The Invisible Man By Ralph Ellison PDF Download
The twentieth-century novel “Invisible Man” highlights racism, identity, and human existence. This novel is written by Ralph Ellison, published in 1952 and achieved world stage popularity because of its deep literary importance. It contains the plot of a person whose existence is ignored and known as unknown.
This novel is not only the story of a black narrator, but it is the story of every person who is searching for their place in society. This novel covers the loneliness of a person from the perspective of human dignity and the power of structure.
Historical background of the invisible man
In the mid-twentieth century in America, segregation laws were enforced. The blacks were kept separate from white. Both have separate schools, parking, and many more. The supremacy of white is reflected in the novel. After the Second World War, black military personnel thought they had fought in Europe for freedom, a nd they became victims of racism in their own country.
Invisible Man summary
The Invisible Man plot is based on black American experiments, identity, and racial discrimination. The novel opens with the central character, who has hidden himself in a basement in New York. He is the spokesperson for his own story and explains it.
He says that he is a good student, but gets a scholarship to a Black school to get an education. He is hopeful for the future and wants to achieve a position through his hard work. But soon he becomes a victim of racial discrimination, and he drops out of college.
He comes to New York for a better life, and here he also faces racism and identity. He also works in a factory, and experiments are done in the hospital. He realizes that he is not a human. He joins a political movement that claims to be representative of equality and justice.
He works for this “Brotherhood” movement and does speeches to impress the public, but soon he realizes that the movement is also using him. Due to the brotherhood’s hypocrisy and racism, the city is in an insecure situation. The main character separates himself from this situation.
The interesting part of the novel is when the narrator’s friend Tod Clifton is killed by the police. Tod Clifton was an active member of the Brotherhood. After this incident, riots broke out. During these riots, the narrator falls underground and starts writing again.
He underdresses himself and decides that he will not lead his life as per society’s expectations. He also thinks about whether he will come out or whether it is better to live underground. It is a criticism of society where humans are forced into darkness just because of racial race.
Major themes in Invisible Man
Crisis of identity:
The main theme of the novel is identity. The narrator, being a black lives in a society where he faces racism and his identity is ambiguous. He leads his entire life from school to brotherhood, joining in search of identity. The narrator is presented as an inferior.
Social invisibility:
The name of the novel itself hints toward the invisible. The narrator is not accepted as a human by society. He works in a factory but is fired after an accident. His going underground shows invisibility. His confession for not coming out of underground reveals that he should be seen.
Structure of exploitation:
The power was exposed in the novel. The college administration and Brotherhood movement use the narrator for their own interest. The role of Dr. Bledsoe shows that some black leaders are part of maintaining white supremacy. Black workers are exploited in paint factories.
Power of autobiography:
The structure of the novel is a symbol of memory. The plot hints towards freedom. The narrator going underground and writing his own story is a symbol of freedom. Literature and fun are the best sources to become a voice of the oppressed.
Characters analysis
The invisible man:
The Invisible Man is the protagonist of the novel. He is an educated and black boy struggling to make his place in society, but at every step of life, he faces dismay, deception, and racism. He presents to every person who is struggling in the social system to make their identity.
Dr. Bledsoe:
Bledsoe, being the president of the college, supports black boys. But from inside, he bows in front of white power. He is a traitor who continues to influence his people.
Brother Jack:
Jack is the leader of the Brotherhood movement and invites the narrator to join the Brotherhood. In physical appearance, he fights for the rights of blacks, but in reality, he uses the narrator for his political purpose.
Symbolism in Invisible Man
Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man is full of symbolic elements. These symbols highlight racial discrimination and human existence.
Light and darkness:
Light presents its own symbolic importance in the novel. The narrator’s light bulbs underground symbolize the narrator’s inner vacuum. On the other hand, white color painting prepared in factories becomes a symbol of black exploitation.
Underground residence:
As the plot of the novel is presented by an unknown. The narrator’s underground basement is not a shelter. This basement is a symbol of black social status. This place provides for learning experience from which he came with a new identity.
Main hole:
The narrator becomes a victim of racism, and during the riots, he falls into the main hole. His falling into the hole could be the cause of death, but he escapes. It is the symbol of the born, and this place serves for his psychological evolution.