Invisible ManRalph Ellison

A detailed Summary of Invisible ManRalph Ellison

A. "Invisible Man" is about a black man and his struggles until he eventually becomes 'invisible' to society

1. Youth-given a chance for an education

2. New York- finding a job and joining the Brotherhood

a. never describes himself

b. well educated, tries to become white

2. Mr. Norten- rich man, says Ellison is his 'destiny'

3. Dr. Bedlose- head of the University, kicks Ellsion out

4. The Brothers- Brother Clifton

C. Major issues in the book are the ways that Ellsion's character

oppresses himself rather than other people doing to for him

II. Novel is a primary example of the hesitance of the blacks to feel confident in American society

A. Author wrote book to confuse me- had to read pages many times-

didn't describe people or places, just things- didn't read in to he nuances

B. Book will help me when we start to study the Black movement because

it shows where the begingings started

C. Ellison's Character "speaks" while being invisible, pg 576-581

In Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison's narrator recalls to us how he became 'invisible' to the world. Since the name of the narrator is never known I wlll refer to him as Brother X. The novel opens with Brother X describing what it is like to be invisible: "I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edger Allen Poe...I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids00and I might even go said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me..That invisibility of which I refer to occurs because of a peculiar disposition of the eyes of those with whom I come in contact. ... those eyes with which they look through their physical eyes upon reality... In the introduction, Brother X shares with us the advantages of his being invisible; he also explains to us that he lives in a 'pit' that is damp and dark, yet full of light. Living in this pit makes him realize that he is black and blue. "I was born black, but what did I do to become blue? Bear with me."

After several blue collar jobs, Brother X ends up giving and impromptu speech at an eviction and catching the attention of several leaders in the Brotherhood movement. He is employed by the Brotherhood and given a new ID, which we never learn. The Brotherhood was an organization in Harlem that focused on unity through peace. Brother X finds himself giving speeches all over Harlem and invading the territory of Ras, the Exhorter's group of black Nationalists.

A. Think of it not like a "black novel" but as one big analogy

I am in no place to try and guess Ellison's reason for writing Invisible Man. The novel was very hard to read, yet it intrigued me from the first line of the book. The fact that Brother X 'speaks' to us by being invisible is the idea that related to me the most. I have to remind myself to step back and realize that we are all 'just another brick in the wall' and that when we try too hard to make ourselves heard, we find out that sometimes the best way to be heard is when people don't think that they are listening.

Invisible Man is by far the hardest book I have ever tried to read. Every time I flip through it, I understand more, but become more confused. This book is full of more nuances than 1984, The Giver, Fahrenhiet 451, Brave New World, and Lord of the Flies put together. There is no way I can even try to pinpoint where the novel fits in to American society and

Some common words found in the essay are:
Bird Sings, Lord Flies, Allen PoeI, Brotherhood Youth, Synopsis Invisible, II Novel, Nortan Nortan's, Dr Bedlose, Ralph Ellison's, Brotherhood ID, american society, advantages invisible, invisible invisible, black blue, brotherhood movement,

Approximate Word count = 1636
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels