Invisible Man- Ralph Ellison
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Join me this Juneteenth weekend for a thought-provoking discussion of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. Ranked 19th on the Modern Library's list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century, this powerful and groundbreaking work is a true milestone in American literature. Let’s explore its themes and significance together in this compelling literary journey.
Synopsis:
Invisible Man follows the journey of an unnamed Black man as he navigates the complexities of identity, race, and social expectations in 20th-century America. The novel explores his experiences with systemic racism, personal struggles, and his search for self-understanding in a society that constantly marginalizes him. As the protagonist faces challenges both personal and societal, he confronts the tension between his individual identity and how he is perceived by others. Throughout the story, themes of invisibility, racial inequality, and the quest for belonging are explored, offering a deep and reflective commentary on the Black experience in America. The novel is a thought-provoking exploration of self-awareness and the psychological effects of racial oppression.
✨️Genre
Bildungsroman · African-American literature · social commentary. literary fiction. Historical fiction.
✨️Accolades
-National Book Award for Fiction (1953)
-Louisiana Library Association's Award
-The Presidential Medal of Freedom- Ellison was posthumously awarded this high honor, which reflects the significance of his contributions to literature
✨️Purchase: I purchased this novel on thriftbooks.com, hardcover for 16.50$
"Good condition" ( paperback used copies available for 4.89$)
✨️Discussion questions (spoilers):
💼The narrator’s grandfather introduces moral and emotional ambiguity. Meaning, it is not certain what is considered right or wrong, it is left up to the reader, and there is more than one interpretation. The grandfather confesses that he deems himself as a traitor. The reader never learns who the grandfather feels he betrayed (himself, his family, his ancestors, future generations, or perhaps his race as a whole?). For in the interest of his family’s self-protection, he advises them to maintain two identities: on the outside they should embody the stereotypical good slaves, behaving just as their former masters wish; on the inside, however, they should retain their bitterness and resentment against this imposed false identity. Why do you think the grandfather gave this advice? Explain what the grandfather meant.
💼 The battle royal episode extends the novel’s motifs of blindness and masks. The boys’ literal blindfolding in the ring parallels the men’s metaphorical blindness as they watch the fight: the men view the boys not as individuals, but as inferior beings, like animals. They force the boys to conform to the racial stereotype of the black man as a violent, savage, oversexed beast. Do you believe that things like this still happen today? Do people still hold on to racial stereotypes and try to force it upon them?
💼The veteran identifies Mr. Norton as a narcissist by stating that he sees the narrator as a mark on the scorecard of his achievement. What does the veteran mean by this? Explain.
💼We see that Bledsoe uses masks not only to dupe the white establishment but to dupe his own students. The narrator’s grandfather advised his family to use masks as a form of self-defense and resistance against racist white power, but Bledsoe uses masks as a weapon against members of his own race. Explain how Bledsoe does this.
💼Booker T. Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to multiple presidents of the United States. During the time in which the novel is set, Booker T. Washington’s philosophy that blacks should put their energy toward achieving economic success (improving quality of life) rather than agitate (fight) for social equality (equal rights) reigned in the South as the predominant ideology for the advancement of Black Americans. During this time, both whites and blacks embraced Washington’s philosophy. Do you agree with Washington’s approach? Should people of color fight for a better life rather than fight against racism?
💼The narrator’s experiences at Liberty Paints show the historical myth that the North is the land of freedom for black Americans. The narrator quickly finds out that the North perpetuate
💼The narrator encounters the frustrating truth that coming to the North has not afforded him the freedom to define his own identity. Brockway brands him a traitor and forces a violent confrontation. The portrayal of conditions at Liberty paints strongly contradicts Booker T. Washington’s belief that economic advancement leads to freedom. Ellison is basically saying that no amount of hard work and industriousness done by black Americans will grant them social/political equality because whites will never grant them that equality out of sheer goodwill. Do you agree with Ellison that equality will never be granted? Why or why not? Is there hope for America to become united?
💼What kind of role does Mary play in the Narrator’s life?Why do you think Mary is so kind to the narrator, giving him a place to stay and not worrying about rent? Do you think she’s been in this situation herself?
💼After consistent rejection, pain, degradation, and depression, the narrator finally finds his voice. It should come as no surprise to the reader that the narrator's voice is formed soon after he accepts his past—symbolized by the baked yams, which nourish his body and soul. Do you think the narrator made the right decision to embrace his heritage and not be ashamed of where he came from? Why or why not?
💼 In joining the Brotherhood the narrator stands poised to abandon his heritage once again. By granting the narrator membership in a social and political movement, the Brotherhood temptingly revives his dreams of living a life of social significance. Why do you think the narrator is so quick to “forget” his past again? Explain.
💼Although the narrator initially believes that his membership in the Brotherhood has made him into a new person, his nightmares about figures from the past suggest that his past cannot be erased and that it will continue to haunt him. Does this happen in real life? Is it possible to forget the past or will it haunt you?
💼The narrator’s observation that he is running a foot race echoes his dream in Chapter 1 in which he opens his briefcase to find the envelope containing a paper that reads “Keep This Nigger-Boy Running.” Clearly, the Brotherhood’s attempt to refashion the narrator’s identity doesn’t celebrate his individuality but rather keeps him running, searching to define himself against stereotypes. Explain the footrace he is running.
💼Much of Ellison’s novel contemplates the advantages and disadvantages of invisibility; in Chapter 18, the narrator learns a lesson about visibility. He recognizes the extent of his visibility when he receives the anonymous letter. The letter’s author echoes a sentiment similar to that of the Southern whites, Bledsoe, and others—don’t fight too hard too fast for racial equality. With this in mind, do you think it’s better to be seen, to be (visible) or to walk through life unnoticed (invisible)?
💼The men the narrator encounters in the bar have left the Brotherhood in anger at the organization’s gradual abandonment of the Harlem community. Thus, they distance themselves from the group’s treachery. Explain why these people left the Brotherhood. What makes the Brotherhood so dangerous?
💼Clifton has also left the Brotherhood. Unlike the others who fall silent and lose their political voice, he begins selling puppets that perpetuate stereotypes of blacks. Why do you think Clifton committed this treachery?
💼As the committee has excluded the narrator from its decision-making process, the narrator consciously chooses to act individually in regard to Clifton’s funeral. During his eulogy, the narrator attributes Clifton’s death specifically to racism; he doesn’t speak in vague terms of general oppression, as is the tendency of Brother Jack. Moreover, the narrator repeatedly utters Clifton’s name, emphasizing Clifton’s own individual identity, which the Brotherhood attempted to strip from him. In doing so, the narrator hopes to engrave the memory of Clifton into the minds of the black community. What was the impact of the narrator going against the Brotherhood with this impromptu funeral? How did the Brotherhood react? Did the narrator do the right thing?
💼The narrator finally loses the illusion that he can remain a free individual within the Brotherhood. He learns that the condition for membership in the Brotherhood is blind obedience to its ideology. Just as his college hired to show Mr. Norton only what the college wanted Mr. Norton to see, the Brotherhood hired to say only what it wants people to hear, to be like the dancing Sambo doll,playing a role defined by the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood is an organization that tries to influence politics. Is the Brotherhood representative of how politics work today? Explain
💼Rinehart proves to be one of the strangest and most ambiguous figures in Invisible Man; though henever appears in the flesh, he serves as a powerful symbol of the idea of a protean or shape-shifting sense of identity, against which the narrator’s own fragile sense of identity can be compared. Rinehart is all things to all people, and those individuals whom the narrator encounters while he wears his sunglasses impose a variety of identities upon him. This fluidity of character plays a major role in the narrator’s crucial realization that he is invisible—that he has never had a self because he has always adopted a self given to him by others. What is the significance of knowing about Rinehart, but never actually seeing him? How does this impact the narrator’s story? Do you believe Rinehart is as great as everyone makes him out to be?
💼The episode with Sybil may serve to comment on the similar positions of white women and black men in society. As in Chapter 19, Ellison portrays a white woman as a neglected wife, not at all interested in politics. Like the woman in Chapter 19, Sybil relates to the narrator as an abstraction, an object to be used for one’sown purposes, and he relates to her in much the same manner. Do you agree with this? Are white womenoppressed just as much as people of color? Explain.
💼The narrator’s encounter with Ras in Chapter 25 shows how when faced with the prospect of death, the narrator decides in a climactic moment that he would rather live out his own “absurdity” than die for someone else’s. The concept of absurdity plays a central role in the existentialist school of thought, which portrays the world as “absurd”—that is, full of labor and effort while lacking inherent value or meaning. The positive program of existentialism calls for the individual to affirm his or her own worth and sense of meaning despite the absurdity of the universe. The narrator’s realization of the world’s absurdity prepares him to writehis memoirs and eventually cast off his invisibility at the end of the Epilogue. Explain existentialism in your own words. Relate to the narrator’s experience with this philosophy. Is the concept of existentialism relevant today?
💼The narrator’s briefcase figures as a rich metaphor during the riot. First given to him by the white men in the “battle royal” scene in Chapter 1, the briefcase and its contents have come to symbolize the manipulation that the narrator has suffered: the Sambo doll and its invisible strings, the remains of Mary’s coin bank, the piece of paper bearing his Brotherhood title, and the anonymous letter warning him not to assert himself too strongly. The briefcase and its contents represent moments from the novel in which others have tried to define his identity. Therefore, even as the narrator flees through the streets, he cannot find safety or freedom. He carries these items not only as literal but also as figurative baggage: as he runs, he drags along a burden of stereotypes and prejudices. What is the significance of the narrator burning all these items? Why did he do this?
💼At the end of the novel, the narrator’s story has come full circle: the novel begins and ends with his underground life. The story’s cyclical nature, along with the narrator’s claim that his time of hibernation is over, implies that the narrator stands poised for a kind of rebirth. He rejects the idea that a single ideology can constitute an entire way of being; a perfect society created according to a single ideology would necessarily limit the complexity of each individual, for each individual constitutes a multitude of various strands. As the novel draws to a close, the narrator remains bewildered regarding his own identity but determined to honor his individual complexity and his obligations to society as an individual. Is the narrator right? Is it important to be an individual? Is there no true right answer for every problem?
Questions provided from:
- Sheila<3
Invisible Man- Ralph Ellison