntax:
● The author uses a mixed sentence structure.
○ Example - Pg 99 (narrator) - "Tears filled my eyes, and the walks
and the buildings flowed and froze for a moment in the mist,
glittering in winter when rain froze on the grass and foliage and
turned the campus into a world of whiteness, weighting and
bending both trees and bushes with fruit of crystal."
○ Example - Pg. 171 (narrator) - "No, the thing to do was to keep
faith. I'd start out once more in the morning. Something was
certain to happen tomorrow. And it did. I received a letter from
Mr. Emerson."
● Prose is both florid and efficient - lots of description, but it is easy to
understand basic action of the story. There's lots of dialogue as well.
○ Example - (see above Ex. 1.)
Diction
● Relatively simple, but deeper meaning is
often implied
● Ex: Pg 575 (narrator) - "'Agree 'em to death
and destruction,' grandfather had advised.
Hell, weren't they their own death and their
own destruction except as the principle
lived in them and in us? Weren't we part of
them as well as apart from them and
subject to die when they died? I can't figure
it out; it escapes me."
Flow of story
● Some may feel the narrative was drawn
out, but the plot was engaging enough to
keep the reader interested. It also seemed
like there was deeper meaning to every
event that occurred.
Mood
●
●
●
●
●
Mysterious
Hopeful
Devastated
Disillusionment
Reflective
Ultimately, the main narrative is used as a
tool to describe the protagonist's revelation.
Structure
● Present tense monologue
○ Prologue and Epilogue
● Past tense flashback
○ Main Narrative
● dream sequences
○ Foreshadowing
Example: In 1st italicized portion, says "'Hey
Ras,' I called. 'Is it you, Destroyer? Rinehart?'"
Impact of Structure
● The reader feels like he has just been
thrown into the action of the story after
briefly being told that the narrator is
"invisible." The reader then spends the rest
of the book trying to figure out how the
main character came to this point in his
life.
Setting & Time Period
-Harlem Rennisance
-no specific year mentioned
-apartheid
-heavy racial prejudice
-African Americans starting to want rights
-south vs. north - small southern town to Harlem, New York
New York:
-stressful at first; shocking sights
-becomes an exciting adventure
-narrator searching for a purpose through the causes he is told to believe in
(mainly equal treatment and rights)
Characterization
Protagonist: Unnamed narrator
Beginning:
naive
searching
submissive
orator
Hurts:
-Taken advantage of easily
-Only sees what is presented outwardly in his heroes/the antagonists
-Doesn't develop independence
Helps:
-Protected from reality
Characterization
Conclusion:
bitter
self-assured
headstrong
invisible
Hurts:
-living in resentment
-hopelessness
Helps:
-enlightenment
"Once you get used to it, reality is as irresistible as a club, and I was clubbed
into the cellar before I caught the hint" (Pg. 572) - Narrator
Characterization
Major Antagonists: Brother Jack, Dr. Bledsoe, Ras the Exhorter
●
All one character
-Power Hungry
-Lost in their own ideals/justice
-Abuse narrator's innocence
"Power is confident, self-assuring, self-starting, and self-stopping, selfwarming and self-justifying. When you have it, you know it." (Pg. 143)
-Dr. Bledsoe
-The antagonists embody their purpose with confidence in themselves and
their actions, supporting their drive for barreling through any person, group,
or obstacle that crosses their path
Relationships
●
One character under or overestimating the other
-gives a clear message of dishonest communication and misguidedness
-creates distrust for all characters
●
All relationships help convey the overall message of limited individuality
-characters each pushing their own beliefs on others
Conflicts
The major conflict in the story was the battle
inside himself, and blocking out the lifestyles
and prejudices that were trying to engulf him.
Key Scenes
1. Kicked out of School
2. Enters New York City
3. Realizing that Dr. Bledsoe's
recommendations were fake (turning point)
4. Explosion at paint factory
5. Landing job in the Brotherhood
6. Clifton dying
7. Race Riot ( Climax)
Key Quotations
● Pg. 16 (Grandfather) - "Son, after I'm gone I
want you to keep up the good fight. I never
told you, but our life is a war and I have
been a traitor all my born days...Live with
your head in the lion's mouth. I want you to
overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em
with grins, agree 'em to death and
destruction, let 'em swoller you till they
vomit or bust wide open."
Key Quotations Continued...
● Pg. 94 (Vet) - "He registers with his senses
but short-circuits his brain. Nothing has
meaning. He takes it in but he doesn't
digest it. Already he is...a walking zombie!
Already he's learned to repress not only his
emotions but his humanity. He's invisible, a
walking personification of the Negative, the
most perfect achievement of your dreams
sir! The mechanical man!"
Key Quotations Continued...
Pg. 13 (Narrator) - "All my life I had been
looking for something, and everywhere I
turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I
accepted their answers too, though they were
often in contradiction and even selfcontradictory... I was looking for myself and
asking everyone but myself questions that I,
and only I, could answer."
Key Quotations Continued
Pg. 570 (Narrator) - "Still," I said "there's your
universe, and that drip-drop upon the water
you hear is all the history you've made, all
you're going to make. Now laugh, you
scientists. Let's hear you laugh!"
Theme Statement
When a young, naive African American with aspirations to
lead a picture-perfect lifestyle comes in conflict with
certain rules of society, in a situation in which he can not
clearly perceive his own position in the matter, the
results may be an uprooting of everything this man has
ever known, which may lead to a discovery of ugliness in
humanity, motivating him to take a stand and fight for his
personal identity. He tries on new identities, and unable
to find who he is, he experiments with 'invisibility',
learning that he actually is invisible, in a sense, having
been used throughout his whole life as a tool for others'
profitable motives. The author, by presenting this
struggle, is prompting the reader to contemplate whether
re-emergence is possible.