2. Ralph Ellison 1913-1994 Named by his father after Ralph Waldo Emerson Attended Tuskegee Institute from 1933-1936 trained as a musician Visited New York and met with Richard Wright, Native Son author, which led to his 1 st attempt at fiction Invisible Man won the national book award He taught at several universities including Bard, University of Chicago, Rutgers, NYU, etc.

3. Invisible man The overall premise of the book explores the idea of invisibility and subsequent blindness as it relates to the nature of racism against African Americans Initially this racism is seen in the deep south where the unnamed narrator is from, and then it is experienced in NYC and Harlem where he eventually goes underground

4. Setting Late 1920s and early 1930s in the deep south and in New York City The narrator’s hometown, the University, New York City and ‘underground’

5. Characters The narrator – the ‘invisible man,’ black, male, who 1 st experiences racism as a youth in the deep south (the battle royale), at the University, at Liberty Paints, then in the Brotherhood political organization Brother Jack – leader of the Brotherhood, a communist political group (symbolized by his red hair), and a ‘blinded white man’ metaphorically and literally (glass eye) – maintains his own racist viewpoints although touts himself as a defender of oppressed people

6. Characters cont’d Tod Clifton – black member of the Brotherhood, intelligent, handsome, well-spoken, he eventually becomes disillusioned with the organization and ironically sells Black Sambo dolls (stereotyped derogatory servile image of African Americans) on the streets of NYC Ras the Exhorter – is a violent, black nationalist that advocates complete overthrow of the white supremacists, he incites the people of Harlem to rioting and violence

7. Characters cont’d Rinehart – a character that never appears but the narrator is mistaken for him when trying to be incognito he dons dark glasses and a hat – apparently Rinehart is pimp, bookie and preacher Dr. Bledsoe – has attained a position of authority among the white community as president of the university that the narrator attends, however, he has a superficial aspect of servility and would gladly see blacks lynched before giving up his status

8. Characters cont’d Mr. Norton – white trustee of the university who believes himself to be philanthropic, yet, will only see what he wants to see, he has a near stroke after the Jim Trueblood incident and the reader wonders if his relationship with his own daughter was incestuous Reverend Homer Barbee – is a blind, black speaker at the university he fervently speaks of the Founder’s ‘vision’ (ironic and mythic intention of author) Jim Trueblood – living on the outskirts of the university campus, this black man impregnated his own daughter, blacks consider him a disgrace to the community whereas Trueblood admittedly is receiving much more attention, interest, and financial help from the white community following the spread of the story of incest

9. Characters cont’d The Veteran – a supposedly shell-shocked WWI vet, declared insane and committed to a local asylum, is one of the only characters in the novel that speaks truthfully of race relations, he graduated from the university and med school Mary – a black woman in Harlem who takes in the narrator and is exceedingly kind to him when he is down on his luck, she encourages him to be a leader among the black community Sybil – a white woman, who the narrator attempts to seduce and use to garner information about the Brotherhood’s real agenda, who actually uses the narrator to her own benefit to fulfill her sexual fantasies of being raped by an overpowering black man

10. Themes Racism – is a barrier to the narrator’s self identity, racial prejudice causes different conceptions of what the role of the narrator is in each situation he experiences Limitation of ideologies – at the university, within the Brotherhood, in his home community as a child, Ras the Exhorter’s plan, etc. Fighting stereotype w/stereotype – each black person the narrator encounters has a different conceptualization about how to interact among the white community, however, all seem counterproductive

11. Motifs Blindness – Rev. ‘Homer’ Barbee; Brother Jack; narrator’s story of the white man who could not ‘see’ him or the desire to see only what one wishes to see; narrator is temporarily blinded by the spotlights on stage; the boys are blindfolded at the battle royal, etc. Invisibility – this perpetual, recurring phenomenon of blindness causes the narrator to deem himself ‘invisible’ primarily because people refuse to ‘see’ him; invisibly draining power in the basement of the apartment building; becoming invisible as a means of combating prejudice (although the narrator eventually comes to the realization that he cannot effectively make a difference being an ‘invisible man’ but rather must become visible once more

12. Symbols The Black Sambo Doll and the coin bank – are symbols of black servility to whites, the symbols relentlessly persist in the life of the narrator Liberty Paint Plant – known for its Optic White that can cover anything with white, the name of the company is liberty or freedom where anything but that is happening, dark colors are required in the formula to achieve the white brilliance, a black employee, who is the backbone of the paint manufacturing works in the basement unseen and resisting any attempt at better working conditions

13. Works Cited Ellison, Ralph Invisible Man. Vintage International division of Random House, Inc. New York, 1947. www. Sparknotes.com/lit/invisibleman