Topic > Ralph Ellison's Life: Invisible Man - 1427

Invisible Man (1952) chronicles the journey of a young African American in search of self-discovery amid racial, social and political tensions. This novel presents a striking parallel to Ellison's life. Born in Oklahoma in 1914, Ellison was greatly influenced by his namesake, the transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ellison attended Tuskegee Institute on a music scholarship before leaving to pursue his dreams in New York. Ellison's life mirrors that of his protagonist as he drew heavily on his own experiences to write The Invisible Man. Ellison uses the parallel structure between the narrator's life and his own to illustrate the connection between sight and power, stemming from Ellison's experiences with the communist party. In the opening chapters, the narrator receives a scholarship to attend the "state college for Negroes". He is told that to win the scholarship, he must stand up and give a speech before a congregation of the community's most prominent members. However, once he arrives at the hotel where he will give his speech, he is blindfolded and forced to participate in a "Battle Royal" between other young African Americans. During the battle, he manages to lift the bandage halfway, partially restoring his sight. The fighters throw themselves wildly at each other. The narrator says: “Blindfolded, I could no longer control my movements. I had no dignity." He is dehumanized, brutalized and demoralized. His blindness is symbolic, as he has no authority in the situation. He is helpless, at the mercy of the white men who are playing with him. The narrator believes that he was attending the conference to secure a scholarship to further his education; however, in reality it was mere entertainment. H......half of the paper......oop. "Ralph Ellison: Harlem and Richard Wright." Shmoop. Np, nd Web. 05 December 2013.Brucker, Carl. "Ralph Ellison." Ralph Ellison. Np, nd Web. December 10, 2013. Cuneo, Nick. "Appeasement, Conscience, and a New Humanism: Ellison's Critique of Washington and DuBois and His Hope for Black Americans." Duke Edu. Duke University and Web. December 10, 2013. Staples, Brent. "The visible man." The New York Times. The New York Times, May 20, 2007. Web. December 8, 2013. Foley, Barbara. "Ralph Ellison as a Proletarian Journalist, by Barbara Foley." Ralph Ellison as the proletarian journalist, by Barbara Foley. Rutgers University and Web. December 12, 2013. Denman, Scullin, and Goracy. "W.E.B. Du Bois." Black and red. The College of New Jersey, nd Web. December 12, 2013. Ellison, Ralph. The invisible man. New York: Vintage International, 1995. Print.