Invisible Man Paper Assignment
Respond to one of the following prompts in a well-written essay that is 5-7 pages in
length. Your essay must make effective use of textual evidence where necessary, and
you are to quote only words and phrases pertinent to your argument. Be sure to get
approval from me on your paper.
1. Analysis of Invisible Man. Pick a motif, symbol, scene, image, conflict, maxim, or
any significant element and relate it to a larger theme of the novel. Be sure that you
do not just observe a connection. The important thing to do is to argue how your
chosen element (motif, symbol, etc) develops a theme in the novel. The focus of
your paper, therefore, should be on Elison’s statement on that theme seen via your
chosen element. Ask yourself how does he complicate the theme? How does he
enrich the reader’s understanding of that theme?
2. Analysis of a persona. Taking what you have learned from the narrator of
Invisible Man, pick a public persona to analyze. This will be very similar to a
SOAPSTone analysis. For this essay, analyze how the person presents his or her
persona through his or her tradition. Think how the narrator defines himself
according to his culture and the other influences that surround him. Your essay
should show how a person uses his or her tradition to craft a persona and achieve a
purpose. You must consider the person’s audience, genre and situation (the
occasion). The person will most likely work within a tradition but endeavor to
modify it according to his or her purpose.
3. Analysis of your own topic. It must contain compelling rhetorical analysis and
be relevant to our Invisible Man unit.