Analysing Invisible Man Essay -- Invisible Man Ralph Ellison Essays

Analysing Invisible human After reading this book I wondered what it would be like to be blind then gain sight, only when unfeignedlyize you cannot throw yourself because you be invisible. It seems like a cruel joke that once you can see you realize that you still cannot see who you are. Even though this seems like a very depressing event Ellison makes it seem like a supreme thing. While, at the difference of the baloney, the narrator still does not know his do in the world he seems to be glad that he is no longer cover. He even questions the readers ability to see, Who knows but that, on some(prenominal) lower frequencies, I speak for you? What Ellison does well is the evolution of the narrators blindness. The blindness need seems to starting signal show up at the battle purple. The blindfold scares the narrator. He was not used to darkness, and it put him in a blind terror. This is the first time that the narrator admits his blindness, but at the same time he also shows the blindness of others. All of the men in the battle royal are blindfolded. Is this symbolic of the African-Americans plight in society? The whites have blindfolded them and they have no idea who they are fighting against. So they end up beating each other rather than the real slew they should be fighting. I think Ellison goes even deeper than mere race dealings in this scene. I think he is showing the plight of the psyche in society. I think Ellison is saying that we fight blindly amongst ourselves, and it is not until we take off the blindfolds that we can band together and fight the real enemy. When the narrator finally is allowed to remove his blindfold he is so inattentive with what he believes he is there for that he can not really focus on his fight with Tatlock. Again Ellison is commenting on the plight of the individual. The narrator is also blind to Dr. Bledsoes true nature. It is not until later in the story that he realizes that Bledsoe wears diff erent masks in front of different throng. The narrator cannot be completely held at fault here because others are also fooled by Bledsoe. Bledsoe also dupes Barbee. Ellison then lets the reader know that Barbee is physically blind. Why is that fact important? I believe that Ellison is saying that anyone who buys into Bledsoe or Bledsoes way of intellection is also blind. There is a point in Barbees speech where he is turning toward Dr. B... ... fact that he can be mistaken for Rinehart proves that Rinehart has no identity himself, but it also proves the same thing for the narrator. This seems to be why the narrator is never given a name. How do we identify people? By their names, and he has no identity so he is nameless. The epilog is as important as the Prologue. Here we learn that the narrator is produce to go disclose and search for his identity. However, now he seems to see himself as higher than others because of his experiences. He states that everyone has experien ced the same thing he has, but on a lower frequency. Is this conceit, or is he trying to cerebrate to everyone? If it is conceit then I am less likely to leave the narrator and his point of view on all that happened to him. However, he speaks of his complaisant responsibility so he seems to be a caring person, and it is because of this that I trust him.Questions1. Is Mr. Norton wrong in believing that the narrator is his destiny?2. Who is the most visible person in the book?3. Ellison seems to be speaking out against stereotyping, yet most of his characters are types rather than characters. Is he the very thing he is speaking out against?