Ralph Ellison | Biography

The grandson of freed slaves, Ralph Ellison was born in Oklahoma City on March 1, 1914. Although he grew up poor, Ellison earned a
scholarship to Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (now Tuskegee University)—the country's foremost black college. He studied music and
hoped to become a composer, and his love of improvised jazz music clearly influenced his writing style in Invisible Man.
Although deeply involved in the civil rights movement, Ellison not only rebuked Tuskegee president president Booker T. Washington's belief
that African Americans should remain subservient to whites but also rejected the violent separatist beliefs of Marcus Garvey, leader of black
nationalist and Pan-African movements. Despite the popularity of both movements, Ellison did not believe it was possible for blacks to live
"separate but equal" from whites. Ellison recognized that the two cultures were tangled together, impossible to separate. As an artist, he
believed it was his responsibility to show, in his words, "the unity of [the] American experience beyond all considerations of class, of race, of
religion."

After moving to Harlem, New York, Ellison worked alongside such black writers and social activists as Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, and
Richard Wright to encourage African Americans to embrace their cultural heritage. The novelist Richard Wright particularly influenced Ellison's
literary works. Wright's black characters were typically uneducated Southerners oppressed by their white counterparts. In contrast Ellison
wanted to present an educated, thoughtful, and ambitious black man. Wright wrote protest novels (works of fiction that address current social
problems) about the black experience, and Ellison wanted to extend this focus by capturing humanity's struggle against limitations from social
attitudes, self-doubt, and the challenges presented by life itself. Ellison portrays all of these in Invisible Man. Perhaps because of its
success, Invisible Man would be the only novel Ellison published in his lifetime. He died on April 16, 1994. His much anticipated follow-
up, Juneteenth (1999), which he worked on for nearly 40 years, was heavily edited and published after his death to disappointing reviews.
A chronological list of Ellison's book-length works includes the following:

 Invisible Man (1952)

 The Collected Essays of Ralph Ellison (1995)
 Flying Home and Other Stories (1997)
 Juneteenth (1999)

Invisible Man

"In our society, it is not unusual for a Negro to experience a sensation that he does not exist in the real world at all. He seems rather to exist in
the nightmarish fantasy of the white American mind as a phantom that the white mind seeks unceasingly, by means both crude and subtle, to
slay." ("An American Dilemma: A Review," Shadow and Act)

This quote from Ralph Ellison's review of Swedish sociologist Gunnar Myrdal's book An American Dilemma (which explores the roots of
prejudice and racism in the U.S.) anticipates the premise of Invisible Man: Racism is a devastating force, possessing the power to render black
Americans virtually invisible.

Hailed as a novel that "changed the shape of American literature," Invisible Man traces the nightmarish journey of its unnamed narrator from
his high school and college days in the South to his harrowing experiences in the North as a member of the Brotherhood, a powerful
organization that purports to fight for justice and equality for all people but in reality exploits blacks and uses them to promote its own political
agenda. By describing one man's lifelong struggle to establish a sense of identity as a black man in white America, Ellison illustrates the
powerful social and political forces that conspire to keep black Americans "in their place," denying them the "inalienable right to life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness" guaranteed to all Americans. (As numerous historians have pointed out, the U.S. Constitution explicitly excludes
black Americans, who, until 1865, were perceived not as men, but as property.)

Often described as a bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story, Invisible Man is the tale of a black man's search for identity and visibility in white
America. Convinced that his existence depends on gaining the support, recognition, and approval of whites — whom he has been taught to
view as powerful, superior beings who control his destiny — the narrator spends nearly 20 years trying to establish his humanity in a society
that refuses to see him as a human being. Ultimately, he realizes that he must create his own identity, which rests not on the acceptance of
whites, but on his own acceptance of the past. Although Invisible Man received the prestigious National Book Award, some blacks feel that the
novel perpetuates black stereotypes. In addition, some black scholars criticized the novel for not being sufficiently "revolutionary" and not
accurately depicting "the black experience." Ellison's attitude towards these critics is perhaps best summarized in his classic response to a
reporter during a 1973 interview: "I'll be my kind of militant." Black feminists also criticized the novel, pointing to the lack of positive female
characters, and noting that the women in the novel are all prostitutes, sex objects, or caregivers. Despite these criticisms, Ellison's novel,
regarded as a classic of American literature, enjoyed immense popularity.

Published in 1952, more than a decade before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 declared racial segregation illegal, Invisible Man has been praised for
its innovative style and unique treatment of controversial subject matter. The violence and racial tension depicted in Invisible Man foreshadow
the violence engendered by the Civil Rights Movement in cities across the U.S. The action of Invisible Man spans approximately 20 years, tracing
the narrator's life from his high school graduation in Greenwood, South Carolina, to his involvement in the Harlem Riot of 1943. By tracing the
narrator's journey from the rural South to the urban North, the novel emulates the movement of the slave narratives, autobiographies written
by formerly enslaved black Africans that trace their escape routes from bondage in the South to freedom in the North. One of the most famous
slave narratives is Frederick Douglass' autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, published in 1845. This fact
is important to our understanding of Invisible Man, because Frederick Douglass (like the narrator's grandfather) symbolizes the ghost of slavery
alluded to at several critical points in the novel.

The narrator's path also traces the path of thousands of Southern blacks who moved to the North during the 1930s and 40s in search of better
jobs and new opportunities during the Great Migration.

Call and response — a concept rooted in the traditional Negro sermons in which the pastor's impassioned call elicits an equally
impassioned response from the congregation — is one of the defining elements of African American literature. With this in mind, Invisible
Man can be read as a response to Langston Hughes' poem, "Harlem," which poses the question, "What happens to a dream deferred? . . . Does
it explode?" According to Ellison, who also explores the myth of the American Dream, the answer is a resounding, "Yes!" In addition to Langston
Hughes, the two authors who had the greatest influence on Ellison's writing style were T. S. Eliot and Richard Wright. Ellison was especially
intrigued with Eliot's Wasteland, a poem that explores the spiritual wasteland of contemporary society, and with Wright's acclaimed protest
novel, Native Son, and his nonfiction work, 12 Million Black Voices, which Ellison felt was even more powerful than Native Son. Ellison was also
influenced by H.G. Wells' science fiction novel, The Invisible Man, and Richard Wright's short story, "The Man Who Lived Underground."

A complex, multi-layered novel, Invisible Man can be read as an allegory (a story with both a literal and symbolic meaning that can be read,
understood, and interpreted at several levels) that traces the narrator's perilous journey from innocence to experience, and from blind
ignorance to enlightened awareness. Invisible Man can also be read as a quest narrative. Like Homer's Odyssey and Dante's Divine Comedy —
both of which are alluded to in the novel — Invisible Man involves a symbolic journey to the underworld, where the narrator must meet and
defeat various monsters — such as Brother Jack — and overcome seemingly impossible trials in order to return home.

Ellison's use of inverted reality, creating a world that mirrors the reality of the white world, is a key structural element in Invisible Man. In the
narrator's world, black is white, up is down, light is darkness, and insanity is sanity. This structural device is used to illustrate that blacks, due to
their perceived inferior status in American society, often experience a radically different reality than whites, creating the illusion that blacks and
whites live in two different worlds. The white man's American dream is the black man's nightmare, and behavior deemed normal for whites is
deemed abnormal (or crazy) for blacks. A key example is the novel's closing scene: The narrator returns to his underground home, the
basement (coal cellar) of a whites-only apartment building. Although this can be viewed as a physical move down into darkness and despair, in
the narrator's inverted reality, his return to his underground habitat illustrates a psychological move up towards awareness and enlightenment.

Unlike conventional novels that present a series of related sequential events, Invisible Man consists of a series of seemingly unrelated scenes or
episodes — often expressed in the form of stories or sermons — linked only by the narrator's comments and observations. In this way, the
structure of the novel mirrors the structure of a jazz composition, players stepping forward to perform their impromptu solos, then stepping
back to rejoin their group.

The structure also emulates the oral tradition of preliterate societies. Passed down orally from generation to generation, their stories embodied
a people's culture and history. In the novel, each character's story can be viewed as a lesson that contributes to the narrator's growth and
awareness, bringing him closer to an understanding of his own people's culture and history.

Overview
Year Published
1952
Perspective and Narrator
Invisible Man is told in first person from the perspective of an unnamed narrator.
About the Title
The title references the narrator's central struggle: feeling invisible in a society dominated by white culture.

Invisible Man | Context

Segregation
Invisible Man was published in 1952, during the height of racial segregation in the United States. To keep African Americans apart from whites
following Reconstruction (the period after the Civil War during which the federal government established criteria for the reentry of Southern
states into the Union), state and local governments in the South passed laws mandating "separate but equal" treatment for African Americans.
These discriminatory "Jim Crow" laws were in place from the 1870s to the mid-1960s and enforced separation of blacks and whites in schools,
public transportation, restaurants, facilities such as hospitals and prisons, and even restrooms, swimming pools, and drinking fountains. Rather
than ensuring "equal treatment," the laws resulted in inferior conditions for African Americans. The laws reflected the views of many Americans
—particularly Southerners—that black people were intellectually and morally inferior. Although Invisible Man is not officially a protest novel—
in fact, Ellison maintained that the novel was intended as a comment on humanity—the narrator's struggles in Invisible Man result from
segregation. Booker T.
Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, and Marcus Garvey
Many black intellectuals fought against Jim Crow and argued for racial integration. However, Booker T. Washington, founder of Tuskegee
University in Alabama and a respected educator and civil rights leader, believed black people should accept their position as "second-class
citizens" and work to prove themselves worthy of full integration. He preached that hard work and economic equality would win the respect of
whites and eventually lead to cultural advancement. Washington became quite famous and powerful, acting as a race relations expert for U.S.
Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft by promoting black subservience. He never backed down from his beliefs, even when
fellow black academics such as W.E.B. DuBois criticized him for protecting segregation over the social equality of his own people.

DuBois founded the Niagara Movement, which advocated for full civil rights and political representation. The movement encouraged black
citizens to get in touch with their African roots, while violently calling for social equality. Both Washington and DuBois took extreme positions,
and many black people found themselves unable to affiliate with either leader's belief system, leaving them feeling alienated within both black
and white cultures.

Marcus Garvey was a leader of the black nationalist movement and believed African Americans should return to Africa to found a new nation.
He created a shipping company to establish trade between Africans in the Americas and Africa. Critics say he was the inspiration for the
character of Ras the Exhorter, although Ellison said he did not model the character on Garvey.
Harlem Race Riots of 1935 and 1943
Ellison called on the race riots of 1935 and 1943 in Harlem to portray the riot in Invisible Man. The riot of 1935 was caused by the public's
misunderstanding of the treatment of a teenage boy who had committed petty theft. Angry, underemployed citizens believed the boy had been
harmed and protested by rioting. In 1943 the cause of the riot was the shooting of a black soldier who had punched a police officer while trying
to stop his mother from being arrested. Some progress had been made in meeting the needs of Harlem residents by 1943, but racial
discrimination was prevalent, and solving the problem was not a priority of President Roosevelt. In both riots the violence erupted
spontaneously, and the targets were Harlem businesses owned by whites who refused to hire blacks.

Bildungsroman
Although not a traditional coming-of-age novel, Invisible Man is categorized as a bildungsroman, a novel focusing on the narrator's formative
years or spiritual awakening and growth. The narrator struggles to understand his singular existence within the vastness of larger society,
making this an existential novel. The book challenges readers with its jazz music style, swaying between harsh realism, dreamlike fantasy, and
political satire. Upon its publication in 1952, the novel garnered high praise; it won the National Book Award in 1953. Invisible Man was the only
novel Ellison published in his lifetime, perhaps because the novel was held in such high esteem that any other works would have invited fierce
criticism.

Character Analysis

Narrator
The unnamed narrator is a young, light-skinned black man who becomes disillusioned in his quest to create a unique identity for himself within
a racist society. The narrator feels invisible because everyone sees him as they wish to see him based on their expectations of black men, not as
the unique individual he desires to be. Throughout the novel, the narrator is haunted by his grandfather's deathbed advice and, as a result, is
"kept running" by the white men in power. In his pursuit of making a name for himself, he fulfills his grandfather's ominous prediction that he
will act "treacherously" against his people by inadvertently "selling out" the black residents of Harlem.

Dr. Bledsoe
When the narrator first arrives at the college, he idolizes everything about Dr. Bledsoe—his legacy, his sway with white men, his wealth, even
his light-skinned wife. He blindly follows Bledsoe's philosophy that "white is right," hoping that it will earn him the same prestige. When the
narrator is expelled from school, however, he learns that Dr. Bledsoe only acts subservient to whites because doing so affords him a position of
power. In addition to expelling the narrator, Dr. Bledsoe also sends him to New York with treacherous letters of recommendation.

Mr. Norton
Mr. Norton is a wealthy, white trustee who has spent his life making large donations to the black college the narrator attends. Mr. Norton
claims he supports the college because he has always felt his fate was tied to the fate of the black race, and to honor his deceased daughter's
memory, but it soon becomes clear that Mr. Norton is only interested in creating a philanthropic legacy that suggests he is concerned with
racial equality. He shows little interest in the real struggles of black individuals, except in the case of Jim True blood, whom he finds
voyeuristically fascinating.
Jim Trueblood
Living just outside campus, Jim Trueblood represents the black "savage" stereotype of the uneducated Southern black man. Trueblood gained
notoriety in town for his incestuous relationship with his daughter, whom he impregnated while he was having a dream. Although "ignorant,"
Trueblood has learned to exploit the story to his family's advantage. He knows that white people like Norton want to save the lowest of black
people, so he uses the story to gain work and charity, even if it means being forced into the outskirts of society.

Mary
Mary Rambo represents the strength of the black community. After witnessing the narrator collapse on the street after being released from the
factory hospital, Mary takes him in, feeds him, and even offers him a room. When the narrator can no longer pay rent, Mary allows him to stay
for free, hoping that he'll become a strong leader in the black community someday. Although the narrator is initially grateful for Mary's
generosity, his time at the Brotherhood leads him to resent her.

Ras
Ras the Exhorter, who later becomes Ras the Destroyer, is a violent black separatist, which means he believes black Americans should start a
society completely separate from white Americans. He refuses civil rights help from sympathetic whites, and believes anyone who takes it to be
a traitor to the race. Ras believes that any relationship with the white race is a continuation of oppression, so he preaches for all black people to
quit working for white bosses and to refuse to shop at white-owned stores or even hold civil conversations with white men. He hates the
narrator and his affiliation with the Brotherhood, which is multiracial and therefore blasphemous.

Brother Jack
Brother Jack is the white leader of the Brotherhood in Harlem. Although the Brotherhood is formed to improve the lives of black Americans, in
reality, it is a corrupt system exploited by Brother Jack and his cohorts. When the narrator first meets Brother Jack, he seems like a heroic force,
quickly giving the narrator a respectable job and wage. Over time, however, it becomes clear that Brother Jack is using the narrator as a tool to
advance his own motives. He has no real desire to improve the life of Harlem residents—easily abandoning them at the end of the novel—and
is only interested in amassing personal power and wealth. He is described as having red hair and a glass eye, two characteristics that illustrate
his evil and flawed vision regarding racial equality.

Reverend
Reverend Barbee is the blind Southern reverend who preaches about the Founder's legacy.
Barbee

Lucius
Lucius Brockway is the boiler room worker responsible for exploding the paint factory.
Brockway

Tod Tod Clifton is the black member of the Brotherhood who becomes disillusioned with the organization and turns to selling Sambo
Clifton dolls on the street to white tourists.

Crenshaw Crenshaw is the attendant to the veteran doctor.

Dupre Dupre is a looter who misleads the narrator into helping burn down a tenement building during Harlem's race riots.

Young
Young Emerson is the seemingly homosexual son of a wealthy white man who self-servingly helps the narrator find a job.
Emerson

Emma Emma is Brother Jack's mistress and a powerful female member of the Brotherhood.

Founder The Founder is the educator who founded the black college the narrator attends; he is a civil rights leader with a mythic legacy.

Grandfat
The narrator's grandfather advises him to remain subservient to white men even if doing so is treacherous.
her

Brother Brother Hambro is the leader in the Brotherhood charged with the narrator's training and indoctrination into Brotherhood
 Hambro ideologies.

Mr.
Mr. Kimbro is the paint factory manager who doesn't notice when the Optic White paint is sent out slightly gray.
Kimbro

The
The Provos are an elderly black couple evicted from the Harlem apartment, an event that prompts the narrator's first street speech
Provos

Scofield Scofield is a looter who misleads the narrator into helping burn down a tenement building during Harlem's race riots.

Sybil Sybil is the neglected wife of a white Brotherhood member; the narrator attempts to seduce her.

Brother
Brother Tarp is the brotherhood member who escaped slavery on a chain gang and becomes the narrator's mentor.
Tarp

Unnamed
White The narrator sleeps with an unnamed white woman from the Brotherhood in Chapter 19.
Woman

The
Veteran The shell-shocked war veteran from the Golden Day speaks the truth despite being labeled insane.
Doctor

Peter
Wheatstr Peter Wheatstraw is a cart-man and folk singer who first encourages the narrator to embrace his slave heritage.
aw

Brother
Wrestru Brother Wrestrum is the opportunistic, meddling brother who accuses the narrator of using the organization for personal gains.
m

Symbols
Ellison uses clear, recognizable symbols to underscore the novel's themes. In particular, the meanings of popular racial objects such as the
Sambo doll and the bank are considered, giving the objects deeper social meanings.

Liberty Paints
The Liberty Paints factory functions as an extended metaphor for race relations and race expectations. The most popular paint produced at the
factory is Optic White, which is so pure it can cover even the blackest coal. The paint symbolically covers blackness in the same way that the
narrator's education sought to hide his black heritage, or cultural "blackness." Ellison reinforces this comparison by calling the finished paint a
"graduate." The fact that the paint is being sent to a national monument, however, suggests a larger theme of "whitewashing" national history
by failing to acknowledge black contributions. This idea is underscored by the details of Lucius Brockway's contributions to the Optic White
paint. He seemingly created the formula and masterminds daily production—"ain't a ... thing that happens down here that ain't as iffen I done
put my black hands into it!"—yet he receives no credit for his work. He is confined in a hot, dirty room 3 feet (.9 meters) below ground level,
despised by his coworkers, and constantly fears losing his job. Meanwhile, the white bosses, who admittedly don't understand how he bases
levels of production work, get rich.

The Sambo Doll

On the surface, Clifton's dancing Sambo dolls are cheap racist images used to entertain white audiences for a quick profit. Sambo is the name
for a stereotype of a subservient, lazy slave happy to serve his master. Clifton reinforces this stereotype by putting the dolls on strings, like
marionettes, highlighting their inability to think or move on their own. The sight of the doll deeply offends the narrator, who doesn't yet realize
that he and Clifton were both puppets for the Brotherhood. When Clifton realized that he had become "a dancing Sambo" for the organization,
he cut ties and attempted to reclaim the negative stereotype, stripping it of meaning, by ironically selling the dolls for his advantage. Unable to
face the reality of being an emotional slave, Clifton self-destructs.

Mary's Bank
Mary's bank is a twofold symbol. First, its grinning, coin-gobbling appearance symbolizes the narrator's identity. When he joins the
Brotherhood, he agrees to do a white man's bidding without question, making himself a "slave" to the organization, which has hired him to act
—"not to think." The narrator does so for money, "performing" much like the bank, which greedily flips coins into its open mouth, suffocating
with greed. After the narrator shatters the bank and is unable to discard the pieces, however, the bank—like the briefcase, the chain, and the
Sambo doll—becomes symbolic of the baggage of slavery, the racist stereotypes every black man faces. Despite his best efforts to create a new
identity for himself—adopting a new name, a new apartment, a new suit—the narrator cannot discard the pieces, suggesting that true
transformation is impossible.

Vision
Almost all of the characters in the novel—even the narrator when he is Rineheart—wear glasses, which are symbolic of their varying inabilities
to recognize the narrator's struggles to identify himself. Some characters, such as Reverend Barbee and Brother Jack, are described as being
blind (Reverend Barbee completely and Brother Jack in one glass eye). So is the boxer who is glimpsed only in a photograph. Characters who
offer the narrator some support, or who recognize aspects of the struggle (Dr. Bledsoe, Lucius, Young Emerson, Mr. Norton, Mary Rambo), wear
glasses, which suggests their impaired vision of the "truth." Those who see the world and race relations clearly (the veteran doctor, Jim
Trueblood, and Peter Wheatstraw) do not wear glasses.

Themes
Invisible Man is a deeply thematic book, and its clear message of social protest is interwoven throughout the novel's main themes. Ellison
carefully crafts the themes and messages to speak for a variety of "invisible" groups, including minorities, homosexuals, and women.

Invisibility
The unnamed narrator wants nothing more than to be seen as an individual in a society where racist expectations label what he "should" be
before he has the chance to prove anyone wrong. As a result, the narrator feels unseen or invisible. In seeking to create a unique identity for
himself, the narrator repeatedly denies his true self—his culture and heritage—to create an identity that will make others proud. First, he tries
to suppress his Southern heritage, then he tries to cover his "blackness" with "white manners and ideologies" while in college. In Harlem he
literally takes a new name, Rinehart, only to find that this, too, pushes him further from his true self. As the narrator matures, however, he
begins to see that invisibility isn't always a bad thing. When he "meets" Rinehart, for example, he learns that by donning disguises, he is able to
pursue his own goals without others' expectations getting in the way. He had always believed that pleasing others would bring him success, but
as Rinehart, he follows his own pleasure and creates his own rewards. It is also by being "invisible" that the narrator learns to change society. In
the novel's prologue, the narrator wonders how an invisible man could be held accountable for his actions. Ultimately, however, the narrator is
desperate to create a unique identity, one that will be remembered in history, which would be impossible if he remains invisible.

Racial Expectations
As the narrator tries to form a unique identity for himself, he finds that everyone else in society has an expectation of what it means to be a
"black man." At college and at the Brotherhood, he is expected to embody Booker T. Washington's ideologies that "white is right," dutifully
following the orders of his white leaders without question. He, and those in power, believe that obedience will bring success. In New York he is
immediately identified as a Southerner who likes soul food, folktales, and jazz music. White women view him as a sexually powerful "black
bruiser," whereas white men view him as a sort of Sambo (a negative stereotype of blacks based on an 1808 short story by Edmund Botsford).
All the narrator wants is to be seen as an individual. He is unsure of his identity, but he knows that he wants to make a name for himself within
the black community, first as a successful college student and then as a community leader with the Brotherhood. No matter the situation,
however, the narrator is only seen as others label him. As the narrator attempts to move further away from racial expectations, he is frustrated
to find that he moves further away from his individuality. The only way to free himself completely is to go "underground" and wait for the right
time to emerge.

Slavery's Baggage
Although the narrator was born a free man, he is forced to carry the baggage of slavery's legacy with him everywhere. The "baggage" is
symbolized in the calfskin briefcase the narrator wins at the end of the battle royal. Throughout the novel he fills the case with other symbols of
enslavement to white men, such as the letters, his diploma, the Sambo doll, pieces of Mary's broken bank, and Brother Tarp's leg chain. Even
when he is in the middle of the tenement fire, the narrator returns for the briefcase, suggesting the impossibility of simply leaving this baggage
behind. It is only at the end of the novel, when the narrator chooses to plunge into darkness, that he is able to rid himself of the baggage and
truly create a new identity for himself.

Invisible Man | Plot Summary

Invisible Man is the fictional memoir of an unnamed black narrator's journey to self-discovery. The narrator is not invisible because of a physical
ailment or a freak accident; he is invisible because society sees him simply as a "black man"—a label filled with racist expectation. His true self is
invisible, both to the outside world and to himself. He must confront racism, exploitation, and abuse to define his individuality.
At the opening of the novel, the narrator sits at his grandfather's deathbed somewhere in America's South during the late 1920s to early 1930s.
The old man tells the narrator that the key to success as a black man is to remain subservient to whites. He also tells him, however, that such
behavior is treacherous. This confusing advice follows the narrator throughout his life as he struggles to define treachery and his responsibility
to anyone other than himself. Shortly after his grandfather's death, the narrator is invited to give his graduation speech to a group of prominent
white men, who appreciate the speech's message of black subservience. At the event, however, the narrator is horrified to discover that part of
the evening's entertainment is a "battle royal" pitting his fellow black students against each other in a brutal, blindfolded fight. Bloodied and
bruised from the battle, the narrator delivers his speech and is rewarded with a scholarship to a prestigious black college.
In his third year at college, the narrator is given the "honor" of chauffeuring a wealthy white trustee, Mr. Norton. The day doesn't go as
planned, and Mr. Norton is exposed not only to an incestuous black sharecropper but also to a brothel full of mentally disturbed war veterans.
As a result of this incident, the narrator is expelled from school and sent to New York with a handful of recommendation letters to search for
work. Unsuccessful at finding a job, he learns that the recommendation letters from his college actually warned prospective employers of his
unpredictable, violent tendencies. The treacherous lie shatters his dreams of ever returning to school.
Desperate for money, the narrator takes a job at Liberty Paints, a factory that produces Optic White paint for the government. His first job is
adding a solvent to muddy brown paint and stirring it until the paint is white enough to cover coal. He is later sent to work in the boiler room
alongside Lucius Brockway, a crotchety old African American man who believes the young black workers should be grateful for the jobs given
them by whites and shouldn't fight for social equality. Enraged to learn that the narrator accidentally attended a union meeting, Brockway
attacks him. Then the narrator is injured in a factory blast and sent to recover at the factory hospital, where the doctors administer unnecessary
shock treatments that erase his memory. Deemed "cured" by the doctors, the narrator recovers at the home of a kindly black
woman, Mary Rambo.
While at Mary's, the narrator rediscovers his passion for public speaking and, at Mary's annoying insistence that he become a productive
member of the black community, joins the Brotherhood, an organization created to protect the socially oppressed. After being fully
indoctrinated in the Brotherhood's ideals, the narrator enjoys a quick rise to power, becoming the leader of the organization's Harlem division.
He is surprised by how powerful he feels delivering speeches, and he often speaks passionately from the heart, much to the chagrin of the
organization's members. His fellow Brothers eventually accuse him of using the Brotherhood to further his own purposes—a hurtful and untrue
accusation. As a result, he is removed from his post and sent to head up the women's division downtown. He returns to Harlem when he learns
that the organization is losing traction in the community and that his friend, Brother Tod Clifton, is missing. Soon after returning to
headquarters, the narrator discovers Clifton selling racist Sambo dolls in the park for the amusement of white tourists. Despite the bond
between the two men, Clifton pretends not to see the narrator, who spits on the dolls and tries to crush them beneath his feet. The police
arrive, and during the scuffle, officers shoot and kill Clifton. Unable to make contact with anyone in the organization, the narrator arranges
Clifton's funeral on his own.

As time passes, the narrator grows increasingly disillusioned with the Brotherhood and their ideals. He realizes that the organization has
manipulated him and he has "sold out" his neighbors. Determined to destroy the organization from the inside, the narrator vows to follow his
grandfather's advice and "overcome 'em with yeses." He pretends to agree to the organization's new plans, but hopes to uncover enough
information to destroy them. He unwittingly plays right into the Brotherhood's plans to turn power over to the violent Ras the Exhorter, who
incites brutal race riots across Harlem. This way, the Brotherhood can destroy the black community by leading the community to destroy itself.
As the narrator rushes to Harlem to demand answers from the organization, he is confronted by Ras, who demands that the "traitor" narrator
be lynched. Racing through the erupting violence, the narrator leaps into an uncovered manhole and "hibernates" underground for the next 15
years.
Introduction

1The narrator describes discovering his invisibility.

Rising Action

2After the battle royal, the narrator attends college.

3The narrator is expelled for his outing with Mr. Norton.
4The narrator moves to Harlem and tries to find a job.
5The paint factory explodes; the narrator moves in with Mary.
6The narrator joins the Brotherhood as a key orator.

Climax
7Tod Clifton is killed; the narrator arranges his funeral.

Falling Action

8The narrator becomes "Rinehart" through a simple disguise.

Resolution

9Harlem erupts in race riots; the narrator flees.

Quotes
1.
I am an invisible man. ... I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.

Narrator, Prologue
This quotation sets up the premise of the book. The narrator seeks to create an identity for himself that people can see.

2.
I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer.

Narrator, Chapter 1
The narrator describes his central conflict: trying to identify himself in a racist society filled with expectations of what it means to be a black
man.

3.
Overcome 'em with yeses.

Grandfather, Chapter 1
The riddle of advice the narrator's grandfather gives while on his deathbed haunts the narrator his entire life. At first he takes it to mean simply
"obey," but he later decides that his grandfather meant to "pretend" to agree.

4.
You are my fate, young man.

Mr. Norton, Chapter 2

Mr. Norton prides himself on his generosity toward black youths, saying that their fates are intertwined. In reality, however, Mr. Norton is only
interested in perpetuating his own legacy. He has no interest in the struggles or achievements of individual students like the narrator.

5.
I'll have every Negro in the country hanging on tree limbs by morning.

Dr. Bledsoe, Chapter 6

Dr. Bledsoe is the dean of the most influential African American college, claiming to empower black youths. In reality, Dr. Bledsoe would
willingly sacrifice any of his students to maintain his personal power.

6.
Ambition is a wonderful force ... but sometimes it can be blinding.

Young Emerson, Chapter 9

These words, spoken by Young Emerson, highlight the narrator's fatal flaw. The narrator's desire to make a name for himself within the
Brotherhood blinds him to the truth of their racist ideals and their plan to sacrifice the residents of Harlem.

7.
We are the machines inside the machine.

Lucius Brockway, Chapter 10

Brockway is the most important employee at Liberty Paints, but he receives no credit for his work (and asks for none). Lucius's unrecognized
contributions to the company's success mirror the unrecognized contributions of many African Americans in America's history.

8.
When I discover who I am, I'll be free.

Narrator, Chapter 11
The narrator spends the entire novel trying to create an identity for himself, but he is enslaved by others' perceptions of what a black man
should be. At the end of the novel, he burns the symbols of his enslavement, and even though he is alone underground, he finally feels free.

9.
I yam what I am.

Narrator, Chapter 13
After eating warm yams that remind him of his Southern childhood, the narrator takes the first step toward accepting his heritage as part of his
unique identity.

10.
I was caught between guilt and innocence, so that now they seemed one and the same.

Narrator, Chapter 19
This quotation highlights the moral ambiguity of the novel. Who should the narrator be accountable to for his crimes if he is invisible—and is he
really guilty if he has been pushed into a corner?

11.
Where were the historians today? And how would they put it down?

Narrator, Chapter 20
The narrator is deeply concerned with making a name for himself in history—with being remembered for his contributions rather than just his
race. He realizes, however, that white men write history and can choose which details to include or omit. For a while he tries to appease white
men to be remembered, but he later decides that it's okay to live "outside of history."

12.
His name was Clifton and they shot him down.

Narrator, Chapter 21
At Clifton's funeral the narrator feels compelled to say his friend's name over and over, ensuring that he is seen as an individual and not as an
emblem for the struggles of the black community.

13.
By pretending to agree I had indeed agreed.

Narrator, Chapter 25
The narrator learns the harsh truth that by refusing to stand up to the Brotherhood, he has aided their plan to cede power to Ras, sparking the
race riots. At the end of the novel, the narrator is filled with as much moral ambiguity and confusion over "treacherous" behavior as he was in
the beginning.

In the prologue of Invisible Man, how does the narrator feel about his invisibility?
Now that he has been underground for 20 years, the narrator sees advantages to his invisibility, whereas in his youth his "condition" enraged
him. There are benefits to being invisible, such as his ability to steal electricity and to go about his daily activities without drawing attention to
himself. The downside, however, is that he feels without worth in society. In the prologue these contrasting emotions boil over during the
"mugging" scene, which highlights both the benefits and the drawbacks of being unseen. In the rest of the novel, the narrator will contemplate
his life experiences—both when he was "seen" and "unseen"—to determine his place in society.

How does the narrator of Invisible Man distinguish between being invisible and in "hibernation"?
When the narrator says that he is in hibernation, he means that he is waiting for the right moment to make his identity known. He is writing
these "memoirs" during a time of deep reflection over the events of the past 20 years. He isn't quite sure how to respond to the events of his
life, but when he figures it out, he will share his new, individual identity with the world. In his 1989 essay "Beyond Hibernation," published
in Black American Literature Forum, Ellison scholar Steven Marx compares the narrator's time underground to that of a heroic character such as
Aeneas in The Aeneid, who descends to the underworld in order to gain information about the future from its inhabitants. The narrator's
descent allows him to consider his own memories in order to determine when he will rejoin the world.
Narrator Invisibility

How does the narrator respond to his grandfather's deathbed advice in Invisible Man, Chapter 1?
There are many times throughout the novel when the narrator believes he is following his grandfather's deathbed advice to "overcome 'em
with yeses." At first he takes the advice as simply to "obey," which he does at college, an act that leads to his expulsion. He then interprets the
riddle to mean that financial success is enough, even if it means "treacherous" behavior against his people. Following this principle, he takes the
job with the Brotherhood and sells out Harlem residents. Finally, he realizes that his grandfather meant faking submission while changing
society. With this realization the narrator pretends to work alongside the Brotherhood while planning to dismantle it from the inside.

How do Booker T. Washington's teachings affect the narrator in Invisible Man?

Booker T. Washington taught that African Americans should remain subservient to white Americans and "earn" social equality. He believed that
black workers should be content with financial success and that equal rights would eventually come if respect was earned. These beliefs are at
the forefront of the narrator's college policies and preached by all the leaders, especially Dr. Bledsoe. This mentality also reflects the beliefs of
the older generation, repeated by the narrator's grandfather and by Lucius Brockway. Washington is evoked again when Brother Jack asks the
narrator if he wants to be "the new Booker T. Washington." Washington's mentality is one of the identities the narrator must test and reject in
order to see his life clearly.

What is Mr. Norton's expectation of black men in Invisible Man?

Mr. Norton believes that African Americans need "saving" from generous white men like himself. He funds the college out of an absurd pursuit
of legacy, claiming that his destiny is tied up with that of the students. In reality he doesn't care about the hardships of individual students,
despite his seeming desire to "save them." Without his generosity, he believes the black students will end up with barbaric fates similar to that
of Jim Trueblood, who lives on the outskirts of campus. This leads him to a bizarre division of interest: he is disgusted by the "savage" behavior
of men such as Trueblood, yet he enjoys watching it.

Why is Mr. Norton shocked by the cabins on the outskirts of town in Invisible Man, Chapter 2?
Mr. Norton is shocked to see old slave cabins still in use on the outskirts of campus because he genuinely believes slavery has been wiped out of
history following abolition. Now that slavery has been eradicated, he cannot comprehend that its legacy lingers. He believes black people
should focus on their futures even though white society refuses to acknowledge them as equals. The cabins remain on the landscape, while the
social and emotional effects of slavery persist for African Americans. Norton's lack of perception mirrors his inability to value black culture and
history; he cannot understand why "savages" such as Trueblood would choose to live in the cabins instead of embracing an educated "white"
life.

What role does blues music play in Invisible Man?

Blues music is most prominently seen in the opening chapters of the novel, particularly the music of Louis Armstrong. The narrator listens to
blues in his hideout, and Jim Trueblood sings the blues. Blues music highlights personal pain and struggle, and it is heavily rooted in slave music.
By singing the blues, both characters—Trueblood and the narrator—reflect on their personal pain as well as their connection to the larger pain
of the black race. In addition, blues music involves a syncopated beat and values improvisation and "riffs," which are also seen in the novel's
narration. Similarly, the narrator says that being invisible means that one is "never quite on the beat."

How does Mr. Norton's gift of money to Jim Trueblood in Invisible Man mirror experiences in both his own life and that of the narrator?
Mr. Norton gives Jim Trueblood $100 after hearing his incest story. His gift is veiled as charity, but it also alleviates Norton's guilt over his own
incestuous feelings toward his dead daughter, whose beauty he has described lavishly to the narrator. He has lived vicariously through
Trueblood's story, and he believes his money can wash his conscience of guilt. The gift also suggests paying for the "entertainment" of
witnessing black struggle. Norton listens to the story with the same detached fascination as he would watch a television program. This
"entertainment" is reminiscent of the coins thrown to the boys during the battle royal. Paying for this "entertainment" underscores Norton's
hypocrisy as a humanitarian.
How is the battle royal scene in Invisible Man, Chapter 1, connected to the symbolism of Mary's bank?
During the battle royal scene, the black students brutally fight each other and scramble on an electrified rug, hoping to collect the coins tossed
down by the white men who laugh and mock them. Even though the students know they are being exploited for entertainment, they greedily
partake in the game, ignoring the fact that their "performance" continues their service to the racist belief system. This dynamic is symbolized in
Mary's bank—a grinning black face greedily stuffing coins into his mouth until he chokes. As soon as the narrator sees Mary's bank, he wants to
smash the image but it keeps returning to him.

What does the line "Keep This Nigger-Boy Running" mean in Invisible Man, Chapter 1?
The narrator dreams in Chapter 1 that his scholarship papers actually say "Keep This Nigger-Boy Running." Throughout the novel he finds
himself chasing success that is just out of his reach. Often, opportunities that seem like chances for personal advancement—such as his
scholarship and his job with the Brotherhood—are actually just new ways for white leaders, such as Brother Jack, to keep him subservient. He
works to please them, but finds repeatedly that he is being used. Each situation creates further problems and complications that keep him
running, both literally (away from Ras) and figuratively, running in place (working hard for no reward).

In Invisible Man how is the name of the Golden Day bar an example of verbal irony?
A "golden day" suggests sunshine and tranquility, whereas "golden days" refers to a peaceful and prosperous retirement. In contrast, the
Golden Day is a disreputable bar and brothel where a group of unstable war veterans meet. This group has no future to look forward to, as they
have been traumatized by their war experiences and can only find release in drinking, brawling, and sex. In this twisted setting, it is appropriate
that Mr. Norton, as a white man, is the outsider. It is also here that the narrator is first called an "invisible man" by the ex-doctor who assists
Mr. Norton. In this upside-down place, the narrator cannot accept the truth of the ex-doctor's words.

Why does the war veteran call Mr. Norton "Thomas Jefferson" in Invisible Man?
On the surface the war veteran calls Mr. Norton "Thomas Jefferson" because he is insane. In the moment no one pays attention to his
assessment of the rich white man. As the narrator digests the experience years later, however, the veteran's "ravings" have the ring of truth.
Norton is also a "Founding Father" who uses his legacy to cover up unsavory acts, like Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was a slaveholder who built
an empire off free labor, and who also had children with his slave "mistress," Sally Hemings. Both men use the black race for their own pleasure
and to perpetuate their legacies.

Why doesn't the narrator like the veteran doctor in Invisible Man?
The doctor has become deeply disillusioned with the world as a result of the racism he faced, which ended his career as a surgeon. He has
stopped caring what white men like Norton think of him, freely speaking his mind and chastising Norton's legacy. The naive narrator, in
contrast, is still obsessed with pleasing Norton at all costs. He despises the way the veteran doctor represents black men, and he fears Norton's
disapproval of the doctor's views will reflect on his opinion of all African Americans. The doctor, on the other hand, recognizes the narrator's
desire to please, and he calls him an automaton, or robot.

What is significant about the narrator's job as a chauffeur in Invisible Man?

The narrator believes that he has won a sense of freedom by being chosen as a chauffeur. He also believes being chosen for the job suggests
that he is respected, when in reality, he is one who is most likely to follow orders. A car represents freedom—the freedom of the open road,
the freedom to choose a destination and drive. The reality, however, is that while in the car, he is simply taking orders from white men, chasing
the "destinations" chosen by powerful men like Norton. When he does attempt to choose his own path—by taking Norton to see Trueblood and
the Golden Day—he is severely punished.

Is the narrator of Invisible Man an "automaton," as the veteran doctor calls him in Chapter 3?
At the Golden Day the veteran doctor angrily calls the narrator an "automaton," meaning an unthinking machine used to serve the white man.
At this stage of the narrator's life, the label is correct. He hates black men—like Trueblood and the doctor himself—who fall outside of white
racial expectations, and he believes that subservience is the way to socially advance himself. The label is also apt because of Mr. Norton's view
of the narrator. As the veteran doctor correctly points out, the narrator is not a human to Norton, but "a thing," merely a "mark on the score-
card" of Norton's achievement.

In what ways is Dr. Bledsoe like Clifton's Sambo dolls in Invisible Man?
Dr. Bledsoe is happy to perpetuate white power so long as he maintains personal success. He is knowingly manipulated and used by white
benefactors such as Mr. Norton, but, like Sambo, he is happy in his subservience. As long as he has personal power and wealth, he'll have
"every Negro in the country hanging on tree limbs," a reference to lynching. Notably, Clifton's dolls have two faces, and the narrator notes
Bledsoe's masklike appearance when he interacts with Norton. In the comfort of his office, however, his true self shows. He is not a quiet,
subservient man; he is violent and hungry for power.

What does the color green symbolize in Invisible Man?

The color green symbolizes opposites: naivety and knowledge. The college campus, where the narrator is his most naive about society and race
relations, is consistently described as green and lush. A naive schoolgirl's code to her boyfriend is "the grass is green." Each of these examples
highlights the students' lack of awareness of the way in which the college exploits them. While wearing Rinehart's green-lensed glasses at the
end of the novel, however, the narrator finally begins to see things clearly. Looking through, or looking past, the "green" of his naivety, he
finally begins to understand his place in society and how to engage with the world for his personal benefit.

Discuss Reverend Barbee's blindness in light of his speech in Invisible Man, Chapter 5.
Barbee is a powerful orator who lifts the Founder and Dr. Bledsoe to a godlike status, obscuring their role in perpetuating racist ideals. Because
the novel regularly refers to the young students as "blind" or "sleepwalking," Barbee's blindness references the expression "the blind leading
the blind." In the next chapter, in fact, it is revealed that Bledsoe is not concerned with his students' well-being. If it keeps him in power, he is
more than happy to lead the "blind" youths astray. Barbee's blindness is also significant because along with his first name, Homer, he evokes
the image of the blind poet who wrote The Odyssey and The Iliad. Homer also wrote about characters of mythical, godlike proportions.
Reverend Barbee Dr. Bledsoe

Why is the narrator surprised by Dr. Bledsoe's punishment in Invisible Man, Chapter 6?
Before being sent to Dr. Bledsoe's office to receive his punishment, the narrator was "saved" by Mr. Norton, who claimed that the day's events
weren't the narrator's fault, and that he shouldn't be punished. The narrator assumes Bledsoe will automatically follow Norton's wishes,
particularly since the narrator is a "privileged" scholarship student. He has good reason to think so; not only is Mr. Norton white and Dr.
Bledsoe black, but Norton's assertion is in fact true. Dr. Bledsoe, however, wants to prove his power over the narrator and expels him anyway.
The narrator is dumbfounded to see a black man expressly ignore the request of a white man.

How does the postwar setting influence themes in Invisible Man?

Invisible Man was written in the postwar World War II period. Traditionally, and particularly in white society, this period is remembered with
content: the economy was strong, families were intact, and strong gender roles and expectations monitored social behaviors. Many in society
were disillusioned with the facade of perfection, however, that kept them invisible in a society that portrayed ideal, happy home lives in shows
like Leave It to Beaver. The needs of wounded veterans, like the patients in the novel, were largely ignored, as were the reduced civil rights of
minority citizens. The novel highlights the struggles of all "invisible men" in 1950s society: women, homosexuals, minorities, and other
outsiders.
Invisibility

What is the importance of Crenshaw's character in Chapter 7 of Invisible Man?

Crenshaw is the new attendant assigned to the veteran doctor when he is moved to Washington, DC. The doctor suggests that Crenshaw is
leaving behind a life of crime in the South and starting afresh in the North, a claim Crenshaw only halfheartedly denies. The North provides a
"new world" for Southerners—both black and white—who want to create new lives for themselves. For the narrator, and many other black
Southerners, the North seemingly provides an opportunity to be seen as individuals and racial equals. In the course of the novel, the North will
turn out to be a place of both opportunity and danger to the narrator. It is certainly, however, an important proving ground for his journey of
self-discovery.

What does the veteran doctor mean when he says "Be your own father" in Invisible Man, Chapter 7?
Heavily disillusioned by society's racism, the veteran doctor attempts to give the narrator advice for success away from campus. His advice to
"be your own father" urges the narrator not to be led astray by mentors such as Dr. Bledsoe or Mr. Norton, who wish only to perpetuate their
own self-serving agendas. The veteran doctor has seen the reality—every man serves himself—and he hopes the narrator will do the same. The
narrator, unfortunately, is still too naive to understand the deep meaning of the man's advice, just as he was unable to see the wisdom of the
doctor's words at Golden Day.

What is significant about the decor in Emerson's home in Invisible Man?

Emerson's home is decorated with artwork and artifacts from around the world, specifically Asia and Africa. This suggests that the Emersons are
a colonial family—making their fortune from exploiting other countries. Throughout the novel there are many references to the United States
benefiting from black culture but never giving proper credit. The decor reminds the narrator of a museum showing relics from slave times at the
college. It is significant, therefore, that to the narrator the most interesting decoration is a cage filled with exotic birds. The birds, symbolic of
the black race, are in captivity for the amusement of rich, white men.

What parallel is drawn between the narrator, young Emerson, and white women in Invisible Man?
Each of these characters—the narrator, young Emerson, and the unnamed white woman from Chapter 19—is disenfranchised from his or her
community or viewed as a "second-class citizen": the narrator for race, young Emerson for sexuality, and the white woman for gender. All three
characters struggle to create honest identities for themselves in a world that doesn't want to see them for who they really are. In this way, all
three are invisible. However, invisibility affects each of them differently. The narrator is exploited by his own community and the white
characters. The white woman is undervalued and ignored. Young Emerson, though disenfranchised, still enjoys a comfortable, wealthy life.
What role does religion play in Invisible Man?
There are many different types of religion presented in the novel, with sermonizing characters preaching that following their ideals is the only
way to happiness. The reader sees this in the "sermons" of Reverend Barbee, Dr. Bledsoe, Brother Jack, and Ras. The novel warns that blindly
following a set of principles without question will create either automatons or religious Sambos, who obey without understanding the full
consequences of their actions. The novel also presents religious allegory through the many "deaths" and "rebirths" of the narrator, best
exemplified in his "death" after the Liberty Paints explosion. Although the narrator isn't necessarily a religious figure, he journeys, Buddha-like,
through suffering toward enlightenment.

In Invisible Man how is the narrator an "invisible man" while working at Liberty Paints?
The narrator is hired as a "scab," or nonunion worker, to fill in for white workers who have gone on strike. He belongs neither to the union nor
to the company: he is a placeholder, easy to forget and replace, rendering him invisible to those inside and outside the company. Immediately,
bosses tell him to simply work, not to think or ask questions about the busywork he is assigned. In this way, he is viewed as a machine, not a
man. Inevitably, he makes a mistake and as punishment is sent even further from view: to work in the basement with another black
troublemaker, Lucius Brockway.

Compare Lucius Brockway to the paint he produces in Invisible Man.

Lucius Brockway is the most indispensable worker at Liberty Paints. He invented the base for the popular Optic White paint color, knows the
layout of the entire factory, and is the only employee who can manage the boilers. Despite his contributions, however, Brockway is relegated to
working long hours in the basement boiler room. He is content to do his job, make his money, and keep his head down, but it's clear to the
narrator that the old man is being exploited because he is black. Lucius Brockway's silent contributions to the company are symbolized in the
paint he produces. Drops of oil are added to black paint to turn it "optic white," covering up the "blackness" so effectively that there isn't a hint
of the black color's history in the paint.

How did Ellison both draw on and depart from the Harlem race riots of 1935 and 1943 in Invisible Man?
In the novel the characters are not sure of the cause of the riots. This was true of the 1935 Harlem race riot, where a misunderstanding about
police mistreatment of a young suspect led to the outburst of violence. The riots of 1935 and 1943 targeted white-owned businesses.
In Invisible Man the looters are indiscriminate, and the violence includes the burning of a tenement building mostly inhabited by black
residents. The most significant difference, however, is that the real riots were unplanned. In the novel the riots are carefully orchestrated by the
Brotherhood to ensure that the citizens would be destroyed and then blamed for their own destruction.
Racial Expectations

How do folktales inform the themes of Invisible Man?

Throughout the novel the narrator references traditional Southern folktales: Brer Rabbit, Buckeye the Rabbit, and Jack the Bear. Often, these
stories are references to the narrator's Southern slave heritage, which he is too eager to discard. The stories bring him comfort, however,
suggesting the value of his heritage as an African American. In particular, the character of Buckeye (Brer) rabbit is known for his ability to
escape tricky situations unscathed. The character's experiences parallel the narrator's repeated escapes from dangerous situations—such as the
bar brawl, the hospital, and the riots—and people, such as Bledsoe, Norton, and Brockway. During the hospital questioning, the narrator feels
"giddy" to realize he now associates with the older Brer rabbit rather than the young, naive Buckeye.

What does castration symbolize in Invisible Man?

The subject of castration comes up twice in the novel—first when the narrator is in the hospital and later in the dream that concludes the novel.
In both cases, white men, first the doctors and then Brother Jack, seek to castrate the black narrator. These scenes suggest the desire to
remove power from the black race. Castration also literally removes a man's power to recreate, which would slow the growth of black
populations, an interest of powerful white men. In the second dream, Brother Jack asks the narrator how it feels to be free of illusions. The
narrator points out that the whites have not only wasted his future generations, but they have wasted their "sun and moon"—the chance to
continue oppressing people like him.

Explain the significance of the narrator's banishment from the Men's House in Invisible Man, Chapter 12.
The narrator is expelled from the Men's House after a case of mistaken identity: he pours a spittoon over a man he believes to be Dr. Bledsoe.
This event is significant because it is the first time the narrator lashes back against the powers that oppress him. On the one hand, he has spent
his entire life being obedient, so this action shows his maturity and growth. On the other, it is rebellious because by dumping the spittoon, he
literally has everyone in the hotel "spit" on the man who deceitfully disparaged him. He feels rage for the first time, but is unable to control it
and lashes out at the wrong man.

What role does Mary play in the narrator's life in Invisible Man?
On the surface Mary is a caretaker for the narrator and a symbol of the strength that can be found in the black community. On a deeper level,
Mary acts as a mother for the narrator after the veteran doctor warns him to avoid father figures. The narrator finds Mary after his hospital
"rebirth." She houses, feeds, cares for, and encourages the narrator, only asking that he "make her proud" as repayment. As the narrator
matures, he leaves Mary's home, but he seeks to return when he is afraid (during the race riots) and in need of protection. Mary's character is
often criticized for being a black "mammy"—a caregiver content with her desexualized, subservient womanly role. The novel does not offer any
portraits of strong women, black or white, perhaps because Ellison believed women in the 1950s were also "invisible."

Describe the narrator's views of Southern food in Invisible Man.

The narrator's views of Southern food mirror his personal journey. When he first arrives in Harlem, he orders toast and coffee at a cafe because
he is afraid to eat the "Southern special" in public, worried people will view him as an ignorant yokel. He hides his culture—even though the
food sounds delicious—to appear "whiter." When he encounters a yam seller, however, he happily eats this Southern favorite because he is no
longer interested in white approval as the basis for his self-identity. By reconnecting with the food of his childhood, and therefore his culture,
the narrator feels restored. Similarly, the narrator enjoys Mary's home-cooked meals because they comfortingly remind him of his childhood,
even though the food is often smelly and tasteless.

Describe the significance of "writing history" in Invisible Man.

According to the narrator in Invisible Man, white men write history because they hold all the power. They choose which details to include and
which to omit. For most of the novel, the narrator desires to be part of history. He wants to make a name for himself and be remembered. He
believes the best way to do this is by following the leadership of powerful white men such as Mr. Norton and Brother Jack. As he matures,
however, he learns that there are men who have turned their backs on the socially accepted views of progress. Men such as Tod Clifton, Dupre,
and eventually the narrator himself leave the clear path outlined for them by the rhetoric of white supremacy, focusing on their futures rather
than the past they'll leave behind. Ultimately, the narrator is able to write his own history by recording his memoir.
Tod Clifton Narrator Dupre Racial Expectations Invisibility

What is the narrator's fatal flaw in Invisible Man?

The narrator's fatal flaw is his deep desire to be important. He spends his entire life seeking the approval of powerful white men, changing
everything about himself, even his name, to please Dr. Bledsoe, Mr. Norton, and Brother Jack. He degrades himself and sells out his race at
every turn—from the battle royal to his work with the Brotherhood—to chase money and power. By remaining subservient to these men and
allowing his exploitation, the narrator hopes to gain something in return, just as Bledsoe gained his power. He must let go of this goal in order
to discovery his identity. In the end he finds contentment living alone, underground, in a coal cellar. He has no power, prestige, or wealth, but
he finally understands who he is and where he came from.

How is the narrator in Invisible Man transformed by joining the Brotherhood?

When the narrator joins the Brotherhood, he is given a new name, a new apartment, and—through detailed literature—an entirely new belief
system. With his start-up money, he buys new clothing, which he doesn't recognize himself in, and new shoes, which hurt his feet. Physically, he
completely transforms, even if his new identity is uncomfortable. The transformation is false, however, because the new identity is simply
another persona given to him by a white man (Brother Jack). From the success of his first speech, the narrator is transformed from an unknown
black boy to an influential black man, yet it soon becomes clear to him that Brother Jack is exploiting him for personal gain.

What is the significance of the blind boxer in Chapter 16 of Invisible Man?

The blind boxer in Chapter 16 of Invisible Man reminds the narrator of his childhood. His grandfather told him stories about how this boxer lost
his sight in a rigged fight, foreshadowing the narrator's blindness to the Brotherhood's intentions, which will be equally devastating. The boxer
believed he could defeat his opponent but did not realize the match was rigged against him. This parallels the narrator's belief that he is an
equal in white society; in reality he is "blind" to the way society is rigged against him. The image of the blind boxer also recalls the image of the
blindfolded students at the battle royal, reminding the reader of the narrator's role as an "entertainer" for rich white men.
What parallel does the narrator in Invisible Man draw between his character and James Joyce's character Stephen Dedalus?
After his first speech for the Brotherhood, the narrator compares himself to the literary character Stephen Dedalus (the literary alter ego of
Irish author James Joyce), musing that both are tasked with finding an identity within a large group. The narrator desires to become a leader for
his race, emerging from the "black mass" of his people. The irony, of course, is that the Brotherhood defines the narrator's new identity with its
own cause in mind, fooling him into thinking he has any control over how he is perceived. The name also conjures Daedalus, the mythic father
of Icarus, who constructed wings so he and his son could fly. This comparison reflects the desire of all the characters—Icarus, Daedalus, and the
narrator—to soar above the constraints of their realities.

How are Brother Jack and Dr. Bledsoe similar in Invisible Man?
Brother Jack and Dr. Bledsoe are similar because they both become leaders of movements in order to progress their own power. Although both
preach the ideologies of their organizations, the Brotherhood and the Founder's college, neither man believes what he is saying. Dr. Bledsoe
preaches about integrating black minds into white society and peacefully aggregating for equality. In reality he is only interested in his own
power and will "have every Negro in the country hanging on tree limbs" to keep his position. Similarly, Brother Jack preaches about serving the
vulnerable black populations in Harlem. In reality he is quick to sacrifice those people to gain power and prestige. Both men manipulate their
followers for personal gain.
Compare and contrast Ras and the Brotherhood's philosophies in Invisible Man.
Both Ras and the Brotherhood claim to want social equality for all members of Harlem. The Brotherhood wants the races to work together to
create an equal society, but Ras wants to create a separate state, with blacks working together without asking white leaders for help. The
Brotherhood claims to be nonviolent, although it later becomes clear that the group planned the race riots by manipulating its supporters. On
the other hand, violence is a necessary evil for Ras and his supporters, and he doesn't hide it. The two philosophies reflect those of nonviolent
civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and black nationalist Marcus Garvey, two powerful political figures.

Compare and contrast the characters of Tod Clifton and the narrator in Invisible Man.
Both the narrator and Tod Clifton are young, handsome, talented black men hoping to make a name for themselves and better their community
by working with the Brotherhood. They are excellent orators and well liked within the community. Clifton, however, realizes well before the
narrator that they are being used to perpetuate the organization's racist goals. He realizes that he has "sold out" his people, so he disappears.
The narrator finds him selling Sambo dolls to white tourists in the park, whereas the narrator continues to follow the organization's plans
blindly. At the end of the novel, Clifton is physically dead, whereas the narrator is emotionally dead.

How are death and individuality related in Invisible Man?

At Brother Tod Clifton's funeral, the narrator repeats his name over and over. The narrator hopes to honor his friend as an individual in death
by reciting his name, rather than allow his friend to be turned into an emblem of the black community's struggles. Similarly, when Ras threatens
to lynch the narrator for being a traitor, the narrator begs to be killed for his personal sins, not for the sins of the Brotherhood. The narrator has
worked his entire life to create an identity for himself, and he knows that death may be his final opportunity. This dichotomy presents
situational irony for the narrator: individuality seems impossible while he is alive and may only be achieved in death.

How is temperature imagery (hot, cold, and warm) used in Invisible Man?
Ellison uses temperature imagery to symbolize the narrator's emotions. Warm images, in particular, are used when the narrator is nostalgic,
happy, and content. This is seen primarily when he is with Mary or eating warm foods such as yams. Cold images are used when the narrator
feels isolated, frightened, or confused. This is seen strongly when the narrator leaves college, wanders New York looking for work, and debates
joining the Brotherhood. Heat imagery is used to symbolize rising tensions in the narrator's life. Like a growing fire that ends in explosion, the
final chapters are described as hot, red, or heated in the build toward the race riots that fill the streets of Harlem—literally and figuratively—
with fire.

What is the deeper meaning of the narrator's position at the women's division of the Brotherhood in Invisible Man?
When the narrator is sent downtown, a symbol of demotion, he is put in charge of the women's division. Through its portrayal of female
characters, the novel has already shown that women are viewed as unequal to men in society. Therefore, sending a black man to head up the
women's division is another example of white men "castrating," or feminizing, powerful black men. The demotion also creates strong parallels
between blacks and women and their position as "second-class citizens." The difference, however, is that the white women in the novel aren't
as aware of their disenfranchised position as the narrator is.

What does the narrator of Invisible Man mean when he says some men live "outside of history"?
The narrator is obsessed with being remembered as an individual in history. He realizes, however, that white men are the ones who record
history, choosing which details to include and which to omit. For a while, he attempts to appease the white men, perpetuating the "white is
right" mentality. As he matures, he sees that other men create legacies for themselves by living "outside of history"—by remaining "invisible" to
white men. By living underground, away from the rest of society, the narrator refuses to let anyone else define his existence. Instead, he
hibernates and writes his memoirs, which gives him full control of defining his life.

In what ways are Brother Jack and the looters Dupre and Scofield similar in Invisible Man?
Both Brother Jack and the two looters lead the unwitting narrator to commit crimes against his people. Dupre and Scofield lead the dazed
narrator to a derelict tenement, and before he knows it, he's helping burn it down despite the protest of its residents. He hasn't expected the
destruction and is unsure how to feel about it. Similarly, Brother Jack leads the narrator to destroy his community when he follows the
Brotherhood's ideals without question. By taking part in Brother Jack's plans, even after he realizes the outcome, the narrator has become
complicit in sacrificing the vulnerable Harlem residents to Brother Jack.

At the end of Invisible Man, is individual identity or community identity more important to the narrator?
The narrator cannot separate individual identity from community identity at the end of the novel. All those who pursued individual identity over
the well-being of others are portrayed as villains: Dr. Bledsoe exploits his black students for personal power, Brother Jack sacrifices the
community he promised to serve, and Ras the Exhorter threatens violence and death against his own race. Yet the narrator is still concerned
with being seen as an individual rather than simply a member of the black mass of his community. He wants to create both a strong sense of
community and an individual place within it.
Describe the significance of the Founder's statue in Invisible Man.
The Founder's statue is an ongoing symbol of enlightenment and white supremacy in the novel. In the statue, the Founder lifts the veil off the
eyes of a slave, symbolizing his enlightenment. Upon further reflection, however, the narrator wonders whether this education and the
Founder in the statue are actually pulling the veil more firmly over the slave's eyes. Throughout the novel, whenever the narrator believes he is
progressing and enlightening himself, he is actually being manipulated or "used" by white powers. Later, the narrator sees that the statue is
covered in bird droppings, suggesting that the Founder's ideals have been desecrated.

How are white women portrayed in Invisible Man?

White women are portrayed as taboo, unobtainable creatures for black men such as the narrator. This is seen in the battle royal scene with the
naked, dancing woman and through the character of Emma, Brother Jack's mistress. When the women are obtained (as with Sybil and the
unnamed woman in Chapter 19), they are portrayed as racist, shallow women with little to offer the narrator. Exploited and underserved by
their communities, the women are nearly indistinguishable from each other. Given the narrator's desire to be seen as an individual rather than
a stereotype, the portrayal suggests that he has his own prejudices.

What identity has the narrator created for himself at the end of Invisible Man?
At the novel's end, the narrator has been underground for more than 15 years, reflecting on the events in his life and trying to make sense of
them. He has come to define himself by understanding more about his circumstances, including his cultural heritage, his role in history, and his
relationship with the white supremacists who have kept him "running." He seems to understand the mistakes he has made in life as well as the
way society is rigged against his success. The narrator is still invisible and nameless, but the ending offers hope that he will find an identity from
the possibilities he can now recognize.

Compare and contrast the ideologies of the Brotherhood and the college. How does each ideology breed blindness and invisibility? What
conflicts do they cause for the narrator?
The college’s ideology is based on the ideas of Booker T. Washington, who is represented by the figure of the Founder; through a near-religious
devotion to the legend of the Founder’s life, students at the college are taught to work hard and seek economic advancement while not
clamoring for equal rights or equal treatment from whites. The college encourages students to reject black culture to the extent that it seems
ignorant and rural, and to pattern their behavior on the white middle class. The Brotherhood adheres to an ideology based on that of American
communist groups in the 1930s, a sort of authoritarian socialism that relies on a Marxist theory of history—which holds that those of lower
social status must submit themselves to the unavoidable class struggles on the path to equality. The Brotherhood thus prizes clinical, scientific
exposition over the sort of emotional appeal on behalf of the individual that the narrator makes after Tod Clifton’s death.

The ideology of the college limits the narrator’s identity in that it forces him to reject the black culture that shaped his early identity and forces
him to accept a position of inherent inferiority to whites. The ideology of the Brotherhood limits the narrator’s identity in that it requires blind
adherence to the collective attitude of the organization and allows no room for individual thought, expression, or action—the very things that
the narrator craves. By limiting the narrator’s identity, these ideologies effectively render him invisible, as they force him to bury his real self
beneath the roles that those around him require him to play.

Who is Rinehart? What does he represent? What does he mean to the narrator?
Rinehart is a mystery and a source of deep ambiguity in Invisible Man. He never appears in the novel, and the narrator only learns of his
existence when other people mistake him for Rinehart while he is in disguise. Rinehart seems to be all things to all people—pimp, bookie, and
preacher, among other things. Ultimately, Rinehart is an extremely surreal figure of Ellison’s creation, designed not to be realistic or believable
but rather unsettling and confusing. Rinehart represents a protean conception of identity—the idea that a person’s identity can change
completely depending on where one is and with whom one interacts, an extreme version of the narrator’s conundrum throughout the novel. At
first, the narrator feels that Rinehart’s adaptability enables a kind of freedom, but he quickly realizes that Rinehart’s formlessness also
represents a complete loss of individual selfhood. In the end, the liquidity of Rinehart’s identity is one of the forces that compel the narrator to
discover his own more solid identity.
What is the role of treachery in the novel? Who betrays whom? How does treachery relate to the motifs of blindness and invisibility?
The two major betrayals in the novel are the narrator’s betrayals at the hands of the college (in the figure of Dr. Bledsoe) and the Brotherhood
(in the figure of Brother Jack). Bledsoe poses as a figure representing the advancement of black Americans through education. In reality,
however, he deliberately subordinates himself to whites and says that he would see every black man in America lynched before giving up his
power. That he sends the narrator away with letters of supposed recommendation that, in reality, explicitly criticize the narrator demonstrates
his objectionable desire to suppress black identity. The members of the Brotherhood betray the narrator in a number of insidious ways, ranging
from curtailing his individuality to turning their backs on the plight of the poor blacks in Harlem. Jack, specifically, betrays the narrator by posing
as a compassionate and helpful friend while secretly harboring racist prejudice against him and using him as a tool for the advancement of the
Brotherhood’s ends.

This sort of treachery generally contributes to the novel’s creation of a bewildering, malevolent world in which an unexpected blow can come at
any time, reinforcing the novel’s characterization of the social effects of racial prejudice. Treachery also reinforces the ideas of blindness and
invisibility, because any betrayal is essentially a sign that the betrayer willfully refuses to see his victim. Additionally, the novel’s betrayals
function through deceit and secrecy—for the most part, they are invisible, and the narrator is blind to them until it is too late.