Invisible Man (Modern Library 100 Best Novels)

This book is 19th on the Modern Library's best 100 novels of the 1900s. As a classic, much has been made of its importance as a study of racial identity in the 1930s. The narrator is a young black man. He is expelled from a southern university in the beginning of the novel when he is assigned the task of chauffeuring a visiting benefactor, a white man, to a school function. The benefactor asks to go for a drive, and the narrator gives him a tour of the rural south that is a little too scenic, one might say.

Thus expelled, the narrator heads to Harlem to seek work and a real-life education. There he becomes a member of The Brotherhood, a mixed-race organization that seems progressive at first. But as the narrator discovers time and again, it's more hype than enthusiasm to actually change the status quo. And despite the repeated offering of help from others, the narrator can only depend on himself. Because, as he realizes, to them he exists only in terms of his ability to help them and forward their cause. To them he is not a person. To them he is an invisible man.

THE INVISIBLE MAN is a book about the politics of racial identity, but framed in the context of the greater philosophical question of identity itself. The narrator, who conspicuously is never named, encounters time and time again the paradoxes of identity. Perceptions, deception, propaganda. The way an action can change a person's image in a community forever. The way a group can push for social change in principle but fail to back that in action (reality). And for the narrator, the paradox of learning more and more but having less and less a personal identity.

This is a book of questions more than it is answers. Insightful social commentary that is as relevant today as it was when it was written.

* * * * *

(R E M I N D E R
of course it is VERY OUTDATED-its over 50yrs old-CAN NOT judge
IT BY TODAYS STANDARDS)

THE INVISABLE MAN--RANDOM HOUSE-1952--took *RWE* 5yrs to write.

author--RALPH WALDO ELLISON-3/1/1914-- to-- 4/16/1994 from OKLA-
HOMA CITY,OKLAHOMA.

Ellison ws a lit critic__scholar AND writer..FRIENDS with RICHARD
WRIGHT.

m a n...NATIONAL BOOK AWARD-1953 1998 PICKED AS one OF THE TOP 100
books
of THE 20th CENTURY. ABOUT a BLACK MAN who considers himself SOCIALLY
---INVISABLE.

HE IS IN THE present LOOKING INTO THE _______________----------past.

Ellison---A GREAT OKLAHOMAN !

bbp okc 65

Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man" is a novel that forces the reader to discard conventional notions of race relations and look at certain issues of humanity in ways that are entirely unique and original. It is written in the first person by a protagonist whose name we never learn; by keeping him anonymous, we are able to relate to him better, and it helps to emphasize his "invisibility" with respect to the world. We know that he is a young black man, comes from somewhere in the South, is a bright student, and is thoughtful, introspective, positive, and ambitious. This novel is about how he is used, abused, and transformed into a cynic, but its tone is ironic rather than angry or bitter.
The novel begins just after his high school graduation, when he is invited to give a speech at a party for his hometown's most prominent white citizens. They award him a college scholarship, but they also want him to participate in a battle royal where he must fight other young black men for money while the white men watch with delight.
With the intention of becoming an educator, he attends a black college whose president is an arrogant pedagogue named Dr. Bledsoe. Assigned to be a campus chauffeur, he innocently takes a visiting white trustee of the college on an extended tour (on the trustee's request) to the cottage of an incestuous sharecropper and then to a raucous roadhouse. Bledsoe is enraged when he learns of this excursion and, as punishment for the embarrassment he imagines this has caused the college, gives the protagonist a "vacation" and sends him to New York with a promise to refer him for a job with one of the college's wealthy trustees.
Through a cruel trick played on him by Bledsoe, the protagonist ends up working at a paint factory in Long Island for tyrannical bosses, but not for long. He falls in with a group called the Brotherhood, a vaguely Communist organization that promotes humanism and racial harmony, and is hired to speak at rallies in Harlem. This fulfills his ambition to become a leader and a voice of the community; even though his fiery speeches are mostly platitudinous, they're what his audiences want to hear.
As a public speaker advocating multiracial brotherhood, he must contend with a vociferous black nationalist named Ras the Exhorter, who considers the protagonist a traitor to his race. When the murder of a young black man by a policeman incites a riot in Harlem, the protagonist realizes that the Brotherhood was just using him as a tool to aggravate Ras and divide the black community upon "with-us"/"against-us" lines.
The protagonist's personal condition has a universality in that everyone is born, lives, and dies without a purpose (except maybe a divined one), often leaving no trace of ever having existed in the grand scheme of things. It is this type of person that the protagonist refers to as "invisible" ("We who write no novels, histories or other books"), includes himself among the unseen, and strives to break out of this condition.
An important motif in the novel is that the protagonist is treated with condescension at almost every step in his life, not only by whites who ostensibly are helping him but also by blacks who want to display him to white people as a symbol of black progress. Indeed, the deferential placement of the novel at #19 on the Modern Library's list of the best English-language novels of the 20th Century ironically illustrates this theme. However, "Invisible Man" deserves its acclaim as one of the most complex and provocative novels of the American experience.

An unnamed young black man becomes aware of his own unimportance. He is transformed from subservence to the white man to a pawn of both liberal whites and self important blacks.
Along his journey he encounters racism at its ugliest in the Southern town in which he lived. He also encounters a wealthy white man who views blacks as his destiny and a complex black university president who has his own self-centered agenda.
Our hero is sent to New York under false pretenses by the president of the university where he encounters union organizers and liberal whites promoting Communist like ideals. He is used by the liberals to organize harlem blacks for the party only to learn that the party leadership care nothing for black people other than to advance their own agenda. In reality the party means to martyr black citizens to advance their cause.
The young man is pushed around like a pin ball token as he is a pawn of everyone with an agenda. Finally he realizes that he has never had any individuality and really is an 'invisible man.'
I am sure that I did not understand all the symbolisms.Ellison truly was brilliant and this is powerfull reading.

The most striking part about reading The Invisible Man (and for the first time) is how depressingly relevant it still is. This book, written in 1952, could easily be placed into someone’s hands today with a falsified publication date claiming 2017, with the reader exclaiming upon completion how cutting edge it is. I say depressing because, while The Invisible Man will always be a relevant text, a text that matters in any historical context, it is still SO relevant that it begs the question, have we made any progress since it was written? But that’s not for me to say.

As a white male, I am not in a very popular social bucket right now. The most insidious component to ‘white privilege’ is that the privileged, by definition, are so often ignorant of their own privileged status. And if not, can easily be accused of it still. I’ll confess to not fully understanding the current social problems we have regarding race in this country, and also to not wanting to even hear about them anymore. That, I now understand consciously, is a ‘privilege’ I’ve had all my life. Willful ignorance. Or at least the desire for it. Reading the Invisible Man was a hard, not so enjoyable experience. Much of it feels raw and brimming with anger, and collectively (as we can see with the most recent current events), the defensive stance some whites have taken in the past is morphing into aggression. How to respond to what so often feels like blame? Fifty pages later I could be reading something that made me want to scream at the injustice. And not the injustice of things I’m reading about in a novel, but injustices that actually happened, and are still happening, and feel unsolvable. Then throw in that feeling of helplessness. Helpless to create change. Even to some degree, helpless to speak. Even contemplating the writing of this review, I feel as though my opinions aren’t justified or wanted, and can only add fuel to the fire, though unintentionally. So at that level, I feel like even this review is a risk for more discomfort. But I read the Invisible Man. And I feel like it’s every American’s duty, now more than ever, to seek out discomfort, embrace it, and continue to seek it out in careful doses, daily, for the rest of their lives until solutions start presenting themselves. The Invisible Man is a great place to begin.

I feel like I have to add a few caveats here though, especially after having glanced over some of the other reviews. In my youth, The Invisible Man was taught in a lot of high schools, and maybe still is, and with some supervision could be an instructive read, but I think it is more suitable for an adult that is willing to deeply engage the text. There are some heavy scenes that some parents may not be open to their children reading, and others that may prove overly provocative. That being said, I think this should be required reading, both for its historical context and the prophetic warning that still applies.

The quintessential novel serving as a precursor to the civil rights movement, "Invisible Man" explores the trials and tribulations of a gifted black man in the Depression era South and Harlem. Although racial strife and inequality is the central focus to Ellison's work, larger questions of individuality and conformity in an imperfect world abound. Even though the systemic racism and Jim Crow violence of this era has been relegated to the back burner of history, "Invisible Man" is still a potent story today, regardless of one's race or position in life.

"Invisible Man" serves as an apparatus for Ellision to espouse his own beliefs on the role of Blacks in America. Although Ellison rejects a philosophy of conformance to white society and the pursuit of economic success to trump racial inequality, he also vehemently rejects the black supremacy ideology, personified by Ras the Exhorter. Yet, the most damning condemnation is reserved for the organizations who manipulate and cajole blacks for their own agenda, as personified by the Brotherhood. Initially, the narrator (the unnamed "invisible" man) is offered a job as spokesman, who will spout their socialist propaganda at massive rallies in an attempt to organize Blacks into a vital force for socialist change. However, it soon becomes evident that the White power structure of the Brotherhood is using him as a means to dupe others. Indeed, the Brotherhood ultimately decides to "sacrifice" their Harlem contingency, a nice way of saying they they will let Blacks wallow in their own cesspool of racism and horrid living conditions.

Throughout the novel blindness plays an important role. In his attempt to advance himself, the narrator is blind to the true ambitions of the Brotherhood. Ras the Exhorter, the fiery demagogue, is blind to the race riot and violence he helps to incite. The white oppressors are blind to the black individual and his ability to succeed. Indeed, it seems as if no one is immune to the blindness of stereotypes, be they black or white.

On a higher level, "Invisible Man" explores the meaning of individuality and an attempt to define one's self. Throughout the novel, the narrator lets others define who he is. Only when he realizes that he's been living a pipe dream does he wake up and cast off the illusions of equality and manages to understand himself. However, this relates to anyone who as ever struggled to define themselves.

Overall, Ellison provides a multi-dimensional and thought-provoking novel. Although it was written sixty years ago and most of the systemic racism is gone, it is still relevant today. Indeed, it may be even more relevant as we attempt to break from the conformance of society and find our true selves.

I first read Ralph Ellison's masterpiece "Invisible Man" in high school and was struck with the enormous number of layers and nuances throughout the book. Having re-read it as an adult, I saw even more than I had as a teenager. Ellison's facility with giving different scenes different levels of meaning is comparable to the great Herman Melville, who constructed "Moby Dick" in much the same manner.
Ellison makes his point about the invisibility of blacks in America before you even open the book; the title itself has no article, no "An Invisible Man" or "The Invisible Man," but simply and starkly, "Invisible Man." This simple ommission (or commission, depending on how you want to approach it) sets the story afloat by subtly establishing that the main character is seen to be almost suspended in the ether, noticed not at all by whites until they attribute to him whatever prejudice, odd ideas, or assumptions they have about the black race.
In the prologue, Ellison lets his hero (anti-hero?) ramble on and on about different experiences, not telling us directly who he is and what he's like, but leaving it to the reader to do the work of harvesting from this field of memory what impressions he or she can about the character. The story begins with the hero giving a tour of the local county to an important visitor from the college the hero attends. A harrowing firsthand account of incest follows--one of the tensest, most intense scenes I've ever read in any book--and somewhat thereafter, the hero is forced to leave the college. He drifts hither and yon, from country to city, from friend to friend, never quite getting his bearings and not really understanding why. When he finally hooks up with a political group towards the end of the book, you find yourself relieved that he's found some purpose--but even this turns out to be ominous and unfortunate.
It's a testament to Ellison's talent (and his willpower) that he ends the book on a hanging note. We don't know what will happen next--we have no sense of it at all. And isn't that entirely Ellison's point?

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is many things, all of them great: one of the twentieth century's best novels, a landmark identity exploration, one of the most brilliantly vivid dramatizations of existentialism and other Post-Modern intellectual concerns, one of the most relevant sociopolitical works since World War II, a revolutionary novel in structural terms that proved highly influential, and a milestone of African American art. It is essential for anyone even remotely interested in such things and, indeed, anyone even slightly concerned with twentieth century literature.

Invisible is often called a "black novel," and while this sells it incredibly short, it has much to admire in this regard. The protagonist and most major characters are black, and the book gives a fascinating peak at mid-century African American culture, especially black intellectuals, political dissidents, early black power movements, and urban blacks. We get a good idea of such movements' ins and outs as well as their members' thoughts, speech, and behavior. The novel memorably deals with many themes of great importance to African Americans, from poverty to racism to identity issues. It is also steeped in black history. However, it is important to realize that Ellison did not set out to write a "black novel" in the sense of Richard Wright or James Baldwin. He was in fact disturbed by those pressing such strict sociopolitical readings, stressing that he wished Invisible could be seen "simply as a novel." To be sure, it has much to say about African Americans and their status then and now and is at least as political in its way as anything overtly meant as such. However, it is extremely complex and ambiguous; critics and readers still debate just what Ellison meant more than half a century later. This was clearly intentional; nearly every aspect of the book has great sociopolitical relevance, but it never even comes close to didactic. Ellison dramatizes supremely meaningful themes and raises many profound questions but knows better than to give answers; that is up to us. As with Zora Neale Hurston, his refusal to take a definite stand on "black" issues did not sit well with the more forceful politically engaged black leaders, but this is to the book's literary benefit. Released in 1952, it is an important link between Modernism and Post-Modernism; its relentless staging of profound philosophical issues with an existential awareness of the impossibility of definitive answers is distinctly Modern, while its political aspect is very Post-Modern. It walks a similar line between African American literature and general literature with the former's trappings and the latter's breadth. The bottomline is that it has the strengths of both and is great on both fronts.

Important as Invisible is to black concerns, it is also grandly universal - politically, philosophically, and otherwise. Above all, it is an eloquent illustration of the underdog in all facets - an extremely vivid account of what it is like to be an outcast in various societies. The Invisible Man symbolizes everyone who is downtrodden, whether from race, class, beliefs, or whatever else. It is thus a supremely searching and stirringly affecting portrait of modern alienation; whether in the rural South or Harlem, the Invisible Man is essentially down and out and in the most fundamental sense alone. There is a strong criminal, even revolutionary, element to his plight that shines a much-needed light on the vast dark side of a mid-century era that many think of as idyllic. A far cry from the official Leave It to Beaver world, it was a loud wake-up call to a complacent society and remains a vibrantly relevant paean to outcasts everywhere.

Many Post-Modern themes abound - paranoia, distrust of authority, etc. -, but identity crisis is preeminent. One of the most truly existential novels, Invisible focuses largely on the prime existential question - how to find oneself in a world where traditional authority, from government to religion, has become extinct. One can no longer rely on higher sources but must find the answer in one's own heart and mind. Invisible is thus a bildungsroman on top of everything else - one's man's struggle to find the answer. Traditional fallbacks fail one after another, and he is left truly alone but not without a certain dignity and even a certain (very unconventional) strength. His fight for true independence has some success, and the self-awareness and clear-sightedness he gains is in many ways at least as valuable as the illusions he loses. Probably no one would want to be him, but all honest thinking people can see themselves in him - a disturbing thought reinforced in the unforgettable closing words. We certainly do not envy him, mainly because we can see ourselves becoming him so easily; he is an extreme version of the darkness that can befall an intelligent, capable person unable to fit into modern society. We identify with the darkness at his heart because we see it in ours - hopefully barely kindled but in danger of becoming a conflagration at any moment, just as his unexpectedly does when he seems on the very brink of success.

Important as the content is, the structure is also integral. The back of the book claims that Invisible gives "an entirely new model of what a novel can be," which is not much of an exaggeration. Non-linear and distinctly anti-realist with a highly symbolic, often surreal plot, it again straddles Modernism and Post-Modernism. This is one of the main reasons that calling it a "black novel" is severely limiting. For one thing, it is highly allusive, referring to many works by non-blacks; Homer's Odyssey is an important source, and Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground and H. G. Wells' Invisible Man are essential antecedents acknowledged by Ellison. Though not near-impenetrable as the likes of Joyce, Faulkner, and Pynchon are at their most abstruse, Invisible is challenging; the content was audacious and is still provocative, and the protagonist is not the usual sympathetic one, but the structure itself is demanding. One can read - and even enjoy - Invisible on a surface level, but those willing to dig deeper and truly engage themselves will get so much more out of it. We must make an effort to identify with the protagonist even when he seems most alien precisely because this is when he is really most familiar, and we must be alive to the frequent symbolism. Those willing to do so will be well rewarded; few novels are broader in scope or more complex in execution, not to mention more thematically meaningful and relevant. Invisible is a masterpiece on every level, making the fact that Ellison never finished a second novel a truly tragic loss to literature; it thankfully stands alone as a towering monument that will make him a literary immortal. It is a canon in itself, essential for anyone struggling with or curious about modernity's unique problems.

Ellison's narrator has essentially beat a retreat from the world. He holes up in a subterranean room, where he reflects on the the injustices society has dealt him. The Invisible Man beats and almost kills a white man he confronts on an empty street, simply to rationalize his own existence.This novel is filled with self loathing. Yet, the narrator does achieve a sort of spiritual progress and affirmative self-knowledge. He goes from being a pathetically exploited non-being that must acceed to the whims and wishes of the white opressor (the often anthologized battle royal scene at the beginning of the book), to a point near the conclusion of the book in which he can state he is free to pursue "infinite possibilities."
in an overall favorable review of this novel, Ellison allows the narrator to almost become a different character separate from the rest of the novel in the section where the narrator falls in with "The Brotherhood" portrays the communist party in an unrealisticly vain matter. Yes, the "I" in Invisible Man is harder to see than the other characters, but that is part of the author's construct. It's the very point he makes over and over throughout the novel. How better to portray an "invisible man?"
You are in for an unforgettable impactful read.

This great American novel begins by articulating what it means to be an intellectual, young Afro-American in the South around the time of WWII. Invisible man meets with deceit, distrust and manipulation at every turn and decides to move North to New York City where he finds more of the same. After living hand-to-mouth in Harlem, he becomes a spokesperson for a social movement in Harlem seeking to mobilize for reform. He becomes a pawn in the hands of the leadership of this radical reform movement even as he articluates their messaging. During riots in Harlem he becomes an underground man, literally hibernating below the streets of New York in a hole. The link to Dostoyevsky's undergound man becomes inescapable. Nevertheless, his elusive identity and absence of voice and powerlessness in the hands of his society and culture become paralytic for him. He is a nameless intellectual struggling to assert his identity to overcome the cosmic void intent upon swallowing him through animosity, poverty and bigotry. He becomes a man who has lost his illusions and determines that "humanity is won by continuing to play in the face of certain defeat." There are extistential themes at play in the novel when that philosophy was in its heyday after Europe crawled out of the bunkers and rubble of the decimation of World War II: "...for all life seen from the hole of invisibility is absurd." He decides after living in the hole that he must shed his snakeskin and come up for breath. "Thus, having tried to give pattern to the chaos, which lives within the pattern of your certainties, I must come out, I must emerge." Invisible man does crawl out of his underground hibernation with full recognition of his invisibility and cognizant it's possible that even an invisible man has a "socially responsible role to play." He admonishes us, powerfully, that his voice is also ours. Saul Bellow was right to consider Invisible Man a "book of the very first order." Even more impressively, this was Ellison's first novel and could be considered one of the best, first novels even written by an American. Read Invisible Man: these American Notes from Underground are powerful and moving and prescient. In so profoundly articulating the nothingess, Ellison is really something -- immortal. Invisible man is us.

Ralph Ellison's THE INVISIBLE MAN is justly celebrated as one of the outstanding American novels of the twentieth century. Though not lacking in universal themes, it truly is a novel rooted in the American experience, a book that explores many of the complexities of race relations in the United States. The book ends by refusing to offer an facile answers or to identify any simple villains. The novel's many villains number as many African Americans as whites, and no true heroes of either race. The sense at the end is that where race relations are concerned, we in America are getting it wrong from beginning to end regardless of our race. Moreover, all political persuasions also seem to be guilty of getting it wrong.

Structurally, THE INVISIBLE MAN owes a great deal to that genre of the English novel that deals with the coming of age of a youthful hero. Indeed, this novel could be profitably be compared to TOM JONES, only without the philosophical sidetracking one finds in that novel and set in the United States with a black hero. Like Tom Jones, the narrator of THE INVISIBLE MAN is thrown by fate from one bizarre experience to another, never being an actor in his own story, but merely a reactor. The narrator does not seize his own fate, but allows himself to be passively shifted about. His story is largely told through stringing together a number of bizarre incidents: a surreal Battle Royal in which a group of young blacks are blindfolded and forced to fight one another for the amusement of a group of whites, who later listen to the battered narrator present a speech that he hopes will win him a scholarship to college. At college he serves as driver for one of the school's white benefactors, but instead of it being an occasion for furthering his career, the day degenerates despite his best intentions into a pure nightmare, which results in his expulsion from school. He travels to New York to seek work, but the only thing he gets from his one day of working in a paint factory is a concussion and short term disability payments. Finally--and this embraces most of the last half of the novel--our hero inadvertently becomes a political speaker for the Communist party (an experience that reflects Ellison's own experience as a political writer for the Communists in the 1930s, though in the novel he refers to them only as The Brotherhood). His work as a Communist organizer is contrasted with an African Black Nationalist agitator named Ras, who in the tradition of Marcus Garvey believes in the separation of the races. What links all these adventures together is that throughout the Narrator is never affirmed or perceived for who he is in himself. All without exception focus on him as a mere member of his race, never on him as an individual. Indeed, while the Communists are largely lacking in the racism he finds elsewhere, their interest in him largely lies in the use to which he can be put. They are, in fact, not interested in individuals at all, and even if they are hostile towards class rather than race, they are equally as hostile towards the individual.

The novel is profoundly political. Ellison is equally disenchanted with those who feel that the goal for blacks is to educate them so that they can gradually become more and more accepted in a white-dominated society, with the Communists who want to eliminate the individual for the sake of the group (indeed, who are willing to sacrifice individuals and even groups of individuals for the sake of furthering the purposes of history), and those who call for a radical withdrawal of blacks from all social intercourse with whites. Instead, he argues at the end of the novel for the primacy of the individual against race, history, or the group. In the end, he expresses the desire to be viewed as himself, apart from whatever categories can be used to define him.

The tone of the book is comic without being truly funny. There is a surreality about most of the sections of the book. Given Ellison's political background in Communism, this is of profound significance. For the Communists, all legitimate fiction had to be starkly realistic. There is very little realism in THE INVISIBLE MAN. Much of the novel is comically nightmarish. In fact, while looking backward the novel reminded me of novels like TOM JONES, looking forward it reminded me of CATCH-22. I do not know if Joseph Heller was influenced by this book, but I would be very surprised if he was not. Much as that novel blends the comic and the tragic (though it is far funnier than Ellison's book, or indeed more than just about any other novel), so did Ellison's. In fact, it is hard to find models for Ellison's book, unless one points to TOM JONES as I have, or perhaps in a vague way to the novels of James Joyce. Indeed, it is hard to realize what a wildly original novel THE INVISIBLE MAN is, if only because he pioneered a narrative style that became commonplace later. Another thing to note about his anti-realism style is his characters. For the most part, Ellison's do not resemble people you would meet in real life. Many are intentional caricatures, many grotesques in the tradition of Charles Dickens. All are intended to emphasize the unreality and nightmarish quality of the narrator's life.

I truly love this novel. It is one of the few important "African American" novels that is more important for its literary qualities than for its role as a racial novel. Ellison makes some amazing and brilliant innovations on the traditional English novel. This is often said to be the finest novel ever written by an African American, but that really is damning it with faint praise. It is almost a way of making it The Invisible Novel. This novel's greatness does not lie in having been written by a black writer, but in being a magnificently marvelous novel on purely literary grounds. My only regret is that Ellison largely turned his back on fiction after publishing THE INVISIBLE MAN. He was also an absolutely brilliant essayist and jazz critic (his formal education was largely in music theory and he early on aspired to being a jazz musician), but I wish he had not so completely abandoned fiction.

Invisible Man is one of the greatest novels of this century. Ellison only published the one novel during his lifetime, but he was correct when he said that there wasn't much more to say.
Invisible Man is told my an unnamed narrator (an effective device since the narrator hasn't totally found his existential self). He is an African American from the south living in New York. He has come to the realization that he is invisible in that people choose (conciously or subconciously) to look through him. He then tells the story of his life which has lead him to that epiphany.
Invisible Man is really marvelous. It is an existential novel of not really an African American in a prejudiced time and place, but really an American trying to find his identity in that prejudiced country. Ellison has so much to say about the races being a little of each other, not really being separate. He has so much to say to all of humanity. He tells everything in a smoothly written narrative. The prose is beautiful. The plot is entertaining and causes thought. This novel is just as valid today as it was when written and cannot be missed by the upcoming generation.

Although this is a fairly long work, I consider it one of the richest works I have ever read. In terms of sheer information and hidden subversiveness, this book is a rare treat for those who like to dig deep beneath the surfaces and find what is hidden there. Invisible Man is not merely a work about an alienated black male, it is also the story of American history, and the racism that has been ever present, on the surface and veiled beneath the harmless guise of tradition. The fact that Ellison produced such a biting critique of American society, and was able to get it published, is a miracle in itself. 'Invisible Man' is a powerful statement against the dehumanizing effects of racism in America. Through elaborate symbolism and metaphor Ellison goes about the huge task of trying to expose the rampant institutional and societal racism that manifested itself in practically every corner of American culture. Through the anonymous character of the Invisible Man, we are taken on a tour that begins in the outwardly racist South and ends in the supposedly progressive Eastern city of New York and Harlem. What the Invisible Man discovers about America in his journey is both a powerful social commentary and harsh indictment of the nature of human ignorance and hatred.
The Invisible Man is certainly not an easy read, because of the threat of censorship Ellison was forced to submerge his subversive message under the appearance of mild criticism. The result is an extremely deep and complex novel, which often is charged with double-meaning, allusion, and symbolism. One is amazed at the ingenuity and inventedness that Ellison employed in this work, and equally impressed at the final result.
This work itself is a testimony that people can overcome racism, prejudice, and hatred, and yet it is at the same time disheartening to see what extreme lengths Ellison had to go in order to express his views, which inherently affects the readers of his novel as well. Although Ellison was able to get his message published, he was forced to do so under a veil of darkness, one that has effectively muffled his message to a great portion of his readers. Consequently, his ultimate triumph is partial and bittersweet.
There are many things in this book that are easily overlooked; it is one that requires much thought and investigative inquiry. "Invisible Man" is best to be read more than once, while keeping in mind the subversive nature of Ellison's critique and the extreme methods he was forced to employ in doing so. If this bit of advice is followed his message will continue to be heard, which is an important and unerrepresented voice of our American past. This book is a joy to read and provides invaluable insight to a period of American history that most people know little about. In my estimation Invisible Man is one of the greatest books written in the annals of American literature, a representation of American ingenuity and independence at its finest.

One of the enduring characteristics of American Literature is its deep desire to create a classic American work, a piece that will be canonized for its ability to reach all corners of an extremely diverse, dynamic, and often troubling society. Many critics may debate the merits of any individual who can claim to cover all of the cleavages of society within one work, yet Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man stands up nearly forty years after its original publication as a testimony to the dynamics of American society and more importantly, the systemic race 'problem' that America continues to manipulate and feel guilt for. Invisible Man narrative style allows Ellison to make poignant observations about the many distinctive ways of life in America: the differences between North and South; black and white, communist and capitalist, inner city and the privileged few and gender differences; these are all major societal distinctions that invisible Man stumbles upon along his road to realization and disillusionment in American society. Upon this examination of the work, Invisible Man is doubly recognized for providing a unique commentary of the continued degradation of Black America, complete with a distinctive black culture and way of life, but also for its ability to reach out and embrace elements of Literature such as the bildungsroman genre. Invisible Man's journey across the American landscape acts as a journey across time and become an education about America at a time of expansive consumerism and international interest expansion. This book is a highly recommended read that seeks to uncover a perspective about America that today may seem commonplace, but in its time, was rather revolutionary.

The title of Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man" may evoke memories of H.G. Wells' similarly-titled science fiction classic. But as Ellison's narrator tells us in the novel's opening, his "invisibility" is not the result of a sci-fi plot device, but rather the result of a psychosocial disorder that permeates United States culture. The novel is a brilliant exploration of this disorder: America's tortured racial legacy.
"Invisible Man" follows its young African-American narrator on an odyssey during which he encounters a host of memorable characters, both white and black. I read the novel primarily as a satire. Ellison rips into such phenomena as academia, industry, politics, and sexual taboo. The novel is full of wry symbolism and surreal flourishes. At times outrageous, at times grotesque, the novel examines some of the philosophies and world-views that tempted both black and white Americans in the early to mid-20th century. "Invisible Man" is essential reading for those interested in African-American studies, U.S. literature, or the 20th century novel.

I read this book several times in undergraduate and graduate school and it never failed to promote new concepts and a feeling of intellectual and emotional euphoria--a connection with something beyond description, so full of what it is to be a human being that it even transcends the critical racial issues that are the mainstay of the book. Ellison's book could well be the greatest book to come out of the United States and perhaps the world. The true genius of the book and its author are there for the thoughtful reader to enjoy again and again. One suggestion for a beginning reader, however: consider Reaping the Whirlwind by R.J. Norell as a historical companion piece to this book. The two should be studied together in any literature or history class. As a long-ago resident of Alabama, I can guarantee the non-southern reader (especially) a new and improved connection with the beginning of Ellison's novel. Studying historical Tuskegee, AL in combination with Ellison's college with its confoundingly servile leader and puzzling statue (etc) will give even an experienced professor of literature (as one of mine was) a new root and perspective in comprehending Ellison.

I rarely re-read books. Generally I'm one of those hoarders--a collector who stocks up on all the variety of books I could ever want to read. Granted a collection grows overwhelming and eventually out-distances your time and capacity for reading, growing ever-expanding and pushing some once desired treasures to the back shelf.
Anyway, when I was in college, at present nine years ago, there was a time over two semesters when I was assigned to read this book three times. Well, I read it twice (the one semester providing the benefit of teaching the novel at the same time). A few years later I tried again and left once more burning with the conviction that I had read one of the very great novels of the 20th century.
Sure, such high-handed praise goes around and comes again, mixing and swirling between genres and styles and tastes. But here is an experimental satire disguised as a somber discussion of race, complicated by the family/romantic troubles any ambitious young man encounters, then consumed with post-religious, aimless guilt and desperation brought about by isolation and madness and the fear of failure that can crush the spirit and flatten out the will to live until even the desire for suicide is destroyed. It is a complicated, dazzling, entertaining book that is a noble and devestating account of a man beset by doubt and inner turmoil, often still lingering from wounds others inflicted over an uncertain past.
The absolute gibberish of this review should relate some of the overwhelming exuberence memories of reading it has evoked. Nevertheless, I hope I haven't deterred you from reading the book . . .

This is book is far to good to be filed in one category, and unfortunately categorization is probably hurting the range of it's audience. What we have here is a great tome of African American literature to be sure, but the work far transends ethnicities in the importance of it's message and the social commentary found within. Granted it is about a young African American male trying to gain recognician as a man, if nothing else, in a society where identity [...] merely a fascade for social and professional purposes. This book is as well written and more developed than many of the existentialist literature spoon fed to us in school. I have to admit I felt a bit cheated that I stumbled on this book accidentally in the Black History section of a book store, sandwiched between Douglas and King.
Anyone who has opted to form their own opinions and maintain the integrity of their own values will find this a very satisfying read.

Ellison's landmark novel, Invisible Man was truly ahead of its time. It dared to exploit the issues of racism at a time when our country most needed it. It became a standard to which many future black authors would look to. By some, it is considered the best novel an African American has ever written. If not, it at least considered by a majority of its readers, an American masterpiece.

Invisible Man opens with the narrator telling us exactly what he is and how he came to be like that. It opens in almost a surrealistic fashion and we are drawn in and instantly captivated. Ellison sets the mood and we desperately want to learn more. He then begins with horrific opening scene of his life. The narrator is never named. We know from the beginning he is a college educated black man. He is also an eloquent orator. In the startling opening sequence to his story, he is manipulated into giving a speech at what he thinks is a dignified event. It is nothing more than a horrific display of racism in which white men use black anger and fighting as a form of mere entertainment. This scene sets the mood of the novel

After the opening we follow the nameless protagonist through his life. First, he gets kicked out of college by the black college president for not treating a rich white donor as he should. This black president promises him a job, but ironically the letters that he sends to all the "would-be" employer's of the nameless narrator are in actually warning to not hire him and not letters of recommendations as he promised. The narrator realizes this and has to take up a job at the local paint making factory. Here we learn some symbolism of the "white" world as Emerson brilliant uses metaphors comparing the paint to racial misunderstandings.

Eventually, a member of the "brotherhood" which is a black and white semi communist party hears a magnificent speech delivered by the narrator, which he gives to an angry black mob on the verge of an attack on white officers. The member of this organization is impressed with his speech and the nameless narrator becomes the spokesman in the city of Harlem for this organization.

The nameless narrator learns that the organization is merely using him and he is just a pawn for them The bulk of this story is the narrator coming to grips that he merely is just an invisible man to these people, most of whom are white, and they just use him to their own advantage. Sadly, the narrator doesn't realize this until it is too late and has been blinded all along by their deception.

In the end, the narrator breaks free of their grasp, but also comes to realize that his entire life to this point has been no more than being an invisible man to those around him. His own self-identity and worth has been lost. Finally, he gets his redemption and learns who he truly is.

It is hard to really name anything wrong with this novel. The language is beautiful, dark, and almost has a poetic ring to it in certain passages. It blends the issues of racism, bigotry, and individualism together in an interesting, well told story. I can't argue with the language or substance. You can feel that this story meant a lot to the author. I believe it is an important book on history in America. Ellison has so much talent and the story is as well told as any I have heard.

So, why not a perfect rating for Invisible Man? If anyone claims it to be a masterpiece I certainly wouldn't argue with them. For me, it came close, but I just kept waiting for something more to happen. What exactly? I'm not sure. It just seems like in order for a book to be a masterpiece something more has to happen. This book has no real climax. The ending was also a bit too preachy and wasn't as straight forward as it could have been. It is like you sit on the edge of your seat waiting for the big explosion, the powerful moment that will take your breath away, but it never comes. Of course, not all novels would be appropriate for such a moment or climax, but it seemed a book about these important issues, this powerful statement on the way things are and the way things should be, seemed like it should have had such a moment. It seemed in order to take this book to the next level of genius it needed something more that never was delivered.

Nevertheless, this is a very, very good novel. It is told with brilliant language, the characters are very realistic and the setting was dead on target. The power and emotion I thought it would exhume just didn't come to me. I just wish it could have affected me more somehow. How it could have done that exactly? I'm not sure, but I kept getting this feeling that something was missing. The answer might be as invisible as the character himself.

Grade: A-

He is an invisible man, not that he is physically invisible, but because people refuse to see him as he is, or so the story starts.
The story is about a youthful, unnamed black man, who starts off naive and full of idealism. Throughout the book, he faces different ordeals, transforms himself several times, and makes many discoveries about the society in which he lives, each time growing as an individual and trying to find his identity.
The reason I liked this book so much because the way in which it was written makes you care about something you otherwise might not, let alone know about, how blacks weren't even paid attention to in the United States in the period before the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. They weren't so much oppressed or hated, but rather ignored altogether, which, when you think about it, is much worse. It shows just a taste of how much blacks have been wronged, by whites as well as blacks. It also helped my on my path to finding who I was, even though I am not black myself.
The only thing I really disliked about this book was the slow pacing. In my opinion, the story could have been told in less detail and in less time, while still having the same effectiveness.
This is a book that deals with racism and blacks in society, so know what you're getting into when you read it. Ellison uses a lot of Southern or uneducated diction, which can be confusing at times if you've never heard it spoken before. He also uses a lot of symbols, which I thought were well used and added greatly to the book. This great American novel, though quite lengthy at 500+ pages, is worth the read, even if you're like me and not really into that sort of stuff.
I read this novel for an English class, so it was a close reading and I had to go back a lot, reread, and identify many things, things I wouldn't have noticed with just a casual reading. Everytime I went back and read something over, the book made more sense and I liked it more.
Even though Ellison addresses many of the racial problems in America, and possibly inspired things to be done about them, many problems still exist today. Perhaps more people need to read it and be opened to another view of things.

* * * * *

(R E M I N D E R
of course it is VERY OUTDATED-its over 50yrs old-CAN NOT judge
IT BY TODAYS STANDARDS)

THE INVISABLE MAN--RANDOM HOUSE-1952--took *RWE* 5yrs to write.

author--RALPH WALDO ELLISON-3/1/1914-- to-- 4/16/1994 from OKLA-
HOMA CITY,OKLAHOMA.

Ellison ws a lit critic__scholar AND writer..FRIENDS with RICHARD
WRIGHT.

m a n...NATIONAL BOOK AWARD-1953 1998 PICKED AS one OF THE TOP 100
books
of THE 20th CENTURY. ABOUT a BLACK MAN who considers himself SOCIALLY
---INVISABLE.

HE IS IN THE present LOOKING INTO THE _______________----------past.

Ellison---A GREAT OKLAHOMAN !

bbp okc 65

Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man" is a novel that forces the reader to discard conventional notions of race relations and look at certain issues of humanity in ways that are entirely unique and original. It is written in the first person by a protagonist whose name we never learn; by keeping him anonymous, we are able to relate to him better, and it helps to emphasize his "invisibility" with respect to the world. We know that he is a young black man, comes from somewhere in the South, is a bright student, and is thoughtful, introspective, positive, and ambitious. This novel is about how he is used, abused, and transformed into a cynic, but its tone is ironic rather than angry or bitter.
The novel begins just after his high school graduation, when he is invited to give a speech at a party for his hometown's most prominent white citizens. They award him a college scholarship, but they also want him to participate in a battle royal where he must fight other young black men for money while the white men watch with delight.
With the intention of becoming an educator, he attends a black college whose president is an arrogant pedagogue named Dr. Bledsoe. Assigned to be a campus chauffeur, he innocently takes a visiting white trustee of the college on an extended tour (on the trustee's request) to the cottage of an incestuous sharecropper and then to a raucous roadhouse. Bledsoe is enraged when he learns of this excursion and, as punishment for the embarrassment he imagines this has caused the college, gives the protagonist a "vacation" and sends him to New York with a promise to refer him for a job with one of the college's wealthy trustees.
Through a cruel trick played on him by Bledsoe, the protagonist ends up working at a paint factory in Long Island for tyrannical bosses, but not for long. He falls in with a group called the Brotherhood, a vaguely Communist organization that promotes humanism and racial harmony, and is hired to speak at rallies in Harlem. This fulfills his ambition to become a leader and a voice of the community; even though his fiery speeches are mostly platitudinous, they're what his audiences want to hear.
As a public speaker advocating multiracial brotherhood, he must contend with a vociferous black nationalist named Ras the Exhorter, who considers the protagonist a traitor to his race. When the murder of a young black man by a policeman incites a riot in Harlem, the protagonist realizes that the Brotherhood was just using him as a tool to aggravate Ras and divide the black community upon "with-us"/"against-us" lines.
The protagonist's personal condition has a universality in that everyone is born, lives, and dies without a purpose (except maybe a divined one), often leaving no trace of ever having existed in the grand scheme of things. It is this type of person that the protagonist refers to as "invisible" ("We who write no novels, histories or other books"), includes himself among the unseen, and strives to break out of this condition.
An important motif in the novel is that the protagonist is treated with condescension at almost every step in his life, not only by whites who ostensibly are helping him but also by blacks who want to display him to white people as a symbol of black progress. Indeed, the deferential placement of the novel at #19 on the Modern Library's list of the best English-language novels of the 20th Century ironically illustrates this theme. However, "Invisible Man" deserves its acclaim as one of the most complex and provocative novels of the American experience.

An unnamed young black man becomes aware of his own unimportance. He is transformed from subservence to the white man to a pawn of both liberal whites and self important blacks.
Along his journey he encounters racism at its ugliest in the Southern town in which he lived. He also encounters a wealthy white man who views blacks as his destiny and a complex black university president who has his own self-centered agenda.
Our hero is sent to New York under false pretenses by the president of the university where he encounters union organizers and liberal whites promoting Communist like ideals. He is used by the liberals to organize harlem blacks for the party only to learn that the party leadership care nothing for black people other than to advance their own agenda. In reality the party means to martyr black citizens to advance their cause.
The young man is pushed around like a pin ball token as he is a pawn of everyone with an agenda. Finally he realizes that he has never had any individuality and really is an 'invisible man.'
I am sure that I did not understand all the symbolisms.Ellison truly was brilliant and this is powerfull reading.

The most striking part about reading The Invisible Man (and for the first time) is how depressingly relevant it still is. This book, written in 1952, could easily be placed into someone’s hands today with a falsified publication date claiming 2017, with the reader exclaiming upon completion how cutting edge it is. I say depressing because, while The Invisible Man will always be a relevant text, a text that matters in any historical context, it is still SO relevant that it begs the question, have we made any progress since it was written? But that’s not for me to say.

As a white male, I am not in a very popular social bucket right now. The most insidious component to ‘white privilege’ is that the privileged, by definition, are so often ignorant of their own privileged status. And if not, can easily be accused of it still. I’ll confess to not fully understanding the current social problems we have regarding race in this country, and also to not wanting to even hear about them anymore. That, I now understand consciously, is a ‘privilege’ I’ve had all my life. Willful ignorance. Or at least the desire for it. Reading the Invisible Man was a hard, not so enjoyable experience. Much of it feels raw and brimming with anger, and collectively (as we can see with the most recent current events), the defensive stance some whites have taken in the past is morphing into aggression. How to respond to what so often feels like blame? Fifty pages later I could be reading something that made me want to scream at the injustice. And not the injustice of things I’m reading about in a novel, but injustices that actually happened, and are still happening, and feel unsolvable. Then throw in that feeling of helplessness. Helpless to create change. Even to some degree, helpless to speak. Even contemplating the writing of this review, I feel as though my opinions aren’t justified or wanted, and can only add fuel to the fire, though unintentionally. So at that level, I feel like even this review is a risk for more discomfort. But I read the Invisible Man. And I feel like it’s every American’s duty, now more than ever, to seek out discomfort, embrace it, and continue to seek it out in careful doses, daily, for the rest of their lives until solutions start presenting themselves. The Invisible Man is a great place to begin.

I feel like I have to add a few caveats here though, especially after having glanced over some of the other reviews. In my youth, The Invisible Man was taught in a lot of high schools, and maybe still is, and with some supervision could be an instructive read, but I think it is more suitable for an adult that is willing to deeply engage the text. There are some heavy scenes that some parents may not be open to their children reading, and others that may prove overly provocative. That being said, I think this should be required reading, both for its historical context and the prophetic warning that still applies.

The quintessential novel serving as a precursor to the civil rights movement, "Invisible Man" explores the trials and tribulations of a gifted black man in the Depression era South and Harlem. Although racial strife and inequality is the central focus to Ellison's work, larger questions of individuality and conformity in an imperfect world abound. Even though the systemic racism and Jim Crow violence of this era has been relegated to the back burner of history, "Invisible Man" is still a potent story today, regardless of one's race or position in life.

"Invisible Man" serves as an apparatus for Ellision to espouse his own beliefs on the role of Blacks in America. Although Ellison rejects a philosophy of conformance to white society and the pursuit of economic success to trump racial inequality, he also vehemently rejects the black supremacy ideology, personified by Ras the Exhorter. Yet, the most damning condemnation is reserved for the organizations who manipulate and cajole blacks for their own agenda, as personified by the Brotherhood. Initially, the narrator (the unnamed "invisible" man) is offered a job as spokesman, who will spout their socialist propaganda at massive rallies in an attempt to organize Blacks into a vital force for socialist change. However, it soon becomes evident that the White power structure of the Brotherhood is using him as a means to dupe others. Indeed, the Brotherhood ultimately decides to "sacrifice" their Harlem contingency, a nice way of saying they they will let Blacks wallow in their own cesspool of racism and horrid living conditions.

Throughout the novel blindness plays an important role. In his attempt to advance himself, the narrator is blind to the true ambitions of the Brotherhood. Ras the Exhorter, the fiery demagogue, is blind to the race riot and violence he helps to incite. The white oppressors are blind to the black individual and his ability to succeed. Indeed, it seems as if no one is immune to the blindness of stereotypes, be they black or white.

On a higher level, "Invisible Man" explores the meaning of individuality and an attempt to define one's self. Throughout the novel, the narrator lets others define who he is. Only when he realizes that he's been living a pipe dream does he wake up and cast off the illusions of equality and manages to understand himself. However, this relates to anyone who as ever struggled to define themselves.

Overall, Ellison provides a multi-dimensional and thought-provoking novel. Although it was written sixty years ago and most of the systemic racism is gone, it is still relevant today. Indeed, it may be even more relevant as we attempt to break from the conformance of society and find our true selves.

I first read Ralph Ellison's masterpiece "Invisible Man" in high school and was struck with the enormous number of layers and nuances throughout the book. Having re-read it as an adult, I saw even more than I had as a teenager. Ellison's facility with giving different scenes different levels of meaning is comparable to the great Herman Melville, who constructed "Moby Dick" in much the same manner.
Ellison makes his point about the invisibility of blacks in America before you even open the book; the title itself has no article, no "An Invisible Man" or "The Invisible Man," but simply and starkly, "Invisible Man." This simple ommission (or commission, depending on how you want to approach it) sets the story afloat by subtly establishing that the main character is seen to be almost suspended in the ether, noticed not at all by whites until they attribute to him whatever prejudice, odd ideas, or assumptions they have about the black race.
In the prologue, Ellison lets his hero (anti-hero?) ramble on and on about different experiences, not telling us directly who he is and what he's like, but leaving it to the reader to do the work of harvesting from this field of memory what impressions he or she can about the character. The story begins with the hero giving a tour of the local county to an important visitor from the college the hero attends. A harrowing firsthand account of incest follows--one of the tensest, most intense scenes I've ever read in any book--and somewhat thereafter, the hero is forced to leave the college. He drifts hither and yon, from country to city, from friend to friend, never quite getting his bearings and not really understanding why. When he finally hooks up with a political group towards the end of the book, you find yourself relieved that he's found some purpose--but even this turns out to be ominous and unfortunate.
It's a testament to Ellison's talent (and his willpower) that he ends the book on a hanging note. We don't know what will happen next--we have no sense of it at all. And isn't that entirely Ellison's point?

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is many things, all of them great: one of the twentieth century's best novels, a landmark identity exploration, one of the most brilliantly vivid dramatizations of existentialism and other Post-Modern intellectual concerns, one of the most relevant sociopolitical works since World War II, a revolutionary novel in structural terms that proved highly influential, and a milestone of African American art. It is essential for anyone even remotely interested in such things and, indeed, anyone even slightly concerned with twentieth century literature.

Invisible is often called a "black novel," and while this sells it incredibly short, it has much to admire in this regard. The protagonist and most major characters are black, and the book gives a fascinating peak at mid-century African American culture, especially black intellectuals, political dissidents, early black power movements, and urban blacks. We get a good idea of such movements' ins and outs as well as their members' thoughts, speech, and behavior. The novel memorably deals with many themes of great importance to African Americans, from poverty to racism to identity issues. It is also steeped in black history. However, it is important to realize that Ellison did not set out to write a "black novel" in the sense of Richard Wright or James Baldwin. He was in fact disturbed by those pressing such strict sociopolitical readings, stressing that he wished Invisible could be seen "simply as a novel." To be sure, it has much to say about African Americans and their status then and now and is at least as political in its way as anything overtly meant as such. However, it is extremely complex and ambiguous; critics and readers still debate just what Ellison meant more than half a century later. This was clearly intentional; nearly every aspect of the book has great sociopolitical relevance, but it never even comes close to didactic. Ellison dramatizes supremely meaningful themes and raises many profound questions but knows better than to give answers; that is up to us. As with Zora Neale Hurston, his refusal to take a definite stand on "black" issues did not sit well with the more forceful politically engaged black leaders, but this is to the book's literary benefit. Released in 1952, it is an important link between Modernism and Post-Modernism; its relentless staging of profound philosophical issues with an existential awareness of the impossibility of definitive answers is distinctly Modern, while its political aspect is very Post-Modern. It walks a similar line between African American literature and general literature with the former's trappings and the latter's breadth. The bottomline is that it has the strengths of both and is great on both fronts.

Important as Invisible is to black concerns, it is also grandly universal - politically, philosophically, and otherwise. Above all, it is an eloquent illustration of the underdog in all facets - an extremely vivid account of what it is like to be an outcast in various societies. The Invisible Man symbolizes everyone who is downtrodden, whether from race, class, beliefs, or whatever else. It is thus a supremely searching and stirringly affecting portrait of modern alienation; whether in the rural South or Harlem, the Invisible Man is essentially down and out and in the most fundamental sense alone. There is a strong criminal, even revolutionary, element to his plight that shines a much-needed light on the vast dark side of a mid-century era that many think of as idyllic. A far cry from the official Leave It to Beaver world, it was a loud wake-up call to a complacent society and remains a vibrantly relevant paean to outcasts everywhere.

Many Post-Modern themes abound - paranoia, distrust of authority, etc. -, but identity crisis is preeminent. One of the most truly existential novels, Invisible focuses largely on the prime existential question - how to find oneself in a world where traditional authority, from government to religion, has become extinct. One can no longer rely on higher sources but must find the answer in one's own heart and mind. Invisible is thus a bildungsroman on top of everything else - one's man's struggle to find the answer. Traditional fallbacks fail one after another, and he is left truly alone but not without a certain dignity and even a certain (very unconventional) strength. His fight for true independence has some success, and the self-awareness and clear-sightedness he gains is in many ways at least as valuable as the illusions he loses. Probably no one would want to be him, but all honest thinking people can see themselves in him - a disturbing thought reinforced in the unforgettable closing words. We certainly do not envy him, mainly because we can see ourselves becoming him so easily; he is an extreme version of the darkness that can befall an intelligent, capable person unable to fit into modern society. We identify with the darkness at his heart because we see it in ours - hopefully barely kindled but in danger of becoming a conflagration at any moment, just as his unexpectedly does when he seems on the very brink of success.

Important as the content is, the structure is also integral. The back of the book claims that Invisible gives "an entirely new model of what a novel can be," which is not much of an exaggeration. Non-linear and distinctly anti-realist with a highly symbolic, often surreal plot, it again straddles Modernism and Post-Modernism. This is one of the main reasons that calling it a "black novel" is severely limiting. For one thing, it is highly allusive, referring to many works by non-blacks; Homer's Odyssey is an important source, and Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground and H. G. Wells' Invisible Man are essential antecedents acknowledged by Ellison. Though not near-impenetrable as the likes of Joyce, Faulkner, and Pynchon are at their most abstruse, Invisible is challenging; the content was audacious and is still provocative, and the protagonist is not the usual sympathetic one, but the structure itself is demanding. One can read - and even enjoy - Invisible on a surface level, but those willing to dig deeper and truly engage themselves will get so much more out of it. We must make an effort to identify with the protagonist even when he seems most alien precisely because this is when he is really most familiar, and we must be alive to the frequent symbolism. Those willing to do so will be well rewarded; few novels are broader in scope or more complex in execution, not to mention more thematically meaningful and relevant. Invisible is a masterpiece on every level, making the fact that Ellison never finished a second novel a truly tragic loss to literature; it thankfully stands alone as a towering monument that will make him a literary immortal. It is a canon in itself, essential for anyone struggling with or curious about modernity's unique problems.

Ellison's narrator has essentially beat a retreat from the world. He holes up in a subterranean room, where he reflects on the the injustices society has dealt him. The Invisible Man beats and almost kills a white man he confronts on an empty street, simply to rationalize his own existence.This novel is filled with self loathing. Yet, the narrator does achieve a sort of spiritual progress and affirmative self-knowledge. He goes from being a pathetically exploited non-being that must acceed to the whims and wishes of the white opressor (the often anthologized battle royal scene at the beginning of the book), to a point near the conclusion of the book in which he can state he is free to pursue "infinite possibilities."
in an overall favorable review of this novel, Ellison allows the narrator to almost become a different character separate from the rest of the novel in the section where the narrator falls in with "The Brotherhood" portrays the communist party in an unrealisticly vain matter. Yes, the "I" in Invisible Man is harder to see than the other characters, but that is part of the author's construct. It's the very point he makes over and over throughout the novel. How better to portray an "invisible man?"
You are in for an unforgettable impactful read.

This great American novel begins by articulating what it means to be an intellectual, young Afro-American in the South around the time of WWII. Invisible man meets with deceit, distrust and manipulation at every turn and decides to move North to New York City where he finds more of the same. After living hand-to-mouth in Harlem, he becomes a spokesperson for a social movement in Harlem seeking to mobilize for reform. He becomes a pawn in the hands of the leadership of this radical reform movement even as he articluates their messaging. During riots in Harlem he becomes an underground man, literally hibernating below the streets of New York in a hole. The link to Dostoyevsky's undergound man becomes inescapable. Nevertheless, his elusive identity and absence of voice and powerlessness in the hands of his society and culture become paralytic for him. He is a nameless intellectual struggling to assert his identity to overcome the cosmic void intent upon swallowing him through animosity, poverty and bigotry. He becomes a man who has lost his illusions and determines that "humanity is won by continuing to play in the face of certain defeat." There are extistential themes at play in the novel when that philosophy was in its heyday after Europe crawled out of the bunkers and rubble of the decimation of World War II: "...for all life seen from the hole of invisibility is absurd." He decides after living in the hole that he must shed his snakeskin and come up for breath. "Thus, having tried to give pattern to the chaos, which lives within the pattern of your certainties, I must come out, I must emerge." Invisible man does crawl out of his underground hibernation with full recognition of his invisibility and cognizant it's possible that even an invisible man has a "socially responsible role to play." He admonishes us, powerfully, that his voice is also ours. Saul Bellow was right to consider Invisible Man a "book of the very first order." Even more impressively, this was Ellison's first novel and could be considered one of the best, first novels even written by an American. Read Invisible Man: these American Notes from Underground are powerful and moving and prescient. In so profoundly articulating the nothingess, Ellison is really something -- immortal. Invisible man is us.

Ralph Ellison's THE INVISIBLE MAN is justly celebrated as one of the outstanding American novels of the twentieth century. Though not lacking in universal themes, it truly is a novel rooted in the American experience, a book that explores many of the complexities of race relations in the United States. The book ends by refusing to offer an facile answers or to identify any simple villains. The novel's many villains number as many African Americans as whites, and no true heroes of either race. The sense at the end is that where race relations are concerned, we in America are getting it wrong from beginning to end regardless of our race. Moreover, all political persuasions also seem to be guilty of getting it wrong.

Structurally, THE INVISIBLE MAN owes a great deal to that genre of the English novel that deals with the coming of age of a youthful hero. Indeed, this novel could be profitably be compared to TOM JONES, only without the philosophical sidetracking one finds in that novel and set in the United States with a black hero. Like Tom Jones, the narrator of THE INVISIBLE MAN is thrown by fate from one bizarre experience to another, never being an actor in his own story, but merely a reactor. The narrator does not seize his own fate, but allows himself to be passively shifted about. His story is largely told through stringing together a number of bizarre incidents: a surreal Battle Royal in which a group of young blacks are blindfolded and forced to fight one another for the amusement of a group of whites, who later listen to the battered narrator present a speech that he hopes will win him a scholarship to college. At college he serves as driver for one of the school's white benefactors, but instead of it being an occasion for furthering his career, the day degenerates despite his best intentions into a pure nightmare, which results in his expulsion from school. He travels to New York to seek work, but the only thing he gets from his one day of working in a paint factory is a concussion and short term disability payments. Finally--and this embraces most of the last half of the novel--our hero inadvertently becomes a political speaker for the Communist party (an experience that reflects Ellison's own experience as a political writer for the Communists in the 1930s, though in the novel he refers to them only as The Brotherhood). His work as a Communist organizer is contrasted with an African Black Nationalist agitator named Ras, who in the tradition of Marcus Garvey believes in the separation of the races. What links all these adventures together is that throughout the Narrator is never affirmed or perceived for who he is in himself. All without exception focus on him as a mere member of his race, never on him as an individual. Indeed, while the Communists are largely lacking in the racism he finds elsewhere, their interest in him largely lies in the use to which he can be put. They are, in fact, not interested in individuals at all, and even if they are hostile towards class rather than race, they are equally as hostile towards the individual.

The novel is profoundly political. Ellison is equally disenchanted with those who feel that the goal for blacks is to educate them so that they can gradually become more and more accepted in a white-dominated society, with the Communists who want to eliminate the individual for the sake of the group (indeed, who are willing to sacrifice individuals and even groups of individuals for the sake of furthering the purposes of history), and those who call for a radical withdrawal of blacks from all social intercourse with whites. Instead, he argues at the end of the novel for the primacy of the individual against race, history, or the group. In the end, he expresses the desire to be viewed as himself, apart from whatever categories can be used to define him.

The tone of the book is comic without being truly funny. There is a surreality about most of the sections of the book. Given Ellison's political background in Communism, this is of profound significance. For the Communists, all legitimate fiction had to be starkly realistic. There is very little realism in THE INVISIBLE MAN. Much of the novel is comically nightmarish. In fact, while looking backward the novel reminded me of novels like TOM JONES, looking forward it reminded me of CATCH-22. I do not know if Joseph Heller was influenced by this book, but I would be very surprised if he was not. Much as that novel blends the comic and the tragic (though it is far funnier than Ellison's book, or indeed more than just about any other novel), so did Ellison's. In fact, it is hard to find models for Ellison's book, unless one points to TOM JONES as I have, or perhaps in a vague way to the novels of James Joyce. Indeed, it is hard to realize what a wildly original novel THE INVISIBLE MAN is, if only because he pioneered a narrative style that became commonplace later. Another thing to note about his anti-realism style is his characters. For the most part, Ellison's do not resemble people you would meet in real life. Many are intentional caricatures, many grotesques in the tradition of Charles Dickens. All are intended to emphasize the unreality and nightmarish quality of the narrator's life.

I truly love this novel. It is one of the few important "African American" novels that is more important for its literary qualities than for its role as a racial novel. Ellison makes some amazing and brilliant innovations on the traditional English novel. This is often said to be the finest novel ever written by an African American, but that really is damning it with faint praise. It is almost a way of making it The Invisible Novel. This novel's greatness does not lie in having been written by a black writer, but in being a magnificently marvelous novel on purely literary grounds. My only regret is that Ellison largely turned his back on fiction after publishing THE INVISIBLE MAN. He was also an absolutely brilliant essayist and jazz critic (his formal education was largely in music theory and he early on aspired to being a jazz musician), but I wish he had not so completely abandoned fiction.

Invisible Man is one of the greatest novels of this century. Ellison only published the one novel during his lifetime, but he was correct when he said that there wasn't much more to say.
Invisible Man is told my an unnamed narrator (an effective device since the narrator hasn't totally found his existential self). He is an African American from the south living in New York. He has come to the realization that he is invisible in that people choose (conciously or subconciously) to look through him. He then tells the story of his life which has lead him to that epiphany.
Invisible Man is really marvelous. It is an existential novel of not really an African American in a prejudiced time and place, but really an American trying to find his identity in that prejudiced country. Ellison has so much to say about the races being a little of each other, not really being separate. He has so much to say to all of humanity. He tells everything in a smoothly written narrative. The prose is beautiful. The plot is entertaining and causes thought. This novel is just as valid today as it was when written and cannot be missed by the upcoming generation.

Although this is a fairly long work, I consider it one of the richest works I have ever read. In terms of sheer information and hidden subversiveness, this book is a rare treat for those who like to dig deep beneath the surfaces and find what is hidden there. Invisible Man is not merely a work about an alienated black male, it is also the story of American history, and the racism that has been ever present, on the surface and veiled beneath the harmless guise of tradition. The fact that Ellison produced such a biting critique of American society, and was able to get it published, is a miracle in itself. 'Invisible Man' is a powerful statement against the dehumanizing effects of racism in America. Through elaborate symbolism and metaphor Ellison goes about the huge task of trying to expose the rampant institutional and societal racism that manifested itself in practically every corner of American culture. Through the anonymous character of the Invisible Man, we are taken on a tour that begins in the outwardly racist South and ends in the supposedly progressive Eastern city of New York and Harlem. What the Invisible Man discovers about America in his journey is both a powerful social commentary and harsh indictment of the nature of human ignorance and hatred.
The Invisible Man is certainly not an easy read, because of the threat of censorship Ellison was forced to submerge his subversive message under the appearance of mild criticism. The result is an extremely deep and complex novel, which often is charged with double-meaning, allusion, and symbolism. One is amazed at the ingenuity and inventedness that Ellison employed in this work, and equally impressed at the final result.
This work itself is a testimony that people can overcome racism, prejudice, and hatred, and yet it is at the same time disheartening to see what extreme lengths Ellison had to go in order to express his views, which inherently affects the readers of his novel as well. Although Ellison was able to get his message published, he was forced to do so under a veil of darkness, one that has effectively muffled his message to a great portion of his readers. Consequently, his ultimate triumph is partial and bittersweet.
There are many things in this book that are easily overlooked; it is one that requires much thought and investigative inquiry. "Invisible Man" is best to be read more than once, while keeping in mind the subversive nature of Ellison's critique and the extreme methods he was forced to employ in doing so. If this bit of advice is followed his message will continue to be heard, which is an important and unerrepresented voice of our American past. This book is a joy to read and provides invaluable insight to a period of American history that most people know little about. In my estimation Invisible Man is one of the greatest books written in the annals of American literature, a representation of American ingenuity and independence at its finest.

One of the enduring characteristics of American Literature is its deep desire to create a classic American work, a piece that will be canonized for its ability to reach all corners of an extremely diverse, dynamic, and often troubling society. Many critics may debate the merits of any individual who can claim to cover all of the cleavages of society within one work, yet Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man stands up nearly forty years after its original publication as a testimony to the dynamics of American society and more importantly, the systemic race 'problem' that America continues to manipulate and feel guilt for. Invisible Man narrative style allows Ellison to make poignant observations about the many distinctive ways of life in America: the differences between North and South; black and white, communist and capitalist, inner city and the privileged few and gender differences; these are all major societal distinctions that invisible Man stumbles upon along his road to realization and disillusionment in American society. Upon this examination of the work, Invisible Man is doubly recognized for providing a unique commentary of the continued degradation of Black America, complete with a distinctive black culture and way of life, but also for its ability to reach out and embrace elements of Literature such as the bildungsroman genre. Invisible Man's journey across the American landscape acts as a journey across time and become an education about America at a time of expansive consumerism and international interest expansion. This book is a highly recommended read that seeks to uncover a perspective about America that today may seem commonplace, but in its time, was rather revolutionary.

The title of Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man" may evoke memories of H.G. Wells' similarly-titled science fiction classic. But as Ellison's narrator tells us in the novel's opening, his "invisibility" is not the result of a sci-fi plot device, but rather the result of a psychosocial disorder that permeates United States culture. The novel is a brilliant exploration of this disorder: America's tortured racial legacy.
"Invisible Man" follows its young African-American narrator on an odyssey during which he encounters a host of memorable characters, both white and black. I read the novel primarily as a satire. Ellison rips into such phenomena as academia, industry, politics, and sexual taboo. The novel is full of wry symbolism and surreal flourishes. At times outrageous, at times grotesque, the novel examines some of the philosophies and world-views that tempted both black and white Americans in the early to mid-20th century. "Invisible Man" is essential reading for those interested in African-American studies, U.S. literature, or the 20th century novel.

I read this book several times in undergraduate and graduate school and it never failed to promote new concepts and a feeling of intellectual and emotional euphoria--a connection with something beyond description, so full of what it is to be a human being that it even transcends the critical racial issues that are the mainstay of the book. Ellison's book could well be the greatest book to come out of the United States and perhaps the world. The true genius of the book and its author are there for the thoughtful reader to enjoy again and again. One suggestion for a beginning reader, however: consider Reaping the Whirlwind by R.J. Norell as a historical companion piece to this book. The two should be studied together in any literature or history class. As a long-ago resident of Alabama, I can guarantee the non-southern reader (especially) a new and improved connection with the beginning of Ellison's novel. Studying historical Tuskegee, AL in combination with Ellison's college with its confoundingly servile leader and puzzling statue (etc) will give even an experienced professor of literature (as one of mine was) a new root and perspective in comprehending Ellison.

I rarely re-read books. Generally I'm one of those hoarders--a collector who stocks up on all the variety of books I could ever want to read. Granted a collection grows overwhelming and eventually out-distances your time and capacity for reading, growing ever-expanding and pushing some once desired treasures to the back shelf.
Anyway, when I was in college, at present nine years ago, there was a time over two semesters when I was assigned to read this book three times. Well, I read it twice (the one semester providing the benefit of teaching the novel at the same time). A few years later I tried again and left once more burning with the conviction that I had read one of the very great novels of the 20th century.
Sure, such high-handed praise goes around and comes again, mixing and swirling between genres and styles and tastes. But here is an experimental satire disguised as a somber discussion of race, complicated by the family/romantic troubles any ambitious young man encounters, then consumed with post-religious, aimless guilt and desperation brought about by isolation and madness and the fear of failure that can crush the spirit and flatten out the will to live until even the desire for suicide is destroyed. It is a complicated, dazzling, entertaining book that is a noble and devestating account of a man beset by doubt and inner turmoil, often still lingering from wounds others inflicted over an uncertain past.
The absolute gibberish of this review should relate some of the overwhelming exuberence memories of reading it has evoked. Nevertheless, I hope I haven't deterred you from reading the book . . .

This is book is far to good to be filed in one category, and unfortunately categorization is probably hurting the range of it's audience. What we have here is a great tome of African American literature to be sure, but the work far transends ethnicities in the importance of it's message and the social commentary found within. Granted it is about a young African American male trying to gain recognician as a man, if nothing else, in a society where identity [...] merely a fascade for social and professional purposes. This book is as well written and more developed than many of the existentialist literature spoon fed to us in school. I have to admit I felt a bit cheated that I stumbled on this book accidentally in the Black History section of a book store, sandwiched between Douglas and King.
Anyone who has opted to form their own opinions and maintain the integrity of their own values will find this a very satisfying read.

Ellison's landmark novel, Invisible Man was truly ahead of its time. It dared to exploit the issues of racism at a time when our country most needed it. It became a standard to which many future black authors would look to. By some, it is considered the best novel an African American has ever written. If not, it at least considered by a majority of its readers, an American masterpiece.

Invisible Man opens with the narrator telling us exactly what he is and how he came to be like that. It opens in almost a surrealistic fashion and we are drawn in and instantly captivated. Ellison sets the mood and we desperately want to learn more. He then begins with horrific opening scene of his life. The narrator is never named. We know from the beginning he is a college educated black man. He is also an eloquent orator. In the startling opening sequence to his story, he is manipulated into giving a speech at what he thinks is a dignified event. It is nothing more than a horrific display of racism in which white men use black anger and fighting as a form of mere entertainment. This scene sets the mood of the novel

After the opening we follow the nameless protagonist through his life. First, he gets kicked out of college by the black college president for not treating a rich white donor as he should. This black president promises him a job, but ironically the letters that he sends to all the "would-be" employer's of the nameless narrator are in actually warning to not hire him and not letters of recommendations as he promised. The narrator realizes this and has to take up a job at the local paint making factory. Here we learn some symbolism of the "white" world as Emerson brilliant uses metaphors comparing the paint to racial misunderstandings.

Eventually, a member of the "brotherhood" which is a black and white semi communist party hears a magnificent speech delivered by the narrator, which he gives to an angry black mob on the verge of an attack on white officers. The member of this organization is impressed with his speech and the nameless narrator becomes the spokesman in the city of Harlem for this organization.

The nameless narrator learns that the organization is merely using him and he is just a pawn for them The bulk of this story is the narrator coming to grips that he merely is just an invisible man to these people, most of whom are white, and they just use him to their own advantage. Sadly, the narrator doesn't realize this until it is too late and has been blinded all along by their deception.

In the end, the narrator breaks free of their grasp, but also comes to realize that his entire life to this point has been no more than being an invisible man to those around him. His own self-identity and worth has been lost. Finally, he gets his redemption and learns who he truly is.

It is hard to really name anything wrong with this novel. The language is beautiful, dark, and almost has a poetic ring to it in certain passages. It blends the issues of racism, bigotry, and individualism together in an interesting, well told story. I can't argue with the language or substance. You can feel that this story meant a lot to the author. I believe it is an important book on history in America. Ellison has so much talent and the story is as well told as any I have heard.

So, why not a perfect rating for Invisible Man? If anyone claims it to be a masterpiece I certainly wouldn't argue with them. For me, it came close, but I just kept waiting for something more to happen. What exactly? I'm not sure. It just seems like in order for a book to be a masterpiece something more has to happen. This book has no real climax. The ending was also a bit too preachy and wasn't as straight forward as it could have been. It is like you sit on the edge of your seat waiting for the big explosion, the powerful moment that will take your breath away, but it never comes. Of course, not all novels would be appropriate for such a moment or climax, but it seemed a book about these important issues, this powerful statement on the way things are and the way things should be, seemed like it should have had such a moment. It seemed in order to take this book to the next level of genius it needed something more that never was delivered.

Nevertheless, this is a very, very good novel. It is told with brilliant language, the characters are very realistic and the setting was dead on target. The power and emotion I thought it would exhume just didn't come to me. I just wish it could have affected me more somehow. How it could have done that exactly? I'm not sure, but I kept getting this feeling that something was missing. The answer might be as invisible as the character himself.

Grade: A-

He is an invisible man, not that he is physically invisible, but because people refuse to see him as he is, or so the story starts.
The story is about a youthful, unnamed black man, who starts off naive and full of idealism. Throughout the book, he faces different ordeals, transforms himself several times, and makes many discoveries about the society in which he lives, each time growing as an individual and trying to find his identity.
The reason I liked this book so much because the way in which it was written makes you care about something you otherwise might not, let alone know about, how blacks weren't even paid attention to in the United States in the period before the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. They weren't so much oppressed or hated, but rather ignored altogether, which, when you think about it, is much worse. It shows just a taste of how much blacks have been wronged, by whites as well as blacks. It also helped my on my path to finding who I was, even though I am not black myself.
The only thing I really disliked about this book was the slow pacing. In my opinion, the story could have been told in less detail and in less time, while still having the same effectiveness.
This is a book that deals with racism and blacks in society, so know what you're getting into when you read it. Ellison uses a lot of Southern or uneducated diction, which can be confusing at times if you've never heard it spoken before. He also uses a lot of symbols, which I thought were well used and added greatly to the book. This great American novel, though quite lengthy at 500+ pages, is worth the read, even if you're like me and not really into that sort of stuff.
I read this novel for an English class, so it was a close reading and I had to go back a lot, reread, and identify many things, things I wouldn't have noticed with just a casual reading. Everytime I went back and read something over, the book made more sense and I liked it more.
Even though Ellison addresses many of the racial problems in America, and possibly inspired things to be done about them, many problems still exist today. Perhaps more people need to read it and be opened to another view of things.

This is an incredible book to read, and so much more if you listen to the audio version. Joe Morton doesn't just read the words; he lives inside the scene, breathes the air of the time and place, integrates the narrative into human form, and connects the listener with Ellison's words and emotions in ways few readers could do from the pages alone. Morton is a superior reader/actor and energetically moves into the moods and circumstances of the narrator with intense feeling and fluidity. He's perfect! Listen to Joe Morton perform this book and you will get so much more from this amazing tale of racism, joy, pain, intolerance, selfishness, ignorance, hubris, and greed.

"The Invisible Man" is a classic novel which uses the first person narrator, the invisible man, to move the reader through various types of racism, dishonesty, and deceptiveness which a black man in the 1950's would encounter. The more the invisible man is used by others, the more invisible he becomes and the less self-identity he possesses. He allows himself, unwittingly, to be used by others, both black and white, for their own purposes. He gains nothing from dealing with these characters and actually loses more and more of his self-worth, thus creating his invisibility as a person. It is only when he begins to realize that he must define his own self-worth and not allow others to dictate to him or define his identity that his "invisibility" begins to diminish. The idea that "white is right, white has might", symbolized by the paint factory, was the ideology of those times. Segregation was practiced and blacks were looked down upon as ignorant, nameless members of the American culture. They were invisible citizens in a white-dominated culture. The author wanted to send the message to readers that America was founded upon the philosophy of individual freedom in all areas and that nothing was gained by forcing people to conform to society's standards. By conforming, individual identity is lost and invisibility as a person increases. "I am not invisible that nobody can see me. I am invisible because they choose not to see me." That was the truth the invisible man finally learned. From that truth, he was able to begin defining his own identity and not be the invisible man in his own eyes.

A fascinating look at race and culture. Through this tortured young man's story we see the absurdity of our culture and society, compelling the conclusion we are childish, selfish, foolish souls wandering through this experience. Very moving, disturbing and inspiring.

I remember I had to read this book during my senior year in high school and write an essay on it for my final, while the whole majority of my senior class LOATHE this book with a passion because it was too hard for them to crack (all the symbolism, complicated words, metaphors, too many pages, and they are lazy, etc.) I actually really liked this book. You see the main character who you never know his name, is a lost soul longing for a purpose which I think all of us human beings struggle as well. He endures road blocks through the story that expresses the challenges that any youth has to face when growing up despite whatever color your skin is; you can either be a leader (an individual that follows their own heart and thoughts) or be a sheep and follow what everyone else says and do. This book is much more than just showing readers the side of racism, it also about seeking the desired American Dream (who to me is nothing but smoke and mirrors) and also having an identity in a self-contradicting world where everyone hide daggers in their smiles.

Unqueationably Ellison has written the greatest American novel in every sense of the phrase. The story is the epic search for an identity, an American identity in a world that labels individuals in order to negate their power. The titular modern hero represents any man or woman pinioned against the floor of life by the boot of American capitalism which dictates everyone's role in life before they're even born. It is this maxim which the Invisible Man must discover for himself, i.e. the rules of the game are not what he has learned in school and until he realizes this dichotomy between America the real and America the ideal he moves from school to work to political activisim constantly defeating himself. The novel is Zen before Zen was in. The spiritual journey described in images replete with cinema and words that narrate themselves should resonate with any reader who has ever searched for satisfaction, serenity and contentment in life only to find hurt, pain and disappointment in all the commercially prescribed solutions. The work is epic by covering the most salient facets of modern American life from a psychological perspective which attempts to heal the narrator and the reader as well. A little dated in the sense that it doesn't approach drugs/alcoholism or gay identities, Ellison had little choice but to be conservative so as not to blur the meaning of his message as well as to avoid the political oppression going on in the country at the time. The novel is sophisticated, intellectual, humorous, magical, adventurous, gargantuan, approachable, and best of all a good read. I thoroughly recommend this work NOT as an African American novel on identity, but as a novel on AMERICAN IDENTITY.

In his only novel, Ralph Ellison gives the reader an interesting but harsh look into the racial issues faced by African-Americans during times of segregation.

The nameless protagonist begins adulthood full of hope, but he soon faces many setbacks. After an accident involving a prominent white man, he is expelled from his southern college, losing both his scholarship and the respect he once felt for the school's black president. He moves to New York, hoping to find work, but he is less than successful. The Brotherhood, an organization dedicated to preaching equality, hires him, and he becomes a spokesperson for their Harlem section, putting his gift of public speaking to use. He eventually discovers that this association has ulterior motives, and he plans to sabotage it. His efforts are interrupted, however, when an enemy of the Brotherhood launches a fierce attack on the group.

Using a sometimes satirical viewpoint, this novel offers a clear and attention-grabbing perspective of this issue, giving the reader a better understanding than one gets from textbook accounts. It goes beyond the facts and shows how the effects of oppression and segregation are dealt with-in this case, by recognizing the ignorant blindness of society and becoming "invisible," for all intensive purposes.

The vivid symbols and fast-paced plot keep the reader engaged, although it becomes confusing at times with so much happening. Overall, this is a wonderful novel, both in entertainment and educational value, and I would recommend it to anyone looking to open his or her mind and enjoy a well-written book.

Many coming of age books describe discrimination in some way, but this book goes further to speak to being treated disrespectfully more than just racially. But with books of this type, written in first person, characters should be given more depth to avoid hypocrisy. But this book is clearly not ego-driven. It is about society. I thought the length of the book would be labor but it’s full of symbolism, insight and beautiful prose.

A classic never tires the imagination, generation after generation. Invisible Man is cleary a classic. When I first read it, I was engrossed by the depth of psychological insight built into the writing style. It was as if the writer, through his 'narrator', delved into his own deepest hurts and fears, caused by an unjust society and a socially naive protagonist. The 'invisible' man only wanted justice and acceptance in a world that would not accept him and in his quest, he almost lost himself in his internal wonderings. Fyodor Doestoevsky wrote Crime and Punishment as if the whole plot took place inside the head of his agonized protagonist--there is a powerful resemblance between Ellison's and Doestoevsky's style. It takes a master author to narrate subjective thoughts into art, Ellison was indeed one of the great writers of our day.

With the release of Arnold Rampersad recent much praised biography of Invisible Man's author, Ralph Ellison, the time has truly arrived for readers to look again at this extraordinary novel. Too long pigeonholed as "African American literature" Invisible Man doubtless stands as a contender for the greatest American novel of the 20th century. Ellison draws on a wide range of sources to construct this opus, African American folk lore, 19th Century American literature, the bible, and Shakespeare, all tools brought into service as build this intricate tale of his narrator and protagonist, the never named "Invisible Man." From the treacherous terrain of the deep south, to the hopes and disappointments of Harlem, and to the Byzantine world of the American Communist Party, Ellison brings his readers along on a well guided tore of the landscape of the African American experience pre-WWII.

Yet as I said at the beginning, Invisible Man is a novel that speaks to the very heart of the American experience with its complex pull between expectations and class, the belief in limitless potential based on meritocracy and the minefield that destroys that very dream. Through it all, Ellison tells his tale with wit and deft humor, all of which contribute to the edifice that is this awesome work of fiction.

This is a superb novel about a young black man trying to find his place in the world. It is filled with interesting characters and scenes and has a decent pace. I believe this book is more than about race: it applies to all people trying to form an identity for themselves. I have read some of the negative reviews, and quite a few of them seem to be from high school students. I think many of their points are valid, but I wonder if a little age and experience can make one look at this story in a different light. Perhaps this novel is better appreciated once we realize our dreams are greater than our abilities.

This particular edition has an introduction by the author that is of some interest.

'Invisible Man' by Ralph Ellison is indeed memorable drama of a young black man who suffers racism in the South and escapes to Harlem, only to have his eyes opened to uglier evils within mankind. So much of the book is excellent: it is well written, extremely intelligent, and the characterizations are perfectly drawn. However I was let down by the ending. It seems as if the author didn't know quite how to wrap up his story, which is a shame since most of it was really superlative.

Bottom line: a very rich, eloquent and depressing story of America of the 1930s/1940s. Recommended.

The book Invisible Man is a great work of literature set in the pre-civil rights era of history told by a man with no name. In the novel we follow the nameless man through his journey of self-discovery and as he finds the truth about society and segregation.

I am a highschool senior and for class we had to read and analyze a book, of the available novels I took a chance with Invisible Man and was not disappointed. It is a great look into the darker side of American history as time and time again the nameless narrator is taken advantage of by the whites and scorned by the African-Americans. The narrator is never truely seen as himself only by his color of skin. The build up to the climax is great and the book does a great job connecting charcters. While I can never really relate to being discriminated against by the color of my skin, I do know what it is like being seen as something else due to my appearance. This is not abook I can recommend to people who haven't had any hardships interacting with other people because you can't relate to the character and his struggles. I recommend this book in hardback as it would be a great edition to anybody's collection.

As I was reading Ellison's "Invisible Man", I kept waiting for a connection, or that "Aha!" feeling, or to be moved. But none ever came. I grew more and more bored as it went along, and only finished by exercising a great deal of determination.
Perhaps the book was too pessimistic. I can't recall a single character in the book as having been portrayed in a positive light, except for the "invisible" protagonist. In Ellison's alternate reality, everyone seems to be a self-centered hypocrite. Another reader may feel sympathetic towards some of the characters, but I could not find a single one that struck my fancy, or taught me anything but what not to do with my life.
At the end of the day, I could not figure out what I was supposed to take home from this work. The only even remotely sympathetic character was screwed over by everyone he met, and proceeded to then hide from the world. I've always been a firm believer that if one tries, one can find a flaw - or something nice - in everybody. But what is the point of the former? It only leads down a nihilistic pathway that produces nothing constructive. The whole time I was reading this book, I felt I was being taken down this road.

Ralph Ellison wrote a classic and timeless work of fiction that every American should read. People of every color should be able to empathize with the characters in this book. Civil rights have evolved, but we still have more to do before we claim we are an enlightened society and have true equality.

I read this book many years ago in paperback. (I noticed some reviewers wrote that the audiobook is missing the last chapter. You should try to get a unabridged edition)

Ellison has created in Invisble Man one of the most memorable yet haunting characters in world literature. The namelessness of the main character is a metaphorical symbol of invisibility. Invisible Man represents a soul lost and ignored. The theme of this novel transcends what some might regard as literature of racism; it is not only about racism against African American but also about the interaction of human beings universally. Prejudice and difference give rise to persecution and discrimination. It is frightening to think of a human being so tangible and real can be obliterated mercilessly just because he's different. This book will be one of the few classics that can stand the test of time. It will be remembered and appreciated long after our generation.

Book brilliantly illuminates the complex web of American black-white race relations. Though this treasure is over 60 years old it still nails reality for our time. Joe Morton leaves your jaw dropping as he makes Ellison's characters nearly walk out of the audio. The story's told from the point of a young African-American man learning his way in the world. Unforgettable and worth every minute.

I originally read this superb book back in my High School days. Required reading and all. And recently rediscoverd Mr. Ellison's masterpiece when my oldest son was raving to me about the book he HAD to read!
In "Invisible Man", we never actually know the narrator...he is invisible in name, but, in bringing us his nightmarish journey cross racial divides, he is very high profile.
We travel with him from the Deep South to the ravaged streets of Harlem. Where men are men and African American men are reduced to fighting animals to survive.
Reading this profound tome again, I have renewed my faith as well as my fright of human behavior. An excellent book to read, share and remember.
Thanks--CDS

I was at Harvard University for the commencement ceremonies when Ralph Ellison received an honorary Doctor of Letters. A most deserved honor.

Here is a work that is deep and intriguing, touching on the ability of men to interact with one another without dealing with the very reality or substance of our existence. How race makes one invisible to society even while one is an integral part of that society.

To go unnoticed "invisible" to your fellowman. Ellison studies and highlights this idea in very subtle ways, exploring the injustices and destructiveness of racism, yet from deep within the inner man. He takes us on an unforgettable yet deep and mysterious voyage through the recesses of our minds and uncovers for us how the psyche is affected by this unconscious violence to the human spirit. Truly a magnificent work of art.

As opposed to the straightforward social realism of fellow Harlem Resonance icon, Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison employs a distinctly allegorical and baroque approach for his portrait of pre-Civil Rights Movement, African-American life, Invisible Man. Mr. Ellison's tale of a nameless, black college student's journey from the constraining South to the unreal black mini-nation of Harlem is a walk through a literary fun house, full of comedic satire, surreal exaggeration, elusive symbolism and almost beatnick-style lyricism. Mr. Ellison certainly shows a flair for absorbing the wretchedness, paranoia and hypocrisy that was abound during this era and reformatting it all into a configuration that underscores its wrongness and absurdity. Invisible Man proved Mr. Ellison to be one of the most striking authors of the Harlem Resonance and certainly the most dynamic and experimental.

There are few novels that so effectively evoke what it means to be American - and what it means to be human. This novel is beautifully written, and what's more, it has so much meaning and wisdom to share with all of us. Race relations in America are far from O.K., and this book, though fifty years old, retains all of its potency. The epilogue of this novel is probably my favorite few pages of writing of any book or essay ever written.

Behind the story of this black-man-who-is-not-seen is the story of each of us when we are not seen for who we are, and behind that story is a powerful argument for better communication and understanding of each other and of the amalgam of cultures and ethnicities that makes up this nation. Read this book.

Ellison is the Muhammad Ali, the colossus of fiction - I have never experienced a work of art in ANY medium as rich, provocative and poignant as "Invisible Man." Bar none, be it painting, sculpture, theater, film, poetry... One of the best, most succinct ways I can think of relaying the impact of IM is the way we speak on the street, by saying: That's deep.
Most of the "reviews" I've read here simply recount the many plot situations and/or entirely lack the depth to "get" what Ellison is doing as an artist and human being. For if nothing else, Ellison's work is unique in this respect: it reverberates on SO many levels to so many different kinds of people...
Athletes have a way of talking about when they can do no wrong, when every shot goes in the basket, or the baseball looks as big as a watermelon - They say that they're "in the zone." THAT's what IM is.
It's THE American story by an artist at the height of his powers, in the zone...

A fascinating look at race and culture. Through this tortured young man's story we see the absurdity of our culture and society, compelling the conclusion we are childish, selfish, foolish souls wandering through this experience. Very moving, disturbing and inspiring.

I remember I had to read this book during my senior year in high school and write an essay on it for my final, while the whole majority of my senior class LOATHE this book with a passion because it was too hard for them to crack (all the symbolism, complicated words, metaphors, too many pages, and they are lazy, etc.) I actually really liked this book. You see the main character who you never know his name, is a lost soul longing for a purpose which I think all of us human beings struggle as well. He endures road blocks through the story that expresses the challenges that any youth has to face when growing up despite whatever color your skin is; you can either be a leader (an individual that follows their own heart and thoughts) or be a sheep and follow what everyone else says and do. This book is much more than just showing readers the side of racism, it also about seeking the desired American Dream (who to me is nothing but smoke and mirrors) and also having an identity in a self-contradicting world where everyone hide daggers in their smiles.

Unqueationably Ellison has written the greatest American novel in every sense of the phrase. The story is the epic search for an identity, an American identity in a world that labels individuals in order to negate their power. The titular modern hero represents any man or woman pinioned against the floor of life by the boot of American capitalism which dictates everyone's role in life before they're even born. It is this maxim which the Invisible Man must discover for himself, i.e. the rules of the game are not what he has learned in school and until he realizes this dichotomy between America the real and America the ideal he moves from school to work to political activisim constantly defeating himself. The novel is Zen before Zen was in. The spiritual journey described in images replete with cinema and words that narrate themselves should resonate with any reader who has ever searched for satisfaction, serenity and contentment in life only to find hurt, pain and disappointment in all the commercially prescribed solutions. The work is epic by covering the most salient facets of modern American life from a psychological perspective which attempts to heal the narrator and the reader as well. A little dated in the sense that it doesn't approach drugs/alcoholism or gay identities, Ellison had little choice but to be conservative so as not to blur the meaning of his message as well as to avoid the political oppression going on in the country at the time. The novel is sophisticated, intellectual, humorous, magical, adventurous, gargantuan, approachable, and best of all a good read. I thoroughly recommend this work NOT as an African American novel on identity, but as a novel on AMERICAN IDENTITY.

In his only novel, Ralph Ellison gives the reader an interesting but harsh look into the racial issues faced by African-Americans during times of segregation.

The nameless protagonist begins adulthood full of hope, but he soon faces many setbacks. After an accident involving a prominent white man, he is expelled from his southern college, losing both his scholarship and the respect he once felt for the school's black president. He moves to New York, hoping to find work, but he is less than successful. The Brotherhood, an organization dedicated to preaching equality, hires him, and he becomes a spokesperson for their Harlem section, putting his gift of public speaking to use. He eventually discovers that this association has ulterior motives, and he plans to sabotage it. His efforts are interrupted, however, when an enemy of the Brotherhood launches a fierce attack on the group.

Using a sometimes satirical viewpoint, this novel offers a clear and attention-grabbing perspective of this issue, giving the reader a better understanding than one gets from textbook accounts. It goes beyond the facts and shows how the effects of oppression and segregation are dealt with-in this case, by recognizing the ignorant blindness of society and becoming "invisible," for all intensive purposes.

The vivid symbols and fast-paced plot keep the reader engaged, although it becomes confusing at times with so much happening. Overall, this is a wonderful novel, both in entertainment and educational value, and I would recommend it to anyone looking to open his or her mind and enjoy a well-written book.

Many coming of age books describe discrimination in some way, but this book goes further to speak to being treated disrespectfully more than just racially. But with books of this type, written in first person, characters should be given more depth to avoid hypocrisy. But this book is clearly not ego-driven. It is about society. I thought the length of the book would be labor but it’s full of symbolism, insight and beautiful prose.

A classic never tires the imagination, generation after generation. Invisible Man is cleary a classic. When I first read it, I was engrossed by the depth of psychological insight built into the writing style. It was as if the writer, through his 'narrator', delved into his own deepest hurts and fears, caused by an unjust society and a socially naive protagonist. The 'invisible' man only wanted justice and acceptance in a world that would not accept him and in his quest, he almost lost himself in his internal wonderings. Fyodor Doestoevsky wrote Crime and Punishment as if the whole plot took place inside the head of his agonized protagonist--there is a powerful resemblance between Ellison's and Doestoevsky's style. It takes a master author to narrate subjective thoughts into art, Ellison was indeed one of the great writers of our day.

With the release of Arnold Rampersad recent much praised biography of Invisible Man's author, Ralph Ellison, the time has truly arrived for readers to look again at this extraordinary novel. Too long pigeonholed as "African American literature" Invisible Man doubtless stands as a contender for the greatest American novel of the 20th century. Ellison draws on a wide range of sources to construct this opus, African American folk lore, 19th Century American literature, the bible, and Shakespeare, all tools brought into service as build this intricate tale of his narrator and protagonist, the never named "Invisible Man." From the treacherous terrain of the deep south, to the hopes and disappointments of Harlem, and to the Byzantine world of the American Communist Party, Ellison brings his readers along on a well guided tore of the landscape of the African American experience pre-WWII.

Yet as I said at the beginning, Invisible Man is a novel that speaks to the very heart of the American experience with its complex pull between expectations and class, the belief in limitless potential based on meritocracy and the minefield that destroys that very dream. Through it all, Ellison tells his tale with wit and deft humor, all of which contribute to the edifice that is this awesome work of fiction.

This is a superb novel about a young black man trying to find his place in the world. It is filled with interesting characters and scenes and has a decent pace. I believe this book is more than about race: it applies to all people trying to form an identity for themselves. I have read some of the negative reviews, and quite a few of them seem to be from high school students. I think many of their points are valid, but I wonder if a little age and experience can make one look at this story in a different light. Perhaps this novel is better appreciated once we realize our dreams are greater than our abilities.

This particular edition has an introduction by the author that is of some interest.

'Invisible Man' by Ralph Ellison is indeed memorable drama of a young black man who suffers racism in the South and escapes to Harlem, only to have his eyes opened to uglier evils within mankind. So much of the book is excellent: it is well written, extremely intelligent, and the characterizations are perfectly drawn. However I was let down by the ending. It seems as if the author didn't know quite how to wrap up his story, which is a shame since most of it was really superlative.

Bottom line: a very rich, eloquent and depressing story of America of the 1930s/1940s. Recommended.

Ralph Ellison takes the reader on a tumultuous journey, following our protagonist, from the moment his troubles began at the Golden Day, till the moment he truly became invisible in the avant-garde, or perhaps the rear, of the underground. This book is as actual in 2017, as it was fifty years ago. Superb read.

The book Invisible Man is a great work of literature set in the pre-civil rights era of history told by a man with no name. In the novel we follow the nameless man through his journey of self-discovery and as he finds the truth about society and segregation.

I am a highschool senior and for class we had to read and analyze a book, of the available novels I took a chance with Invisible Man and was not disappointed. It is a great look into the darker side of American history as time and time again the nameless narrator is taken advantage of by the whites and scorned by the African-Americans. The narrator is never truely seen as himself only by his color of skin. The build up to the climax is great and the book does a great job connecting charcters. While I can never really relate to being discriminated against by the color of my skin, I do know what it is like being seen as something else due to my appearance. This is not abook I can recommend to people who haven't had any hardships interacting with other people because you can't relate to the character and his struggles. I recommend this book in hardback as it would be a great edition to anybody's collection.

As I was reading Ellison's "Invisible Man", I kept waiting for a connection, or that "Aha!" feeling, or to be moved. But none ever came. I grew more and more bored as it went along, and only finished by exercising a great deal of determination.
Perhaps the book was too pessimistic. I can't recall a single character in the book as having been portrayed in a positive light, except for the "invisible" protagonist. In Ellison's alternate reality, everyone seems to be a self-centered hypocrite. Another reader may feel sympathetic towards some of the characters, but I could not find a single one that struck my fancy, or taught me anything but what not to do with my life.
At the end of the day, I could not figure out what I was supposed to take home from this work. The only even remotely sympathetic character was screwed over by everyone he met, and proceeded to then hide from the world. I've always been a firm believer that if one tries, one can find a flaw - or something nice - in everybody. But what is the point of the former? It only leads down a nihilistic pathway that produces nothing constructive. The whole time I was reading this book, I felt I was being taken down this road.

Ralph Ellison wrote a classic and timeless work of fiction that every American should read. People of every color should be able to empathize with the characters in this book. Civil rights have evolved, but we still have more to do before we claim we are an enlightened society and have true equality.

I read this book many years ago in paperback. (I noticed some reviewers wrote that the audiobook is missing the last chapter. You should try to get a unabridged edition)

Ellison has created in Invisble Man one of the most memorable yet haunting characters in world literature. The namelessness of the main character is a metaphorical symbol of invisibility. Invisible Man represents a soul lost and ignored. The theme of this novel transcends what some might regard as literature of racism; it is not only about racism against African American but also about the interaction of human beings universally. Prejudice and difference give rise to persecution and discrimination. It is frightening to think of a human being so tangible and real can be obliterated mercilessly just because he's different. This book will be one of the few classics that can stand the test of time. It will be remembered and appreciated long after our generation.

Book brilliantly illuminates the complex web of American black-white race relations. Though this treasure is over 60 years old it still nails reality for our time. Joe Morton leaves your jaw dropping as he makes Ellison's characters nearly walk out of the audio. The story's told from the point of a young African-American man learning his way in the world. Unforgettable and worth every minute.

I originally read this superb book back in my High School days. Required reading and all. And recently rediscoverd Mr. Ellison's masterpiece when my oldest son was raving to me about the book he HAD to read!
In "Invisible Man", we never actually know the narrator...he is invisible in name, but, in bringing us his nightmarish journey cross racial divides, he is very high profile.
We travel with him from the Deep South to the ravaged streets of Harlem. Where men are men and African American men are reduced to fighting animals to survive.
Reading this profound tome again, I have renewed my faith as well as my fright of human behavior. An excellent book to read, share and remember.
Thanks--CDS

I was at Harvard University for the commencement ceremonies when Ralph Ellison received an honorary Doctor of Letters. A most deserved honor.

Here is a work that is deep and intriguing, touching on the ability of men to interact with one another without dealing with the very reality or substance of our existence. How race makes one invisible to society even while one is an integral part of that society.

To go unnoticed "invisible" to your fellowman. Ellison studies and highlights this idea in very subtle ways, exploring the injustices and destructiveness of racism, yet from deep within the inner man. He takes us on an unforgettable yet deep and mysterious voyage through the recesses of our minds and uncovers for us how the psyche is affected by this unconscious violence to the human spirit. Truly a magnificent work of art.

As opposed to the straightforward social realism of fellow Harlem Resonance icon, Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison employs a distinctly allegorical and baroque approach for his portrait of pre-Civil Rights Movement, African-American life, Invisible Man. Mr. Ellison's tale of a nameless, black college student's journey from the constraining South to the unreal black mini-nation of Harlem is a walk through a literary fun house, full of comedic satire, surreal exaggeration, elusive symbolism and almost beatnick-style lyricism. Mr. Ellison certainly shows a flair for absorbing the wretchedness, paranoia and hypocrisy that was abound during this era and reformatting it all into a configuration that underscores its wrongness and absurdity. Invisible Man proved Mr. Ellison to be one of the most striking authors of the Harlem Resonance and certainly the most dynamic and experimental.

There are few novels that so effectively evoke what it means to be American - and what it means to be human. This novel is beautifully written, and what's more, it has so much meaning and wisdom to share with all of us. Race relations in America are far from O.K., and this book, though fifty years old, retains all of its potency. The epilogue of this novel is probably my favorite few pages of writing of any book or essay ever written.

Behind the story of this black-man-who-is-not-seen is the story of each of us when we are not seen for who we are, and behind that story is a powerful argument for better communication and understanding of each other and of the amalgam of cultures and ethnicities that makes up this nation. Read this book.

Ellison is the Muhammad Ali, the colossus of fiction - I have never experienced a work of art in ANY medium as rich, provocative and poignant as "Invisible Man." Bar none, be it painting, sculpture, theater, film, poetry... One of the best, most succinct ways I can think of relaying the impact of IM is the way we speak on the street, by saying: That's deep.
Most of the "reviews" I've read here simply recount the many plot situations and/or entirely lack the depth to "get" what Ellison is doing as an artist and human being. For if nothing else, Ellison's work is unique in this respect: it reverberates on SO many levels to so many different kinds of people...
Athletes have a way of talking about when they can do no wrong, when every shot goes in the basket, or the baseball looks as big as a watermelon - They say that they're "in the zone." THAT's what IM is.
It's THE American story by an artist at the height of his powers, in the zone...

A classic American novel, and one that is still relevant to today's world. The first chapter can (and did) stand alone as a tremendous short story.

I'd read this in college as an assigned text, and thought . . . well, you know how most people think of assigned texts. But I recently reread this, almost by accident, and my eyes were opened. It goes far beyond racism, though of course that's its immediate and primary concern. Those of us who believe that there is such a thing as truth - and justice - will be challenged by this book, even as we admire the artistry. That's a good thing.

we should all be on our hands and knees thanking ellison for this american classic. invisible man is not a novel about race, but identity and individuality. ellison's last line: "who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, i speak for you" makes this theme glaringly obvious.

the brotherhood is a race-neutral, socialist-materialist organization that denies the importance of individuality, the existence of free will, and the essential underlying chaos of human behavior. like dostoevsky's underground man, the invisible man is driven below once be becomes aware of the complete folly of socialism and strict materialism.

the novel is the first real "american" work of existentialism, using race as one of the main causes of the protaganist's alienation in a hostile world, where justice is completely missing from the fabric of the universe. our hero starts out pure and idealistic, spirals into sardonic bitterness, and in the end chooses to emerge from underground and attempt to not merely survive in, but change this hostile world.

ellison writes beautifully. the first person narrative of invisible man gives readers a striking view of an inner heros journey. we are able to witness the discrepancy between the protaganists thoughts and his words/actions and we are able follow his inner reconciliation. ellison gives all of the characters in invisible man their own convincingly unique voice -- and by doing so, celebrates the brand of diversity that is uniquely american.

A nameless narrator reflects upon his life's journey after initially claiming to be an invisible man. He swallows his own blood, pride, and identity as he strives to succeed in a white man's world. When he transforms from an expelled college student to inspirational speaker, the narrator appears to have achieved his goal. Unfortunately, his submission to repeated and similar injustices ultimately forces him underground, his fleeting public reputation obliterated. The novel serves to reveal the faultiness of "natural integration." The narrator continuously changes his identity to adjust and compliment his surroundings. On one occasion, he literally accepts a different name. Booker T. Washington believed that passive assimilation, similar to that attempted by the narrator, could effectively merge racial cultures and gradually erase prejudice. However, the narrator's new name remains as anonymous to the reader as its predecessor, a lost label for an identity ignored. His tragic fall remains, in part, his own doing. The narrator's compliance with various leaders led him to become simply a tool, easily utilized and easily discarded. Ellison makes the point that this is the norm for people who refuse to actively protest their oppression. The depth within this unusual impression of the Civil Rights movement reflects intriguing work of troubling genius. Within the plot's paradoxical twists and turns, the narrator finds hidden aspects of seemingly straightforward people and principles. The destruction of this character's identity provokes haunting implications for each individual in response to a life unseen.

When I was 12 years old, my father brought home a trunk full of used books from a thrift store. In it was every book imaginable by the leading lights of the African-American literary pantheon. Baldwin, Hughes, Hurston, Wright, Fanon, Brown and of course the weightiest of the tomes at 600-plus pages, Ellison's Invisible Man. I read through all the slimmer volumes and never got around to Ellison until I was in college. Even after hearing all the hype about it for years on end, I was still floored by the book. It was the kind of book you backtrack while reading, retracing chapters you just read to see if the initial impact of the words was really that forceful. I empathized with the book and it's protagonist because having just gone through my early adolescence and teens I sensed his feeling of longing...and need for belonging. Nearing the end of the book, I slowed my pace, afraid of what I would find. After finishing it for many days (weeks, months...) afterward the book haunted my quiet times. It haunted me whenever I thought about it for years afterward. Thus, having just bought the "new" Ellison, "Juneteenth" I also bought the new commemorative "Invisible Man" and decided to read it again first. It was more powerful than before. It's tale of a search for identity in a land where your identity is denied rings even truer in this time of assimilation/balkanization. We live in a time where color-blindness (one form of invisibility) is the alleged goal while denial of recognition and privelege (the more prevalent form of invisibility) is still the unfortunate norm. Beyond being a book of the 50's and the civil rights era, it's even more important as a book for the move to a new millennium...where the lines demarking identity simultaneously harden and blur. And as to the reviewer who was puzzled about the lead character's display of leadership skills and potential while never seeming to live up to it, there is no need for puzzlement. From the teacher busted for drug-dealing, to the born-again pro-footballer busted on Super Bowl eve for solicitation to the present resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, this paradox is perhaps more the norm than we are willing to admit.

Ellsion paints a vivid picture of New York during the 1950's. The main character, a nameless protagonist, is a black man who journeys from his southern college into the streets of Harlem. Throughout the novel I found myself in the shoes of the character experiencing the fears, victories, and sorrows of the invisible man. This novel is reminiscent of Uncle Tom's Cabin but then goes a step farther. Ellison is able to weave a tapestry of thought and culture which each word upon the page. The book is simpy engrossing and will open one's eyes to a whole new experience. This isn't the type of novel you read but experience, so experience it for yourself.

What can you say about Ellison's novel that hasn't already been said? It is, quite simply, one of the finest novels ever written. Ellison writes from the heart, and uses the styles of his forebears, most notably Twain, Melville and Tolstoy, to make his point. The novel, about a young black man struggling to find his way in the world, is beautiful. The invisible man could be any young black man in post WW2 America. Shunned by the whites, double crossed by his black dean in college, he makes his way from the south to NY city. His problems and life will dismay you, make you laugh, cry, hurt. It is wonderful, and shows you why Ellison never published another novel in his lifetime...he couldn't write a better one.

INVISIBLE MAN is a Bildungsroman, hilariously recounting the missteps of a black boy trying to make his way in the black and white worlds, neither of which he understands. The novel conludes ambivalently with the expressed idea that "the world is possibility," but denies this dramatically when the hero is literally forced underground, in a subterranean hole illuminated by thousands of light bulbs, representing his disillusionment. Up to this point, this young black Candide has made every misjudgment possible, being used by everyone he comes in contact with, including the Communist Party (here called "The Brotherhood."} Both American history and American race relations are seen through a sophisticated prism through the microcosm of the novel.
The work is beautifully structured and styled. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

As an author with my debut novel (which deals with social inequities in contemporary American society) in its initial release, I have been an admirer of Ralph Ellison's INVISIBLE MAN since I first read it too many years ago during college. I've read it several times since then, and I grow more impressed with the novel each time I read through it. Mr. Ellison's novel follows a young man through his journey to knowledge and self-awareness. Along the way, he encounters most of the defining experiences of the 20th Century African-American experience. Every person should read INVISIBLE MAN--including you.

For my independent reading project I read Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison during which we, my 8th grade class, also read To Kill a Mockingbird. Invisible Man is a portrait of the early 20th century and the role of racism in the culture. Ellison writes from the point of view of a young black man, the narrator, who takes a roller coaster ride throughout the south and finally Harlem. While reading the Invisible Man, Atticus and his points of view come to mind many times. The narrator and Atticus both fight for black rights in a time of prejudice and injustice. Both of them are respected members of their communities and set an example for many people; Atticus for his children and certain townsfolk, and the narrator for his "brotherhood" and Harlem. Ellison explains the emotional turmoil of one human characteristic, racism. The narrator is a young black man scraping his way to the top, in contrast Atticus is a well-off white man, respected. I liked how I got a perspective from both sides of the struggle, white and black. When I was reading about the "Brotherhood" and its "fight" against racism there were many comparisons to the court and jury in To Kill a Mockingbird. Both were meant to do good and bring justice and understanding, while upholding values. But, like many institutions, they weren't doing their designed purpose. They, in their own point of view were doing good. But, reality they were plagued by self-interest. The court's justice was subverted by the jury and the "brotherhood's" moral community lessened by their scientific analysis of everything, including humans, which I think can't be analyzed. What happened to these institutions demonstrates how even the best intentions can be turned into evil. Through the narrator I learned much about the politics and mannerisms of the early 20th century. At times the book is dark and moody, almost crazy. At other times, it is also humorous and funny. The style of writing changes many times and really conveys all different feelings such as anger, hope, isolation, happiness, and craziness. I feel that Invisible Man focused on the Black point of view on racism and how it felt, while To Kill a Mockingbird represented the point of view of whites. As Invisible Man starts, it took place in the South. It was slow, with lots of description that I barely made through, but progressively it picked up with the plot coming to a turbulent climax. Throughout the story Ellison really developed the characters, which drew me into the story. Although the book was very slow at times, I think it's great. I am an avid reader and this has been my most challenging book so far. Ellison used many metaphorical references from an early time which I, a 14 year old, didn't understand. I suggest you only read this if you are much older than me. I recommend this to anyone that wants a book full of depth, a look at racism and its effect on people.

I usually don't review books I haven't finished yet, but I think it will take me years to figure out what I think about Invisible Man, and I'm so excited by it that I can't wait. I'm less than halfway through and it has become my favorite novel of all time, displacing Anna Karenina. I especially love how the events are often non-naturalistic as in modernist works like Ulysses (time stretches or speeds up, events that are just barely possible but more likely magical occur), but the style is clear and simple, not obscure like the works of Woolf or Joyce. An amazing book.

Ralph Ellison's, Invisible Man is a journey into the palms of societies manipulating hands. Taking place mostly in Harlem, New York, I watched as a smart,unnamed black man fell victim to his own innocence. His own vulnerablility, his own sense of "just not getting it" led almost everyone he encountered to take advantage of him. He met many confidants and many antagonists along the way which caused him to run away from society. To take the step that so many confused, hurt men dream of taking. Which was no further caring for the superficial ways of the world but only for his own self loving his own self. Alone, underneath a plethora of scheming minds, the invisible man finally came to touch with himself. He was no longer a color, no longer a tool for hands to play with. Although some might look down upon his choice to run away, his fear and concious knowing that he was unready to take the "next step," I, with the help of Ellison's eloquent wording, can see the beauty in his ultimate sacrifice. I think that this novel was very well written and I am suprised that it was the only one of Ralph Ellison's books to become extremely popular. I recommend this book to any high school senior or above. I think that it will be enjoyed by many.

This along with the Autobiography of Malcolm X are the two most powerful portrayals of East Coast urban psychology between the castigated and demoralized black man and the white insitutionalized power-holders circa 1930-1950. While both end in tragedy, this one perhaps is more demoralizing as the protagonist eventually becomes completely alienated from his neighborhood, city, and nation at large. Becomming the victim of a witch-hunt and unraveling of the moral fabric of his neighborhood, the protoganist doesn't achieve freedom or enlightenment, but instead whithers away in despair. Very upsetting and scary portrayal of the effects of marginalized politics and socio-economic/racial polarization.

I am so disappointment not about the book but I purchased this book as a gift for a relative who lives in Ethioipia and they couldn't access it because it's blocked in Ethiopia. Wha'ts happening the store? This is not the first ebook I have sent to that country. Because of that I couldn't give it 5 stars. I'm so disappointed.

The eviction that the IM witnesses in Chapter 13 is a telling event, for it surely pivots the IM into becoming a powerful voice for his people. Had the IM encountered the eviction before he had run into the yam seller, the resulting events could not have possibly unfolded in the manner in which they did, for up until the time when the IM meets the yam seller, he is still trying to be "white" and "upper class." Indeed, the IM initially sees the yam seller as only an "old man, wrapped in an army overcoat, his feet covered with gunny sacks, [and] his head in a knitted cap" (263). The yam seller represents everything that the IM is trying to distance himself from -- his blackness, his roots in black folk culture, and his southern heritage. Yet the IM is hungry, and so he approaches the yam seller for food. It is hunger, the most primal of instincts, that fuels the IM towards the realization that yams are his "birthmark" and he ut! ters "I yam what I am" as he makes the epiphanal discovery that he "no longer [feels] ashamed of the things [he] had always loved" (266). As the IM wonders "what and how much" he's lost "by trying to do only what was expected" of him, instead of doing what he "had wished to do" (266), he wanders upon the eviction of the Provos. The ensuing eviction, as visually saddening as it is, is also visually symbolic, for the articles scattered about on the cold Harlem sidewalk are the first things the IM sees with his "new" eyes. The descriptions of the various objects that draw the IM's attention are representative of many examples of black folk culture. Ellison captures everything from the "knocking bones" and straightening comb, to the lucky stone (High John the Conqueror) and the rabbit's foot in his characterization of the African Diaspora. And the Diaspora subtly spreads to the Caribbean to become pan-African as well, as mention is made of the Ethiopian flag, Marcus Garvey, and the "free papers." I believe Ellison includes the "free papers" in the Provos' belongings to blend the papers' historical significance (i.e. the Sam Sharpe Rebellion) with the significance of the IM's sermon as he confronts the "white establishment" to defend humanitarianism (i.e. the Provos' eviction). Actually, the Sam Sharpe Rebellion of 1831-1832 in Jamaica is a truly historical event of great significance for it eventually led the way for other Jamaican slave revolts to follow, and the impetus for the Sam Sharpe Rebellion was "free papers." Sam Sharpe was not only a Jamaican slave, but also a charismatic orator and religious leader in the 19th century. He asserted a rumor amongst the Jamaican slaves that their free papers (i.e. official government papers granting freedom) had arrived from England, and were being "withheld" by the white planters. Sharpe's motive, as Leonard Barrett writes in The R! astafarians, was to initiate a non-violent revolution by letting the slaves begin to "mentally, psychologically, and eschatologically [cease] being slaves" (44). In other words, the revolution was intended to halt the deprivation of "wealth" (i.e. freedom, privilege, economic stability, etc.) that was trickling through the slaves' hands. When the IM runs up the steps of the Provos' building and shouts, "They ain't got nothing, they cain't get nothing, they never had nothing. So who was dispossessed? (279), he parallels Sam Sharpe's ideology of revolution by illustrating how one segment of society suffers, while another segment of society gluttonizes on "wealth" accumulation. Furthermore, by crying out "Laws, that's what we call them down South Laws! And we're wise, and law-abiding," (278), the IM subtly refers to the evil and injustice of the eviction by exhorting the natural equality of man with regard to being assured of a warm and safe place to live. The ensuing results of the IM's sermon culminates in a "revolution" of sorts. People burst into action and activity (they take things back inside the Provo's apartment), and they continue to be carried away by the IM's impassioned speech (they begin to think about organizing, demonstrating, and marching). The IM himself eventually joins the Brotherhood. Thus Moving Day in Harlem is born, for even though the Provos were evicted, the IM prompted a "Move," - a forward thrust of upward mobility" for himself, the Provos, and Harlem - towards equality, justice, honor, and truth.

In his introduction, Ellison justifies writing the novel to encompass the realities of all aspects of african american life. However, such an ambitious goal is sure to fail because inevitably, these experiences are solely those of the author and the nameless protagonist. In addition, the message one seems to draw from the book, is that african americans do not matter and cannot overcome racial prejudice. To reach this conclusion takes 580 pages and a myriad of sureal episodes. While Ellison provides excellent descriptions that help other characters and environments come to life, the choice to leave his main character and the southern college nameless detracts from the work. As a visual reader, including these aspects, however slight would make, as Ellison writes "become more human." While some scenes read fluidly, much of the book suffers from verbose wordage, it takes much to long for Ellison to make his points. Many portions of the book seem strange and confusing as well. When the nameless protagonist suffers an accident in the paint factory, it is unclear what procedure he underwent. Ellison seems to suggest that his character received a frontal lobatomy. If this were true, how could he feel emotion or rise to prominence. Also unclear, is the brotherhood's true function. What is clear however, is that Ellison dehumanizes his white counterparts, believing them to fundamnetally the same. He seems to belive that each white person wants to take advantage of an black person , for the white person's own benefit. While naming all the social ills affecting his race and the broader society, he fails to offer any solutions. Also strange, is that mian character deviates from all other black chracters, his manner of speaking is more refined. He does not use normal slang and common expressions. While claiming to try to serve his people, he, through his acts and mannerisms seems to be above them. For these reasons, Ellison ultimately fails in his intent to capture the African American experience in this overwrought, oversymbolic and overemotional piece of literature.

"I am an invisible man," begins Ralph Ellison's classic-for-a-reason novel. In its beginning, the story is already at its end, inside the mind of its unnamed narrator after he has undergone enlightenment. In the rest of the book, he shows how he came to live "outside of history."

In each chapter, the narrator experiences humiliation, [...], and self-delusion. At some points, as a reader, I wanted to shake him. This story of waking up takes awhile, but Ellison's examples of life's "beautiful absurdities" require the reader to become as beaten down as the narrator.

A novel that has often been voted the most influential of the twentieth-century doesn't need me to recommend it. But you might particularly like Invisible Man if you enjoy Catch-22, Joyce, or James Baldwin.

The book Invisible Man portrays a young black man that has the ability to succeed in life, but encounters many problems along the way. Racism plays a major role in prohibiting the narrators success, as many white meen try to keep him, as they said in the envelope, "running". Additionally, the narrator often becomes invisible when the situation is not favorable to him. it sounds complicated, and it is, but this book has a way of showing you what life looks like from the outside and in many ways its not pretty On his graduation day, he delivers a speech that is very profound. It preaches humility and submission as the key to achievement of black Americans. The speech can be applied to anyone's life, as we all encounter situations where we need to be humble and acknowledge who the authority is. later, the narrator said something that I will never forget. He was talking about how he realized that, as he was struggling to succeed, he was also loosing some of himself and his black culture. He stated that "by being less, you achieve more" and i thought this was a great quote; applicable to anyone's life. In conclusion, the majority of this book is somewhat hard to understand and at times boring, as the narator can tend to be redundant for several pages at a time. However, overall this book has many insights to life and dealing with its oddities. The Invisible man may be long, but those pages are filled with powerful emotions applicable to anyone's life.

The book starts out unusually strong. We are captivated by a supposed "Invisible Man" who lives in a basement in the city. As we read the first chapter, we're left with many questions. Who is he? Why is he invisible?
So the author starts the story out from the begininning deep in the south. This boy, a black student, excells at his work and social life. However, it turns for the worse when he drops out of a fully paid for negro colleg and is forced to move to New York city.
Of course these questions were answered, but gradually. I believe this was the problem I had with the book. It was a very slow read. The action is inconsistent. It starts of strong, but then you are just reading to set the plot. This took longer than I expected.
In conclusion, this book ought to be read by people interested in the life of an educated black student who encounters racial issuses. These racial issues prevent his sucess in life, and prevent him from developing an identity. Also, along the way, Ellison does a good job of describing the emmotiongs which are felt by the invisible man.

In this book we are taken into the life of a young African-American and the struggles he faces as he tries to make his way in the world. I am not one who is usually taken away with works of fiction, but something about this book mesmerized me. I was entranced by the setting, character and existence of the protagonist. His life and choices were such that you could only wish that you could intervene and help him along. Then there were the forces that acted upon his life, outside of his control; the dean, his boss, the communists, all of which led him to discover his "invisibility" or lack of control over his destiny. This is an excellent book. I really enjoyed the character development and plot. I highly recommend it.

"Invisible Man " is a novel written by Ralp Ellison. It begins with the character describing himself as an "Invisible Man". Not a ghost, or a freak experiment, but a physical man, who nobody knows, cares about, or notices. Even when he attempts to rob someone, wht man thinks its all a dream. The character is disappoined, but is happy with his invisibility. Then, he describes how he became this way. His life began in the South, where in grade and high school he was pushed to do his best. Then, his grandfather died, and his last words were not to submit, to do his race proud, and not degrade it by going by the will of the white men. Those words plagued his life, and formed his views on how black men should live their lives, including himself. Getting his college scholarship was a nightmare (he ended up doing exactly what the white men wanted him to do) but he got it, and he spent a few years there too. He was happy, until he was asked to give a guided tour of the campus to the founder of the college. Though he did show him what he wanted to see, it was not what the college wanted him to see, so the kicked out the ""Invisible Man"". He was then sent to New York with papers the man thought would get him a job so to get back to the college the next year. However, with the assistance of Mr. Earnshaw's secretary (his own son), he found out the true intentions of the school. Mr. Earnshaw was the head of one of the companies the school recommended for the character to work for, but the truth was the school wanted him to continously work, own secret reasons for doing what they do. Now, the "Invisible a big company. He did just that, too. After a slight accident in a paint producing factory, he began working, but he also got involved in a underground organization called the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood was an organization of college grad blacks who knew their place in a white man's worlk, but they also knew how importaqnt and necessary they were. They considered themselves valuable, so were confident, and so was the "Invisible Man" He was becoming very important to the treacher begins. The "Invisible Man" eventually got back stabbed by Rez, a member of the Brotherhood, who was also coinciding with another big organizitation. He managed to blame the character for the increased involvement of the rival gang-for the very existance of the gang itself-so was nearly killed. However, he managed to escape, and talked to Jack, the head of the Brotherhood, where he found out he was invaluable, unwanted, unimportant, and Invisible. No one cared for him or about him. He was indeed Invisible. So then, he became the "Invisible Man".

Ellison studied music in college, and it shows. The book hangs together like a jazz piece, on an edge so precarious and so exquisite that it blows your mind. The way that themes are layered and build to crescendo after crescendo is amazing!
In my view, this book is not merely about race. It seems to be about modernity's influence on the human condition. Racism, in this novel, is just one aspect of a larger problem: a widespread loss of respect for people's integrity, as illustrated by the ...kissing black "professionals," white racists, "social activists," and the confidence man.

The Invisible Man is about a man who lost his way after high school and dropped out of college. So he then embarks a journey to truly find himself, but ends up in a situation far worse from where he started from. This book follows the narrator's journey from the South to the cities of New York. In my opinion, this book is mainly for mature audiences, so I don't recommend this book to minors. This book deals with racism, so if you are easily offended by racism, I wouldn't recommend it. If you enjoy existentialist ideals and dark humor, you would enjoy reading this book. Personally, I read this for a literature project in my senior year in high school, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. For my recommendation, buy this in paperback, because I personally think this book is worth it to read and keep, but not to pass on to your kids.

First off, anyone whos says this book is too biased, or is just giving racism in return for racism, completely missed the message of the book. It is not a book about racism, but about the fact that noone, black or white, saw the protagonist ("him" from now on) for what he was. Other black people expected him to act a certain way, white people looked down on him, everyone had their own plan for him, wanted him as their own tool, instead of just taking him for what he was. It accurately portrays what it would be like to be a young black man in it's time, torn between the search for success and the search for pride. On another note, the book does lull at some points, but the style of writing in it's time was different than that of today, so that should be taken into consideration, and the small lulls hardly take anything away from the overall quality of the book-outstanding. There is so much in this book...just reading it really is a journey in itself, a very satisfying one. "He" is forced to ask himself questions about himself that we all have at some point...don't want to give away too much plot though. Overall, the only way to not enjoy this book is if you're not capable of sitting down with a long, steady-paced book, or if you're just too ignorant to understand brilliance when you've spent all that time reading it.

The Invisible Man is a story of a young southern African-American man and his tribulations through which he discovers society's harsh realities. The book starts with the narrator examining his visibility in life. He claims that to society he is merely a invisible man, a worthless colored man. The book later elucidates to the reader that he did not always feel this way. The feelings were more of culmination of the stunning truths that he learned through a series of hard and misfortunate events. He starts out as a very young and intelligent man in high school who wishes to carve out a prosperous and successful future for himself. He ends up receiving a scholarship to a black college in the south. In his junior year he is expelled for an incident to which was not his fault. Still holding on to a shred of hope he is told that he may return to the college if he moves to New York and earns the years tuition. He arrives in Harlem and begins searching for a job, but is later left betrayed when he discovers that the college never had any intentions of readmitting him. The rest of the book outlines his life in Harlem and takes a close look at the further struggles that bring him to the attitude he possess in the beginning of the book.
There were many portions of the book that were difficult to follow due to the diction and style of writing that Ellison uses to develop his story. Yet in the majority of the book Ellison's use of vivid diction and detail only help to bring the book alive as you see the characters and setting of the book take shape in your head. For example, when the narrator receives a job in a paint factory Ellison depicts the scene so clearly and effectively that you can nearly smell the fumes of the paint as you read through the chapter. Ellison also develops the narrator's world through the use of African American dialect, music and folklore. The author has a very unique style of writing in which he is able to clearly set the tone of his book through the usage of his diction, imagery and syntax.
Even though there were many dark and disturbing images in this novel I enjoyed being able to look through the eyes of an African-American during that time period and trying to understand what it was like. This book is a must read for anyone who is trying to understand just a small portion of the hardships and harsh realities that many African-Americans experienced after the turn of the 19th century.

I must say that INVISIBLE MAN was possibly Ralph Ellisons most well recieved and powerful books. It tells the story of an African-American(narrator) man raised in the south, and raised by his grandparents who were freed slaves. being from the south the narrator was exposed to segregation and social responsibility. He recieves a scholarship to a negro college but is soon expelled for no fault of his own. Then the narrator moves to New York City and finds himself unable to find employment, for the man who had given out many letters of reccomdation on the narrator's behalf, did not speak well of him. Eventually he finds a job at a white paint factory. This was an obvious use of symbolism such as the factories motto,"if its optic white, then its right." The narrator has an accident at work and is taken to the factory hospital and instead of a castration he was given an ECT treatment. The hatred of white the man quickly grew within the narrator. He joined an activist group where he was a spokesman for social equality. The narrator is eventually is banned from the group but is soon retaken. In the end the narrator is trapped in a man hole by a police officer and after an awful dream, he decides to stay there.
I would reccomend this book to anyone whos is at all interested in racism and/or the economical and social standings of a minority.

Everything that you've read so far will eventually fill a deeper meaning!
It was assigned by my English Teacher who seemed to tell us each day what was coming next. At times, it was the most discouraging thing that he could have done, yet in the beginning, it kept the class interested. I sat up many nights reading the book, chapter after chapter.
The novel connects people. As a white Montana girl from the heart of the Rockies, I don't have the culture of Harlem around me. I recommend this literary work of art to any teacher wanting to educate their students. Ellison's book gives insight on the difficulties and betrayal life can hand you. His title adds to the personal side of it. As an Invisible Man the reader never learns the main characters name, simply because it isn't important. A name would not add to the significance of the novel, but the invisibility does. By not having a specific label, the author pulls you into the story line, as if you were the Invisible Man.
Ellison has also incorporated marvelous imagery and breath-taking facts that make this novel a classic. Facts that are told in such a manner that our children will be reading this masterpiece, growing and learning as humans. "As long as there is humanity there will be novel's like this."
"Answer them with yeses." -Grandfather The Invisible Man lives with a haunting rememberance of his Grandfather, and his answer to the indifferences placed on the superiority of the races. Our main character fights with this throughout his life, stuggling to become a man of his own though and disposition. This novel takes you on that journey, revealling one man's ups and downs that eventually leads him into his invisibility.

I can say with confidence that "The Invisible Man" has surpassed my expectations a thousandfold. This story carries such incredible depth, and the deeper you read into it, the more fascinating it becomes. This on the surface is a criticism of race-relations in america and of a young man's struggle to overcome racial prejudice. This alone was able to provide me with such personal insight in regards to intimate perceptions and feelings of someone who was so acutely aware of the impact of his skin color. But the most astounding aspect of this novel that I found was the protagonist's slow unraveling of himself, and that of noticing (almost painfully) the limits that society had thrust upon him. Reading "The Invisible Man" is truly a complex journey into the profound hiding places of one's soul. You really will be surprised as to what you discover.

Ralph Elison�s, 2nd edition of Invisible Man, portrayed a young man struggling to make an impact on society. Throughout the book, there are several different symbols of invisibility, one of which was the nameless author, which continually provoked the reader. This hidden identity made the reader curious as to if the author would ever reveal the narrator�s name. Also, I felt that this novel was hard to put down because it kept me in suspense as of what obstacle the narrator was going to face next.
Success is an adjective that the unanimous narrator of Ralph Elison�s, 2nd edition of Invisible Man had trouble obtaining. It all began when he was forced to leave college because he embarrassed the school by taking one of their most-honorable trustees to the suburbs. In return, the college was supposed to help him find a professional job in New York; but in turn, the school ended up playing a cruel trick on the narrator. Several other similar, unfortunate events occurred to the narrator throughout the remainder of this book. Because of all of the ironic events that occurred to the narrator, I felt that this novel was very hard to relate to, although it didn�t force me to lose interest in the novel.
Elements such as politics, sex, racism, and growing up are portrayed in Invisible Man. This novel makes the audience reevaluate these ideas by look at them through another person�s eyes. It also makes the audience question many of these ideas. I would suggest this novel to all readers, particularly one who has time to read it slow to grasp it�s entirety.

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is at its core a treatise on man's inhumanity to man. What could cause people to put up with the horrifying "Battle Royal" depicted early in the novel. It's very simple, actually, as Ralph Ellison repeatedly lets us know. Most human beings treat their fellow men as pawns to be manipulated in order to fulfill certain selfish means. We see this again and again in the novel. The white benefactor to the college views the main character and his university as nothing more than another tax write-off or an antidote to his nagging conscience. When he is confronted with the reality of the deep South, when the horror of the true conditions of most blacks is revealed to him during the road trip, the main character is expelled for exposing these members of society the dean wants to keep "invisible." The Communist Party also views blacks as nothing more than a special interest group that they can keep in check and manipulate through their rhetoric. To them, the main character, with his great legitimate success and intelligence, is a greater threat than Ras the Destroyer, a mindless thug. Ras is helping the blacks stay invisible, but the main character is pushing them to succeed and forcing society to deal with them as human beings, which the party finds unacceptable. Upon realizing this, the main character at first tries to "defeat them with yeses" as his father advised him and withdraws from the people who cannot see his inner being. However, he concludes that such an acceptance is a betrayal of himself. He decides to learn to start "saying yes and saying no" to the roles that are thurst upon him.
What is the universal message here? It is that in this world, social relationships have been established between human beings, but in almost all of these relationships we are restrained from exposing our inner self. Think about it. Try to count how many unwritten rules you follow in you interactions with other people. There are things you can and cannot say, feelings you can and cannot express, ideas that you can and cannot convey, parts of your soul that you can and cannot reveal. It all depends on who you are dealing with. How are we to respond to such a situation? We must "say yes and say no," we must accept certain boundaries but strive to look beyond them and, little by little, push them back. Pick up a copy of this great American Masterpiece. I promise Invisible Man will make you think! Another, much lighter book I need to recommend is The Losers Club by Richard Perez (Complete Restored Edition), an the store purchase that I stumbled on by accident and truly love.

The venomous assaults on the character of Barack Obama - by Glenn Beck, Dinesh D'Souza, and other paid pundits of the Ranting Righteous - have reconfirmed many of the disturbing insights into American racism of Ralph's Ellison's classic 1952 novel "Invisible Man." Barack Obama is truly `invisible' to his political enemies, who consistently ignore both his words and his actions in favor of their own projections of him as a radical, rageful, revengeful racist, simultaneously a Communist and an Islamicist. But, as the `narrator' of Ellison's novel learned to his sorrow, Obama is none too clearly `visible' to his supporters either. The most clear-sighted examination of Obama's personhood and politics that I've read is historian James Kloppenberg's "Reading Obama: Dreams, Hope, and the American Tradition." Using both biographical material and Obama's own writings, from his earliest articles in the Harvard Law Journal through his own full-length books to his campaing speeches and presidential addresses, Professor Kloppenberg convincingly locates Obama in the tradition of American pragmatism and of consensus achieved by dialogue, a thinker not attracted to ideology of either the left or the right, a socially liberal moderate whose ideas reflect his education in American history and philosophy. The strongest influences on Obama's thinking come, according to Kloppenberg, from philospher John Rawls, hsitorian Gordon Wood, theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, and legal scholar Lawrence Tribe. As a result, Obama's political stances are remarkably close to what the German philosopher Jürgen Habermas would approve, above all a commitment to democratic discourse and a discomfort with any sort of absolutism or `foundationalism.'

However, Kloppenberg also traces the special influence of Obama's experience as a `man of color' in American society, and examines the impact that African-American writers and leaders have had on the country's first non-white president. In particular, Kloppenberg suggests that Obama's early encounter with the novel "Invisible Man" has made a lasting impression:
""Obama's debts to Ellison run particularly deep. Many borrowed images from Invisible Man ... pop up in passages in Dreams From My Father. Yet Obama acknowledges that no matter how attractive the pose of anger and alienation seemed to him as a young man, it was a poor fit, both because of his even-tempered personality and because of his very different circumstances. For all these reasons Invisible Man, with its deperate refusal to surrender, its determination to affirm the principle [of equality in diversity, of `e pluribus unum], and its resolutely indeterminate ending, left a particularly clear imprint on Obama's sensibility.""

"Very different circumstances" indeed! Invisible Man was published in 1952! Before the Supreme Court decisions that struck down `separate but equal' apartheid in the USA. Before MLK and Malcolm X, before the civil rights campaigns of the `50s and 60s but also before Black Power and the Black Panthers. Before the elections of the first Black governors, mayors, and congresspeople since the aborted Reconstruction after the War to Extend Slavery. Before an African-American without an Uncle Remus drawl could speak up without causing consternation. Before a TV ad could possibly have shown a sophisticated, personable African-American socializing with a similar European-American. And quite a few years before Barack Obama was born!

I had to re-read this book therefore. I had to reappraise it, in light of all those incomplete transformations of American society, in light of the election of Obama and the frenzied backlash it has generated.

And I could write a book about this book. In fact, many books have already been written about this book. It's a challenging, complex piece of literature. It probably defies any coherent exegesis; I know I wouldn't try. On the most obvious level, it's the tale of the `education' of a highly intelligent young black man from the impoverished rural South, who travels to New York and becomes the dupe of a Utopian movement called The Brotherhood, whose efforts to advance himself are repeatedly thwarted by a combination of accidental circumstances and the malevolent self-interests of both whites and blacks. It's a sprawling story, many chapters of which are obviously not intended to be flatly realistic. I haven't encountered any previous criticism of it that says so, but to me Invisible Man fits perfectly into the venerable genre of the Picaresque, that is, of the innocent youth who sets out to seek his fortune and who falls repeatedly into the company of rogues and fools. A one-page outline of the plot of Invisible Man would be also parallel to that of Lazarillo de Tormes, the 16th C Spanish novel often considered the first picaresque. In other words, Invisible Man can't be and shouldn't be read just as an African-American book; it belongs in the canon of European literature, written in a European language - English - to be comprehended in the context of European socio-political traditions. To deny Ralph Ellison's European intellectual roots, entwined with his historical American identity as the grandchild of slaves, is to perpetuate the "invisibility" his fictional character suffers. The extension is obvious: Barack Obama, with his European-American mother and maternal clan, is as fully European as any other American, even while he is also ineffably a `black' American in experience! It's a little like the theological mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus -- fully human yet fully divine.

This `invisibility' of Ellison's is not something unique to African-Americans, I would argue. Lazarillo de Tormes was also `invisible' to those around him by reason of his illegitimate birth and caste. Koreans have been `invisible' in Japan, Samii in Sweden, Kurds in Turkey. `Gay' people may find themselves more `invisible' outside the closet than they were inside. James Baldwin wrote, in effect, of his double invisibility as a gay black man. Ellison's meaning of `invisibility' is subtle. The `invisible man' is not unseen. Rather, he's seen only as the beholder wants to see him, without any interest in perceiving him as he truly is. And that, dear readers, is the fate that President Barack Obama is confronting in the USA today.

E pluribus unum! Where have you seen those words? They're on the Great Seal of the USA, and thus on the money. The Latin words mean "from many, one." This was the de facto motto of the nation throughout its history until 1956, when Congress adopted "In God We Trust" as the official motto. `Originalists" -- reactionaries who insist that the original intent of the writers of the Constitution was this or that, never to be renewed -- declare that "e pluribus unum" refers to the limited unity conceded to the federal government by the original thirteen soveriegn states, and only to that. Most Americans have had the habit of interpreting the motto more philosophically, recognizing that American culture is the result of the Melting Pot, the intermingling of different ethnic stocks, different religious and economic backgrounds, different races. If the Invisible Man in Ralph Ellison's novel was left hoping, as he says on the last page of the book, that "even an invisible man has a socially responsible role to play," then I'd argue that his role is to sustain `the many' that constitute `the one.' And that, I would say, is what Barack Obama aspires to, in which case reading this novel may indeed offer a template of his character.

In Invisible Man Ralph Ellison narrates a story through the eyes of a southern black man who is forgotten and abused by people in the worlds around him, conveying to the reader his belief in the necessity of self-realization and self-reliance through the narrator's insights at the same time. Ellison develops his own personal convictions within the unnamed protagonist, giving his character depth of understanding imparted by the experiences he encounters. This anonymous narrator learns not only of racial prejudice during his childhood in the South but also of social ignorance in the North even among other blacks. Upon first arriving north in New York City, the narrator feels as if he has left behind prejudice social classes and unfair bias, but slowly he begins to realize that in New York or any other place there is no such thing as egalitarian rights and communal respect because of the self-serving minds of other people. In many characters such as Mr. Norton, Dr. Bledsoe and Brother Jack, Ellison embodies this attitude of ignorance and personal ambition. In the book Mr. Norton plays a minor role as a university benefactor who only wishes to see the narrator succeed in order to add to his own legacy. Dr. Bledsoe is the head of the narrator's old college who fears allowing the narrator to stay at the university may bring ill repute to his university. He only desires to see the narrator fail and even attempts to catalyze this hope by giving him letters denouncing the narrator's qualifications which he claims to be letters of recommendation. Shortly after arriving in New York, the narrator meets Brother Jack, who is the head of a civil rights movement. At the end of the book the narrator learns that Brother Jack has been using him as a speaker to incite citizens for his own alterior motives. Ellison states through the narrator that his invisibility arises from the negligence of others who are striving toward their goal, too busy to think about him on their way. In the end of the book the narrator fully grasps and learns that his insignificance in others' eyes is insignificant itself, that his peace and contentment must come from within himself. Ellison shows ubiquity and timelessness in his philosophy on man and his intrinsic nature, intricately developing Invisible Man to reflect aspects of his own take on life.

The entirety of Invisible Man is based on the life-changing circumstances of one man. The name of this man is never disclosed keeping the reader anxious and curious. From the beginning and throughout the end of the novel, the "Invisible Man" encounters betrayal, deceit, rebellion, and eventually finds a place in this chaotic world. The theme of the novel is based on the continual change in his life and its structure is in some way circular. "Invisible Man" begins the novel with nothing, and ultimately possesses nothing. Possibly the intent of the book was to convey for society the difficulties and discrimination that the African race had to and still has to face, but believe that Ralph Ellison had a deeper purpose when he began writing this novel. I believe this novel relates to everyone's life in one way or another. But, the intent of this novel is solely up to the opinion of the reader. Ralph Ellison uses smooth diction and by stating smooth, I mean that the words and sentences flow well together and make the book fairly easily to read. His imagery is superb.

First off, I had to read this book for school. Usually I don't like "Classics" and destest reading them, even though I love reading in general. This book was ok. The themes of race/class division and the duplicity of the human race were valid and sometimes interesting, but the book just annoyed me. At times it bored me, but mostly annoyed me. Why is this young nameless man so naive! He gets kicked down, abused and injured in so many t bizarre surreal ways it's amazing he hasn't died off due to natural selection! Ellison also adds so many interesting events that he just doesn't follow up on, we HAVE to read about this guy! I think he learns some things in the end, but as this is, I think, an optomistic book in general I predict he'll still get stomped on.

i bought this book after hearing about it for years.i was interested.well upon reading it i was in a trance.i felt it was compelling.it was so real.reading a book like this makes you look at society at large.then&now.the reason that this book has lasted as long as it has is that not only is it brillant but also very real.you don't have to go to school to find this book great.look at the world around you and read it.you will the power of it and more.

I must confess. I was more than a little disappointed when I discovered the copy of The Invisible Man on my 11th grade reading list was authored by Ralph Ellison not H.G. Wells. Once I stopped complaining about the extra four hundred pages and started reading the book however I found it an intriguing complex work that not only supplemented my Advanced Placement United States History class work on civil rights but also interested me.
Ellison wove this highly descriptive story in the style of existentialism, mostly used by French authors of the twentieth century, as a way of questioning meaning of individual life in an entirely meaningless world. Ellison related this to racial issues between African Americans and whites. Ralph Ellison opens with the words, "I am an invisible man," then goes on to explain he is not a fictional creature of Poe's works or a Hollywood movie trick, but a living breathing human being that no one sees due to his skin tone. A highly emotional work, The Invisible Man reaches into the heart of the readers and cries for attention to be paid to the issues of race. Although this is not the 1800s in the core of racial discrimination, lynchings, and hate crimes, Diversity of race and the struggles of racial issues shaped America into the country we are today. Challenging thoughts on individuality and drawing attention to the heart of the problem with racial disturbances, The Invisible Man is a classic work that although quite lengthy has a solid heart of excellent plot development, descriptive writing, strong emotions and challenging themes.

The book Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison, describes the process by which the protagonist comes to the realization that when white people look at him, they see nothing at all. He comes to this conclusion through a series of events that includes a prize-fight and a Communist rally. I read this book for my eighth-grade independent reading project as we read To Kill a Mockingbird in class; part of our purpose in reading both books simultaneously was to be able to compare our two books' views on race. Invisible Man, I found, is in many ways the opposite of To Kill A Mockingbird in the way it views race. For instance, To Kill A Mockingbird's author, Harper Lee, holds that through the judicial system and the efforts of non-racists, we will build a more equal society; Invisible Man's author, on the other hand, holds that liberation is really a new form of oppression and betrayal. The protagonist says of the leader of an organization that he joined, "That he, or anyone else at that late date, could have named me and set me running with one and the same stroke of the pen was too much." This betrayal by one he thinks is working to help him happens repeatedly throughout the book. Overall, Ellison paints a cynical portrait of relations between blacks and whites, as is shown by the words of a black figure, "...the dumbest black b----d in the cotton patch knows that the only way to please a white man is to tell him a lie!" The positions taken by the authors of the books may reflect their personal experiences with racism in their lives. It is thus worth noting that Ellison is a black man, while Lee is a white woman. Both books draw on the lives of their authors, but Ellison lived his story, whereas Lee was mostly an observer. Another difference between the two lies in their varying degrees of characterization. Ellison's characters are all relatively faceless, but in Lee's writing, it is only the black characters who are not developed. Ellison, who is writing about invisibility, might thus be making a point with his blurred distinction between black and white, that it is not race that determines a person's character. Lee, on the other hand, depicts the world so familiar to her - the world that is rigidly polarized along racial lines. Reading the two books in tandem allowed me to see an issue through two sets of eyes, thus offering a broader, more complete view. I found Ellison's writing a bit confusing at first, as well as quick-paced, but after reading carefully, his words became clear and the pace seemed natural. The pace and confusion also fit in with Ellison's message of chaos and subversion. Every time Ellison's writing forced me to stop, there was some profit to be gained, some greater understanding, that made the pause worthwhile. I therefore highly recommend the book.

I've read "Invisible Man" 3 times now for various reasons, and each subsequent reading has proven this novel to be weaker than the one before. Ralph Ellison offers up a fascinating narrative about race relations in America in the first half of the 20th Century, but it sadly is overwhelmed by his overheated prose style. The invisible motif is effective as a metaphor for a black man's status in American society, but Ellison is so heavy handed in his use of it that it quickly becomes tedious. And by the time the feverish finale (involving riots in what has become a surreal stand-in for New York City) has come to a close, my patience has come to an end.
It's probably worth reading this book once because it does maintain an important place in modern American literature. Sadly, in literature classes and on "best-of" lists, books like "Invisible Man" and "Native Son" are frequently used as token place holders for African American literature as a whole, when I think there are much better books about the African American experience that frequently get ignored. For example, on the MLA's list of 100 best 20th Century novels, both Ellison's and Wright's books are included, but obviously lacking are spots for "The Color Purple," "Beloved," and "Their Eyes Were Watching God," all better than "Invisible Man" in my opinion.

In this book we are taken into the life of a young African-American and the struggles he faces as he tries to make his way in the world. I am not one who is usually taken away with works of fiction, but something about this book mesmerized me. I was entranced by the setting, character and existence of the protagonist. His life and choices were such that you could only wish that you could intervene and help him along. Then there were the forces that acted upon his life, outside of his control; the dean, his boss, the communists, all of which led him to discover his "invisibility" or lack of control over his destiny. This is an excellent book. I really enjoyed the character development and plot. I highly recommend it.

"Invisible Man " is a novel written by Ralp Ellison. It begins with the character describing himself as an "Invisible Man". Not a ghost, or a freak experiment, but a physical man, who nobody knows, cares about, or notices. Even when he attempts to rob someone, wht man thinks its all a dream. The character is disappoined, but is happy with his invisibility. Then, he describes how he became this way. His life began in the South, where in grade and high school he was pushed to do his best. Then, his grandfather died, and his last words were not to submit, to do his race proud, and not degrade it by going by the will of the white men. Those words plagued his life, and formed his views on how black men should live their lives, including himself. Getting his college scholarship was a nightmare (he ended up doing exactly what the white men wanted him to do) but he got it, and he spent a few years there too. He was happy, until he was asked to give a guided tour of the campus to the founder of the college. Though he did show him what he wanted to see, it was not what the college wanted him to see, so the kicked out the ""Invisible Man"". He was then sent to New York with papers the man thought would get him a job so to get back to the college the next year. However, with the assistance of Mr. Earnshaw's secretary (his own son), he found out the true intentions of the school. Mr. Earnshaw was the head of one of the companies the school recommended for the character to work for, but the truth was the school wanted him to continously work, own secret reasons for doing what they do. Now, the "Invisible a big company. He did just that, too. After a slight accident in a paint producing factory, he began working, but he also got involved in a underground organization called the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood was an organization of college grad blacks who knew their place in a white man's worlk, but they also knew how importaqnt and necessary they were. They considered themselves valuable, so were confident, and so was the "Invisible Man" He was becoming very important to the treacher begins. The "Invisible Man" eventually got back stabbed by Rez, a member of the Brotherhood, who was also coinciding with another big organizitation. He managed to blame the character for the increased involvement of the rival gang-for the very existance of the gang itself-so was nearly killed. However, he managed to escape, and talked to Jack, the head of the Brotherhood, where he found out he was invaluable, unwanted, unimportant, and Invisible. No one cared for him or about him. He was indeed Invisible. So then, he became the "Invisible Man".

Ellison studied music in college, and it shows. The book hangs together like a jazz piece, on an edge so precarious and so exquisite that it blows your mind. The way that themes are layered and build to crescendo after crescendo is amazing!
In my view, this book is not merely about race. It seems to be about modernity's influence on the human condition. Racism, in this novel, is just one aspect of a larger problem: a widespread loss of respect for people's integrity, as illustrated by the ...kissing black "professionals," white racists, "social activists," and the confidence man.

The Invisible Man is about a man who lost his way after high school and dropped out of college. So he then embarks a journey to truly find himself, but ends up in a situation far worse from where he started from. This book follows the narrator's journey from the South to the cities of New York. In my opinion, this book is mainly for mature audiences, so I don't recommend this book to minors. This book deals with racism, so if you are easily offended by racism, I wouldn't recommend it. If you enjoy existentialist ideals and dark humor, you would enjoy reading this book. Personally, I read this for a literature project in my senior year in high school, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. For my recommendation, buy this in paperback, because I personally think this book is worth it to read and keep, but not to pass on to your kids.

First off, anyone whos says this book is too biased, or is just giving racism in return for racism, completely missed the message of the book. It is not a book about racism, but about the fact that noone, black or white, saw the protagonist ("him" from now on) for what he was. Other black people expected him to act a certain way, white people looked down on him, everyone had their own plan for him, wanted him as their own tool, instead of just taking him for what he was. It accurately portrays what it would be like to be a young black man in it's time, torn between the search for success and the search for pride. On another note, the book does lull at some points, but the style of writing in it's time was different than that of today, so that should be taken into consideration, and the small lulls hardly take anything away from the overall quality of the book-outstanding. There is so much in this book...just reading it really is a journey in itself, a very satisfying one. "He" is forced to ask himself questions about himself that we all have at some point...don't want to give away too much plot though. Overall, the only way to not enjoy this book is if you're not capable of sitting down with a long, steady-paced book, or if you're just too ignorant to understand brilliance when you've spent all that time reading it.

The Invisible Man is a story of a young southern African-American man and his tribulations through which he discovers society's harsh realities. The book starts with the narrator examining his visibility in life. He claims that to society he is merely a invisible man, a worthless colored man. The book later elucidates to the reader that he did not always feel this way. The feelings were more of culmination of the stunning truths that he learned through a series of hard and misfortunate events. He starts out as a very young and intelligent man in high school who wishes to carve out a prosperous and successful future for himself. He ends up receiving a scholarship to a black college in the south. In his junior year he is expelled for an incident to which was not his fault. Still holding on to a shred of hope he is told that he may return to the college if he moves to New York and earns the years tuition. He arrives in Harlem and begins searching for a job, but is later left betrayed when he discovers that the college never had any intentions of readmitting him. The rest of the book outlines his life in Harlem and takes a close look at the further struggles that bring him to the attitude he possess in the beginning of the book.
There were many portions of the book that were difficult to follow due to the diction and style of writing that Ellison uses to develop his story. Yet in the majority of the book Ellison's use of vivid diction and detail only help to bring the book alive as you see the characters and setting of the book take shape in your head. For example, when the narrator receives a job in a paint factory Ellison depicts the scene so clearly and effectively that you can nearly smell the fumes of the paint as you read through the chapter. Ellison also develops the narrator's world through the use of African American dialect, music and folklore. The author has a very unique style of writing in which he is able to clearly set the tone of his book through the usage of his diction, imagery and syntax.
Even though there were many dark and disturbing images in this novel I enjoyed being able to look through the eyes of an African-American during that time period and trying to understand what it was like. This book is a must read for anyone who is trying to understand just a small portion of the hardships and harsh realities that many African-Americans experienced after the turn of the 19th century.

I must say that INVISIBLE MAN was possibly Ralph Ellisons most well recieved and powerful books. It tells the story of an African-American(narrator) man raised in the south, and raised by his grandparents who were freed slaves. being from the south the narrator was exposed to segregation and social responsibility. He recieves a scholarship to a negro college but is soon expelled for no fault of his own. Then the narrator moves to New York City and finds himself unable to find employment, for the man who had given out many letters of reccomdation on the narrator's behalf, did not speak well of him. Eventually he finds a job at a white paint factory. This was an obvious use of symbolism such as the factories motto,"if its optic white, then its right." The narrator has an accident at work and is taken to the factory hospital and instead of a castration he was given an ECT treatment. The hatred of white the man quickly grew within the narrator. He joined an activist group where he was a spokesman for social equality. The narrator is eventually is banned from the group but is soon retaken. In the end the narrator is trapped in a man hole by a police officer and after an awful dream, he decides to stay there.
I would reccomend this book to anyone whos is at all interested in racism and/or the economical and social standings of a minority.

Everything that you've read so far will eventually fill a deeper meaning!
It was assigned by my English Teacher who seemed to tell us each day what was coming next. At times, it was the most discouraging thing that he could have done, yet in the beginning, it kept the class interested. I sat up many nights reading the book, chapter after chapter.
The novel connects people. As a white Montana girl from the heart of the Rockies, I don't have the culture of Harlem around me. I recommend this literary work of art to any teacher wanting to educate their students. Ellison's book gives insight on the difficulties and betrayal life can hand you. His title adds to the personal side of it. As an Invisible Man the reader never learns the main characters name, simply because it isn't important. A name would not add to the significance of the novel, but the invisibility does. By not having a specific label, the author pulls you into the story line, as if you were the Invisible Man.
Ellison has also incorporated marvelous imagery and breath-taking facts that make this novel a classic. Facts that are told in such a manner that our children will be reading this masterpiece, growing and learning as humans. "As long as there is humanity there will be novel's like this."
"Answer them with yeses." -Grandfather The Invisible Man lives with a haunting rememberance of his Grandfather, and his answer to the indifferences placed on the superiority of the races. Our main character fights with this throughout his life, stuggling to become a man of his own though and disposition. This novel takes you on that journey, revealling one man's ups and downs that eventually leads him into his invisibility.

I can say with confidence that "The Invisible Man" has surpassed my expectations a thousandfold. This story carries such incredible depth, and the deeper you read into it, the more fascinating it becomes. This on the surface is a criticism of race-relations in america and of a young man's struggle to overcome racial prejudice. This alone was able to provide me with such personal insight in regards to intimate perceptions and feelings of someone who was so acutely aware of the impact of his skin color. But the most astounding aspect of this novel that I found was the protagonist's slow unraveling of himself, and that of noticing (almost painfully) the limits that society had thrust upon him. Reading "The Invisible Man" is truly a complex journey into the profound hiding places of one's soul. You really will be surprised as to what you discover.

Ralph Elison�s, 2nd edition of Invisible Man, portrayed a young man struggling to make an impact on society. Throughout the book, there are several different symbols of invisibility, one of which was the nameless author, which continually provoked the reader. This hidden identity made the reader curious as to if the author would ever reveal the narrator�s name. Also, I felt that this novel was hard to put down because it kept me in suspense as of what obstacle the narrator was going to face next.
Success is an adjective that the unanimous narrator of Ralph Elison�s, 2nd edition of Invisible Man had trouble obtaining. It all began when he was forced to leave college because he embarrassed the school by taking one of their most-honorable trustees to the suburbs. In return, the college was supposed to help him find a professional job in New York; but in turn, the school ended up playing a cruel trick on the narrator. Several other similar, unfortunate events occurred to the narrator throughout the remainder of this book. Because of all of the ironic events that occurred to the narrator, I felt that this novel was very hard to relate to, although it didn�t force me to lose interest in the novel.
Elements such as politics, sex, racism, and growing up are portrayed in Invisible Man. This novel makes the audience reevaluate these ideas by look at them through another person�s eyes. It also makes the audience question many of these ideas. I would suggest this novel to all readers, particularly one who has time to read it slow to grasp it�s entirety.

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is at its core a treatise on man's inhumanity to man. What could cause people to put up with the horrifying "Battle Royal" depicted early in the novel. It's very simple, actually, as Ralph Ellison repeatedly lets us know. Most human beings treat their fellow men as pawns to be manipulated in order to fulfill certain selfish means. We see this again and again in the novel. The white benefactor to the college views the main character and his university as nothing more than another tax write-off or an antidote to his nagging conscience. When he is confronted with the reality of the deep South, when the horror of the true conditions of most blacks is revealed to him during the road trip, the main character is expelled for exposing these members of society the dean wants to keep "invisible." The Communist Party also views blacks as nothing more than a special interest group that they can keep in check and manipulate through their rhetoric. To them, the main character, with his great legitimate success and intelligence, is a greater threat than Ras the Destroyer, a mindless thug. Ras is helping the blacks stay invisible, but the main character is pushing them to succeed and forcing society to deal with them as human beings, which the party finds unacceptable. Upon realizing this, the main character at first tries to "defeat them with yeses" as his father advised him and withdraws from the people who cannot see his inner being. However, he concludes that such an acceptance is a betrayal of himself. He decides to learn to start "saying yes and saying no" to the roles that are thurst upon him.
What is the universal message here? It is that in this world, social relationships have been established between human beings, but in almost all of these relationships we are restrained from exposing our inner self. Think about it. Try to count how many unwritten rules you follow in you interactions with other people. There are things you can and cannot say, feelings you can and cannot express, ideas that you can and cannot convey, parts of your soul that you can and cannot reveal. It all depends on who you are dealing with. How are we to respond to such a situation? We must "say yes and say no," we must accept certain boundaries but strive to look beyond them and, little by little, push them back. Pick up a copy of this great American Masterpiece. I promise Invisible Man will make you think! Another, much lighter book I need to recommend is The Losers Club by Richard Perez (Complete Restored Edition), an the store purchase that I stumbled on by accident and truly love.

The venomous assaults on the character of Barack Obama - by Glenn Beck, Dinesh D'Souza, and other paid pundits of the Ranting Righteous - have reconfirmed many of the disturbing insights into American racism of Ralph's Ellison's classic 1952 novel "Invisible Man." Barack Obama is truly `invisible' to his political enemies, who consistently ignore both his words and his actions in favor of their own projections of him as a radical, rageful, revengeful racist, simultaneously a Communist and an Islamicist. But, as the `narrator' of Ellison's novel learned to his sorrow, Obama is none too clearly `visible' to his supporters either. The most clear-sighted examination of Obama's personhood and politics that I've read is historian James Kloppenberg's "Reading Obama: Dreams, Hope, and the American Tradition." Using both biographical material and Obama's own writings, from his earliest articles in the Harvard Law Journal through his own full-length books to his campaing speeches and presidential addresses, Professor Kloppenberg convincingly locates Obama in the tradition of American pragmatism and of consensus achieved by dialogue, a thinker not attracted to ideology of either the left or the right, a socially liberal moderate whose ideas reflect his education in American history and philosophy. The strongest influences on Obama's thinking come, according to Kloppenberg, from philospher John Rawls, hsitorian Gordon Wood, theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, and legal scholar Lawrence Tribe. As a result, Obama's political stances are remarkably close to what the German philosopher Jürgen Habermas would approve, above all a commitment to democratic discourse and a discomfort with any sort of absolutism or `foundationalism.'

However, Kloppenberg also traces the special influence of Obama's experience as a `man of color' in American society, and examines the impact that African-American writers and leaders have had on the country's first non-white president. In particular, Kloppenberg suggests that Obama's early encounter with the novel "Invisible Man" has made a lasting impression:
""Obama's debts to Ellison run particularly deep. Many borrowed images from Invisible Man ... pop up in passages in Dreams From My Father. Yet Obama acknowledges that no matter how attractive the pose of anger and alienation seemed to him as a young man, it was a poor fit, both because of his even-tempered personality and because of his very different circumstances. For all these reasons Invisible Man, with its deperate refusal to surrender, its determination to affirm the principle [of equality in diversity, of `e pluribus unum], and its resolutely indeterminate ending, left a particularly clear imprint on Obama's sensibility.""

"Very different circumstances" indeed! Invisible Man was published in 1952! Before the Supreme Court decisions that struck down `separate but equal' apartheid in the USA. Before MLK and Malcolm X, before the civil rights campaigns of the `50s and 60s but also before Black Power and the Black Panthers. Before the elections of the first Black governors, mayors, and congresspeople since the aborted Reconstruction after the War to Extend Slavery. Before an African-American without an Uncle Remus drawl could speak up without causing consternation. Before a TV ad could possibly have shown a sophisticated, personable African-American socializing with a similar European-American. And quite a few years before Barack Obama was born!

I had to re-read this book therefore. I had to reappraise it, in light of all those incomplete transformations of American society, in light of the election of Obama and the frenzied backlash it has generated.

And I could write a book about this book. In fact, many books have already been written about this book. It's a challenging, complex piece of literature. It probably defies any coherent exegesis; I know I wouldn't try. On the most obvious level, it's the tale of the `education' of a highly intelligent young black man from the impoverished rural South, who travels to New York and becomes the dupe of a Utopian movement called The Brotherhood, whose efforts to advance himself are repeatedly thwarted by a combination of accidental circumstances and the malevolent self-interests of both whites and blacks. It's a sprawling story, many chapters of which are obviously not intended to be flatly realistic. I haven't encountered any previous criticism of it that says so, but to me Invisible Man fits perfectly into the venerable genre of the Picaresque, that is, of the innocent youth who sets out to seek his fortune and who falls repeatedly into the company of rogues and fools. A one-page outline of the plot of Invisible Man would be also parallel to that of Lazarillo de Tormes, the 16th C Spanish novel often considered the first picaresque. In other words, Invisible Man can't be and shouldn't be read just as an African-American book; it belongs in the canon of European literature, written in a European language - English - to be comprehended in the context of European socio-political traditions. To deny Ralph Ellison's European intellectual roots, entwined with his historical American identity as the grandchild of slaves, is to perpetuate the "invisibility" his fictional character suffers. The extension is obvious: Barack Obama, with his European-American mother and maternal clan, is as fully European as any other American, even while he is also ineffably a `black' American in experience! It's a little like the theological mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus -- fully human yet fully divine.

This `invisibility' of Ellison's is not something unique to African-Americans, I would argue. Lazarillo de Tormes was also `invisible' to those around him by reason of his illegitimate birth and caste. Koreans have been `invisible' in Japan, Samii in Sweden, Kurds in Turkey. `Gay' people may find themselves more `invisible' outside the closet than they were inside. James Baldwin wrote, in effect, of his double invisibility as a gay black man. Ellison's meaning of `invisibility' is subtle. The `invisible man' is not unseen. Rather, he's seen only as the beholder wants to see him, without any interest in perceiving him as he truly is. And that, dear readers, is the fate that President Barack Obama is confronting in the USA today.

E pluribus unum! Where have you seen those words? They're on the Great Seal of the USA, and thus on the money. The Latin words mean "from many, one." This was the de facto motto of the nation throughout its history until 1956, when Congress adopted "In God We Trust" as the official motto. `Originalists" -- reactionaries who insist that the original intent of the writers of the Constitution was this or that, never to be renewed -- declare that "e pluribus unum" refers to the limited unity conceded to the federal government by the original thirteen soveriegn states, and only to that. Most Americans have had the habit of interpreting the motto more philosophically, recognizing that American culture is the result of the Melting Pot, the intermingling of different ethnic stocks, different religious and economic backgrounds, different races. If the Invisible Man in Ralph Ellison's novel was left hoping, as he says on the last page of the book, that "even an invisible man has a socially responsible role to play," then I'd argue that his role is to sustain `the many' that constitute `the one.' And that, I would say, is what Barack Obama aspires to, in which case reading this novel may indeed offer a template of his character.

In Invisible Man Ralph Ellison narrates a story through the eyes of a southern black man who is forgotten and abused by people in the worlds around him, conveying to the reader his belief in the necessity of self-realization and self-reliance through the narrator's insights at the same time. Ellison develops his own personal convictions within the unnamed protagonist, giving his character depth of understanding imparted by the experiences he encounters. This anonymous narrator learns not only of racial prejudice during his childhood in the South but also of social ignorance in the North even among other blacks. Upon first arriving north in New York City, the narrator feels as if he has left behind prejudice social classes and unfair bias, but slowly he begins to realize that in New York or any other place there is no such thing as egalitarian rights and communal respect because of the self-serving minds of other people. In many characters such as Mr. Norton, Dr. Bledsoe and Brother Jack, Ellison embodies this attitude of ignorance and personal ambition. In the book Mr. Norton plays a minor role as a university benefactor who only wishes to see the narrator succeed in order to add to his own legacy. Dr. Bledsoe is the head of the narrator's old college who fears allowing the narrator to stay at the university may bring ill repute to his university. He only desires to see the narrator fail and even attempts to catalyze this hope by giving him letters denouncing the narrator's qualifications which he claims to be letters of recommendation. Shortly after arriving in New York, the narrator meets Brother Jack, who is the head of a civil rights movement. At the end of the book the narrator learns that Brother Jack has been using him as a speaker to incite citizens for his own alterior motives. Ellison states through the narrator that his invisibility arises from the negligence of others who are striving toward their goal, too busy to think about him on their way. In the end of the book the narrator fully grasps and learns that his insignificance in others' eyes is insignificant itself, that his peace and contentment must come from within himself. Ellison shows ubiquity and timelessness in his philosophy on man and his intrinsic nature, intricately developing Invisible Man to reflect aspects of his own take on life.

The entirety of Invisible Man is based on the life-changing circumstances of one man. The name of this man is never disclosed keeping the reader anxious and curious. From the beginning and throughout the end of the novel, the "Invisible Man" encounters betrayal, deceit, rebellion, and eventually finds a place in this chaotic world. The theme of the novel is based on the continual change in his life and its structure is in some way circular. "Invisible Man" begins the novel with nothing, and ultimately possesses nothing. Possibly the intent of the book was to convey for society the difficulties and discrimination that the African race had to and still has to face, but believe that Ralph Ellison had a deeper purpose when he began writing this novel. I believe this novel relates to everyone's life in one way or another. But, the intent of this novel is solely up to the opinion of the reader. Ralph Ellison uses smooth diction and by stating smooth, I mean that the words and sentences flow well together and make the book fairly easily to read. His imagery is superb.

First off, I had to read this book for school. Usually I don't like "Classics" and destest reading them, even though I love reading in general. This book was ok. The themes of race/class division and the duplicity of the human race were valid and sometimes interesting, but the book just annoyed me. At times it bored me, but mostly annoyed me. Why is this young nameless man so naive! He gets kicked down, abused and injured in so many t bizarre surreal ways it's amazing he hasn't died off due to natural selection! Ellison also adds so many interesting events that he just doesn't follow up on, we HAVE to read about this guy! I think he learns some things in the end, but as this is, I think, an optomistic book in general I predict he'll still get stomped on.

i bought this book after hearing about it for years.i was interested.well upon reading it i was in a trance.i felt it was compelling.it was so real.reading a book like this makes you look at society at large.then&now.the reason that this book has lasted as long as it has is that not only is it brillant but also very real.you don't have to go to school to find this book great.look at the world around you and read it.you will the power of it and more.

I must confess. I was more than a little disappointed when I discovered the copy of The Invisible Man on my 11th grade reading list was authored by Ralph Ellison not H.G. Wells. Once I stopped complaining about the extra four hundred pages and started reading the book however I found it an intriguing complex work that not only supplemented my Advanced Placement United States History class work on civil rights but also interested me.
Ellison wove this highly descriptive story in the style of existentialism, mostly used by French authors of the twentieth century, as a way of questioning meaning of individual life in an entirely meaningless world. Ellison related this to racial issues between African Americans and whites. Ralph Ellison opens with the words, "I am an invisible man," then goes on to explain he is not a fictional creature of Poe's works or a Hollywood movie trick, but a living breathing human being that no one sees due to his skin tone. A highly emotional work, The Invisible Man reaches into the heart of the readers and cries for attention to be paid to the issues of race. Although this is not the 1800s in the core of racial discrimination, lynchings, and hate crimes, Diversity of race and the struggles of racial issues shaped America into the country we are today. Challenging thoughts on individuality and drawing attention to the heart of the problem with racial disturbances, The Invisible Man is a classic work that although quite lengthy has a solid heart of excellent plot development, descriptive writing, strong emotions and challenging themes.

The book Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison, describes the process by which the protagonist comes to the realization that when white people look at him, they see nothing at all. He comes to this conclusion through a series of events that includes a prize-fight and a Communist rally. I read this book for my eighth-grade independent reading project as we read To Kill a Mockingbird in class; part of our purpose in reading both books simultaneously was to be able to compare our two books' views on race. Invisible Man, I found, is in many ways the opposite of To Kill A Mockingbird in the way it views race. For instance, To Kill A Mockingbird's author, Harper Lee, holds that through the judicial system and the efforts of non-racists, we will build a more equal society; Invisible Man's author, on the other hand, holds that liberation is really a new form of oppression and betrayal. The protagonist says of the leader of an organization that he joined, "That he, or anyone else at that late date, could have named me and set me running with one and the same stroke of the pen was too much." This betrayal by one he thinks is working to help him happens repeatedly throughout the book. Overall, Ellison paints a cynical portrait of relations between blacks and whites, as is shown by the words of a black figure, "...the dumbest black b----d in the cotton patch knows that the only way to please a white man is to tell him a lie!" The positions taken by the authors of the books may reflect their personal experiences with racism in their lives. It is thus worth noting that Ellison is a black man, while Lee is a white woman. Both books draw on the lives of their authors, but Ellison lived his story, whereas Lee was mostly an observer. Another difference between the two lies in their varying degrees of characterization. Ellison's characters are all relatively faceless, but in Lee's writing, it is only the black characters who are not developed. Ellison, who is writing about invisibility, might thus be making a point with his blurred distinction between black and white, that it is not race that determines a person's character. Lee, on the other hand, depicts the world so familiar to her - the world that is rigidly polarized along racial lines. Reading the two books in tandem allowed me to see an issue through two sets of eyes, thus offering a broader, more complete view. I found Ellison's writing a bit confusing at first, as well as quick-paced, but after reading carefully, his words became clear and the pace seemed natural. The pace and confusion also fit in with Ellison's message of chaos and subversion. Every time Ellison's writing forced me to stop, there was some profit to be gained, some greater understanding, that made the pause worthwhile. I therefore highly recommend the book.

I've read "Invisible Man" 3 times now for various reasons, and each subsequent reading has proven this novel to be weaker than the one before. Ralph Ellison offers up a fascinating narrative about race relations in America in the first half of the 20th Century, but it sadly is overwhelmed by his overheated prose style. The invisible motif is effective as a metaphor for a black man's status in American society, but Ellison is so heavy handed in his use of it that it quickly becomes tedious. And by the time the feverish finale (involving riots in what has become a surreal stand-in for New York City) has come to a close, my patience has come to an end.
It's probably worth reading this book once because it does maintain an important place in modern American literature. Sadly, in literature classes and on "best-of" lists, books like "Invisible Man" and "Native Son" are frequently used as token place holders for African American literature as a whole, when I think there are much better books about the African American experience that frequently get ignored. For example, on the MLA's list of 100 best 20th Century novels, both Ellison's and Wright's books are included, but obviously lacking are spots for "The Color Purple," "Beloved," and "Their Eyes Were Watching God," all better than "Invisible Man" in my opinion.

Never have I read or even heard of any book that provides such an interesting literary experience. This powerful prose takes you inside the mind of a person who, because of his environment, has been forced to overanalyze life and to try and understand the twisting concept of distinguishing truth from its perpetrator.
On his winding journey, a man lives his life never truly knowing anything and questioning all that he has previously learned to accept, and in doing so, forfeits life entirely.
The issue that was prevalent at the time of this story's publication (race and discrimination)was used as a stage upon which the scenes of a man's life unfolded, and, using symbolism and various allusions, the author was able to show the amazing complexity of something as simple as childhood nicknames.
I recommend this book to those who enjoy the challenge of reading between the lines, or to those who want to know what it's like to be a part of someone's thoughts.

I just finished reading Invisible Man and can't believe I had not read it before. It is superb on all levels. The story is gripping and the characters develop wonderfully. The symbolism and inner meanings are so dense I am going to start over and see what else I get the second time. It is uplifting and insightful. If only Toni Morrison's books were so enlightening and balanced they would be as good as people claim. I did not like Song of Solomon, but Invisible Man will be on my shelf for good.

Invisible Man tells the story of a nameless African-American male. He goes through various experiences which contribute to his feeling of invisibility. Though the narrator feels he is nothing, his knowledge and insight, which he is constantly imparting to the reader, ensure that he does indeed exist. I recommend this novel to the reader who enjoys African-American literature. It is a long read (more than 500 pages), so you must have patience. Ellison's great descriptions and mastery of prose enhance the reading of this splendid novel. Spend some time, and you will find this book was worth it.

Ralph Ellison (the assumed author) goes to a good school in the south but gets kicked out for unfortunate reasons. He then moves to Harlem and becomes one of the speech givers in an organization called "The Brotherhood." He author goes through many trials and complications. Being a senior in highschool my group chose this because the first sentence captivated our minds. It was as crazy as we thought it was going to be but lacked substance. I do not know if the author wanted his audience to be confused and disgusted, but I guess that's why we were attracted to it. Ralph Ellison's book the "The Invisible Man" is a good buy if you want to be a revolutionary.

Good Book, well worth reading, but it's too long.

The story is good, moving and helpful to understand the powers and forces at work on Black men and all disenfranchised people of the early 20th century, but it is too long. Too much discription and detail that sometimes get in the way of a moving, well told story.

For the modern reader, the story that is told in 580 pages would best be told in 350 to 45O pages. Having said that, it is important to remember that this book might well be considered an example of the writing style of the early 50s. If that thought is a consideration, this criticism would be unfounded and lack validity.

Wade your way through the Introduction and early stuff and get right to the story, Chapter One. It is quite good, quite moving and at times, quite sad and alarming. It offers new depth and insight into the Black experience and perspective.

Invisible Man is one of the best novels that I've ever read. Ralph Ellison's imagery in this book is incredible.
It tells the story of an African-American man, who is the narrator, raised in the south by his grandparents who were freed slaves. Being from the south, the narrator was exposed to segregation and social responsibility. He recieves a scholarship to a negro college but is soon expelled for no fault of his own. Then the narrator moves to New York City and finds himself unable to find employment, because the man who had given out many letters of recomendation on the narrator's behalf, did not speak well of him. Eventually he finds a job at a white paint factory, this was an obvious use of symbolism such as the factories motto,"if its optic white, then its right." The hatred of white the man quickly grew within the narrator. He joined an activist group where he was a spokesman for social equality. Then he eventually is banned from the group but is soon retaken. In the end the narrator is trapped in a man hole by a police officer and after an awful dream, he decides to stay there.
The author definitely captured the "real" side of being a black man in that time.

This book was very good. I could relate to the anonomous protagonist's struggle to find himself. At the beging of the novel, i hated him. He was so worried about pleasing people, white people in particular. but at the End of the novel he realized that the only person he needed to worry about pleasing was his self. He leard how to not distort himself to fit other people's molds.

as a korean-american i read this book through tears. it spoke of my experience as perhaps the new "invisible race" in america. i have this running discussion with my black friend, what's worse? to be black and hated or to be yellow and irrelevant? i think it's worse to be irrelevant. to hate/fear is to recognize, to assign a certain value to the other, but to be irrelevant is not even to be assigned the value of hate.

allison exposes the problem of whiteness/privilege in a powerful narrative form than reading heaps of books on racism. thank you mr. allison for having the courage to write this book.

In this exciteful novel, Ellison uses many literary techniques like: imagery, theme, and symbolism to show the reader the troubles one man (which is called Invisible Man) went through to find his true identity in life. This 1952 New York published novel was fun to read, because in each chapter Ellison reveals a new side of the Invisible Man with new challenges he has to face. These challenges that Invisible Man faces build and develop his character. When he states "Look at me! Everywhere I've turned somebody has wanted to sacrifice me for my good- only they were the ones who benefited," this illustrates to the reader that Invisible Man is finding his lot in life and standing up for himself. I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes to read event-filled, action packed novels and has an insterest in novels that being up the struggles of what life throws at us sometimes.

The"Invisible Man" was published in 1952, not a good time to be an African American, but not as bad as the days of early slavery in the US.
Ellison's main character is an educated young man, as was Ellison. The book is a powerful story of conflict, with significant insights into how
our African American citizens have had to cope, just because of the color of their skin.

I don't know which was morer captivating to me: Ellison's writing style or Ellison's message. Obviously a must read for today's generation to understand not only the struggles, but the resulting feelings and perceptions of race at that time. Ellison presents it with such a powerful demonstration of words that you can experience his trials and tribulations. Great read!

Invisible Man is one of those books that you wish everyone else in the world would read so that they could become better people. Every line is full of meaning and symbolism, relating to the tragic struggle of black versus white and a colored man's struggles. Coming toward this book expecting an easy read will get you nowhere. The length, coupled with the weight of every pages meaning, brings an intellectual and a contemplation inducing novel which will leave you thinking about your place in modern society. IM is a symbol of every person who ever struggled to maintain sanity in a world where everything wants to pull your integrity away. Read this book and grasp some of its symbolism. Fighting through all five hundred pages will be worth it.

Upon my first reading, I was not as thrilled with the novel as I am in my recollections. Invisible Man is a beautifully written novel that attests to the timeless stuggle of discrimination. Shown through the eyes of a young African American boy, the reader is presented with the stuggle for equality. The book is full of sterotypes which were greatly present in the time period and can still be found today. The book represents the young man's struggle to fit in and find his identity. He makes himself invisible so he doesn't have to deal with the hate and the discrimination of the world. It's an eye opening novel that portrays the effects on the individual of discrimination and can be felt regardless of race or gender. A beautifully written novel that will hit home with all who read it.

An inspiring reading from Joe Morton. I had read the book, however when I listened to this audio version during a long road-trip I felt as if I had discovered the work anew. Joe Morton's performance is wonderful beyond words.

I have listened to a lot of audiobooks, but this is my favorite!

All I can say is that Ralph Ellison was a brave, brave soul for writing this tale of social injustice in a time when it wasn't proper to have a black hero or talk about racial discrimination.
What shocks me the most is that this book was published and that it wasn't hidden away from us to read. It really woke me up to the injustices black American's faced before my parents were even born.

The narrow mindedness of some Americans knows no bounds. This book was recently banned by the Randolph County Board of Education from the high school library because a parent of an 11th grader complained. I hope this helps sales of the book. I have never read the book, but I want to now.

Here is a link to the article.

[...]

Ellison's story of a seclusive and anti-social African-American man in the mid-1900s awakens the mind. Wonderfully written, Invisible Man provides a different prespective on racism than what is taught in a history class. The characters are developed and well-thought out. Character evolution plays a main role in Ellison's story. I really enjoyed reading this book. This novel challenges the reader to think outside their world and their preconcieved notions of what life is like for someone in the main character's situation. The plot is quick-witted and fast paced, the characters are three-dimensional and real, and the setting is used appropriately to display mood and tone. If you are looking for an interesting, intelligent novel, I would definitely recommend Invisible Man.

I believe Ralph was exploring three major themes. One, race and color cannot always tell us how and why a person responds to situations the way that they do. There are others factors. Two, we all own America. There is no one way to think about something. Three, individuals must rise above history, tradition, and status quo.

Following black nationalism is a pitfall because it denies that black people help build this nation. Unions and clubs only seek to control individuals for its own purpose. Finally, sometimes you must "burn" your papers and start over but it has little to do with race. Great read, should be required reading for all high school students in America.

This book is philosophical and many questions about humanity are rhetorically asked. I gained a lot of perspective from this book. The issue with the book is that the author gave numerous minute details that was irrelevant to the story as a whole. At times, it became tedious. Overall, an inspiring book.

Invisible Man is not at all what I thought it would be. At first I was overwhelmed by the size of it. It is indeed an immense book and will require one to read it slowly, carefully, and with dedication. The story slowly reveals how if a person does nothing important in his/her life he/she whill never make a difference and to history, they will be nothing but an invisible man. I'd say that if you've got the time and want to read a novel that is very thought provoking, this is the book for you.

Many reviewers found the main theme in the book to be about race relations, and in particular, about black identity in a white world. I don't entirely agree with this take on the book - at least not for the book as a whole. Some reviewers group this book in with a genre of "African American Literature". Sure, one can conclude this because the protagonist is black, but I think it belongs in the realm of "classic literature" without the African-American qualifier. I think so because though the protagonist is black, not all his experiences are uniquely experiences of a man as a black man but rather as a man dealing with other people regardless of his and their race.

The book starts out as some of the other reviewers have stated. The narrator does ponder what his role as a black man is in a "white" world, but really this happens primarily when he is in college and in his first few months in New York. He feels invisible because he feels people only see him as a black man and not as a man period (his humanity is unseen). The narrator feels others, both black and white, have defined who he is and who he should be based on the factor of race alone.

After his experience with the Brotherhood, however, you realize his central driving concern has transformed from: "Why do people (black and white) try to box me into their definition of what it means to be a black man?" to "Why don't they see me as an individual with my own value based not on their preconceived notions of who I am but by the quality of my own beliefs, my own intellect, and my own actions?".

The narrator joins the Brotherhood (a Communist group that has both black and white members) because that group, he believes, does not define him as a black man but as a "man". It turns out to be true that the Brotherhood, as a group, does not see him as a black man per se, but they know that others (in Harlem) do, and so he discovers that to the Brotherhood he is a tool to advance their communist agenda in Harlem (they pick him because they know no black person in Harlem would ever buy anything a white man has to say about "progress"). To the Brotherhood, the narrator does not have an identity as an individual but rather is a cog in a machine. So where he is invisible to people outside the Brotherhood who only see him as a black man, his individuality disappears altogether inside the Brotherhood and so becomes invisible to them as well.

The reason the book is not about a black man's struggle against the white man is that there is a character in the book whose central role is just this and our narrator gets in two vicious battles with this man. The man is Ras the Exhorter/Ras the Destroyer. His is a world of white oppression against the black man. This man thinks that black men in the Brotherhood have sold out to their white oppressor. The narrator, as evidenced by the battles, disagrees.

I think the most pointed evidence of the narrator's search for human identity (not necessarily black identity) is when he delivers his first speech as a member of the Brotherhood. At this point, he misunderstands the underlying purpose of the Brotherhood and delivers a speech that meets with considerable disfavor from the Brotherhood members. They don't like his speech because in it the narrator says, rather evocatively, "... I feel, I feel suddenly that I have become more human..." Here the narrator expresses the affirmation of his individual humanity, not black, not white, not as part of a group, but as a man that is defined by what he believes. Why not black identity? Because throughout the book he gets into battles not just with Ras the Exhorter (who is black); but with Bledsoe from the college (who is black); and with Lucius Brockway from the paint factory (who is black) and with the black members of the Brotherhood. His battles with these other black men are not just physical or verbal; they are symbolic, as each of these men conceives his identity as that inextricably tied to his race. To Ras, the right black is to be just black; to Bledsoe, the right black is the conjured, helpless black; to Lucius Brockway the right black is the white man's black; and, to the black members of the Brotherhood, the right black is not to be black at all but to be "gray". The narrator wants his own definition of himself made by himself for himself.

There's so much more to this book than what I describe above. There are the supporting themes of awareness and blindness as well as despair and hope. There is his relationship with Mary, with his grandfather, and with Sybil. There is incredible pathos in his regard for his briefcase, again another symbol. Each serves as a microscope for us to see just who he is and give his spirit form. It is an incredible book, deserving of all the "hype".

First let me say that this book changed my life and I love it so much I re-read it once a year. It's about a black man trying to find his place in the world and ending up in a lot of different situations because of it. At no point in time do you have the main character's name or any real description other than he's black which brings you into the story even more. You absorb the world in the same manner he does and the language is so wonderful. It is a wonderfully written book. I read Native Son the same year I read this book and this one had a much stronger impact on my life.

This book Invisible Man was a book about an annonymous African American man in the 1950's who throughout his life goes through many hardships and racist pridicimints that finally end him being secluded by himself as a "invisible man" so to speak. He gets cut off from the rest of the world in his own little hole. Overall, I think this is a really great, well written book by ellison. It relates strongly to one of my favorite books Black Boy, and overall even though its really long, 500+, these long pages are full with incitful, and strong language that for the most part isn't boring and kept me wanting to read more. I liked the book and would recommend it to pretty much anyone. I have already recommended it to many people including most of my family. Pretty good.

In a world that claims to have erradicated the problem of racism, we cannot help but be dragged back to reality once we find ourselves reading Ellison's classic novel. We see that in this story, Ellison has created a character that can still speak to us today about the experiences that minorities encounter every day of there lives. Follow the invisible man as he goes to college, finds an apartment to live in, and encounter the many ways in which he is challenged throughout the days of his life. A scary, touching, realistic, and always challenging novel that still has as much relevance today as it did over fifty years ago when if first appeared in the bookstore!

Although I first read this novel, which was instantly recognized on its publication as a great book, as a teenager, I can't imagine that I understood the politics of the novel's second half, and wonder about assigning this book to high school students. There is no graphic sex or violence, but to understand cumulative disillusionments and disappointments seems to me to require experience few teenagers in America have.
Be that as it may, this is at once a wise and a funny (mostly satiric, though two fight scenes approach slapstick) book. I enjoy as well as respect it.
There is a lot to admire in Ellison's creation of characters and milieux and in his often exhilarating language and shifting style. (Ellison himself characterized it as moving from naturalism (à la Richard Wright) to expressionism to surrealism - though the Battle Royale seems already quite surrealist/absurdist to me.) I don't question that it is a great book, but great books (e.g., Moby Dick, The Charterhouse of Parma) are often not perfectly crafted books. The narrator strikes me as being a little too naive to have survived to junior year in college, so that there is some sense in Dr. Bledsoe's shock and irritation at having to give him Negro in the South 101 instruction.
There are too many long speeches (in particular, I'd cut the blind speaker at a Founder's Day assembly) and the narrator seems oddly lacking in sexual desire of any sort -- though he experiences some of what Chester Himes referred to as the absurdities of being a black male with all the fantasies about black virility. The never-named narrator seems too numb too soon, and there is nowhere to go with the notion of invisibility once he falls down a rabbit hole (coal shoot) into his own private, brightly-lit wonderland.

I read Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison independently, while reading and analyzing To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee in my 8th grade class. Both books offer different points of view on the horrible racism of America in the 1930s. Invisible Man is told through the main character's point of view, so the author's views on racism are fully expressed. This is similar to To Kill a Mockingbird because the story is told from a first person in that book as well. The major difference between the point of view from which the two stories are told is that in TKM, the story is told through the eyes of a young white girl, and in Invisible Man it is told from a black man's point of view. The writing is somewhat similar to To Kill a Mockingbird but Invisible Man is darker and more cynical, which makes sense considering that the author of TKM is a white woman, while the author of Invisible Man is a black man. A person's views on racism would be more pessimistic and negative if they had been oppressed and were subjected to racism, and more optimistic and positive if they hadn't. Ralph Ellison must have been discriminated against, up to the point that Invisible Man is somewhat of an autobiography of his struggles with racism. His book is very pessimistic towards the idea of racism ending, as the main character is betrayed again and again by white people. Harper Lee, on the other hand, wasn't oppressed due to her race and therefore her book is optimistic that, over time, racism will go away. A person's beliefs on a subject are greatly affected if that person has been harmed by the problem. I gained a better understanding of the horrible conditions black people suffered not that long ago while reading this book, and that alone is worth the price of admission. Two thumbs up.

I'm reading the book and am currently in the midst of the college lecture "scene". I'm on this page reading these reviews because I'm struggling to understand why this book is so lauded and if I should keep reading. I'm leaning towards no. So far as I've read, this book has not been very good at conveying a message. The term long-winded comes to mind. The words meander around meaning and fail to convey a focused message causing the pages and chapters become a muddled collection of tales and allegories, leaving the reader searching for the point of the last 10 pages they just read and how they are relevant to the plot. Is there a plot?. This book may be meaningful for some, but if you're into good storytelling and fiction I would look elsewhere. Having said that, I haven't finished the book and don't believe that I will.

IMO "Go Tell It On the Mountain" by James Baldwin is a better piece of fiction with similar themes to "Invisible Man"

I hate to be so crude about my opinion of the book, but it was awful. First of all, I had to read this book for school, and though this may have biased my opinion slightly, I just plain found it dull. It had a wonderful beginning, which made me excited to continue, but after that it rambled to the point of dullness. He would go on and on for chapters describing meaningless things making it very difficult to pick up the novel to keep reading. The epilogue was one giant jumble to me. I couldn't understand the language at times, and the theme he was trying to drive home could have easily been described in a few short paragraphs. The central theme is essential, and it is a milestone in African-American literature, but it is a very boring milestone at that.

My class was assigned to read this book and everyone liked it so much that only 3/4 returned their books. Ellison has a pleasing style but the true genius of this book is his comentary. Ellison is able to tackle themes and make them apply to everyone's life. Even though the main character is black and the book focuses on his strugles due to his race, everyone who reads this book can relate at some point or another to the discrimination he faces. Ellison's points are universal allowing everyone to reflect and gain something from this work. It's an interesting look at society and, it's just an enjoyable and fun read!

This book is highly interesting. It never fully worked for me, but kept me wanting to read the whole way through. I definitely think it is worth reading, for there are some really powerful chapters. But there were so many chapters that weren't needed. And you don't even sympathize with the main character. His actions are sketchy all the way through. But I still recommend it.

The prologue to this Ellison masterpiece introduces us to his concept of invisibility. Then we the readers are able to trace the journey of a nameless Southern Black who journeys North to come to the dramatic realization that his work for equality is futile as is his general quest or purpose in life.

Ellison, Baldwin and Wright formed the triumvirate of great African American male novelists of the past 200 years. Of the three, Ellison may well prove to be the most timeless. While Native Son, Black Boy and Go Tell it on a Mountain are powerful works, they don't quite measure up to Invisible Man, in terms of sheer literary genius.
While Ellison wears his influences on his sleeve (Dostoevsky, symbolist poets, existentialist writers, etc.[he even borrows his title from HG Wells]), his writing never suffers or sinks beneath the weight of literary associations. His was a unique voice and vision.
Like Dostoevsky's Underground Man, Ellison's narrator has essentially beat a retreat from the world. He holes up in a subterranean room, where he reflects on the the injustices society has dealt him. Dostoevsky's narrator purposely bumps into people on the Nevsky Prospect in order to certify that he is visible and just as important as the next man. Ellison's Invisible Man beats and almost kills a white man he confronts on an empty street, also in order to rationalize his own existence.
Both the underground man and the invisible man are filled with self loathing. Yet, in Ellison's work, the narrator does achieve a sort of spiritual progress and affirmative self-knowledge. He goes from being a pathetically exploited non-being that must acceed to the whims and wishes of the white opressor (the often anthologized battle royal scene at the beginning of the book), to a point near the conclusion of the book in which he can state he is free to pursue "infinite possibilities."
Irving Howe, in an overall favorable review of the novel, took Ellison to task on several fronts. He complained that the section wherein the narrator falls in with "The Brotherhood" portrays the communist party in an an unrealistic vein. He was also troubled by Ellison's narrative design: "Because the book is written in the first person singular, Ellison cannot establish ironic distance between his hero and himself, or between the matured "I" telling the story and the "I" who is its victim. And because the experience is so apocalyptic and magnified, it absorbs and then dissolves the hero; every minor character comes through brilliantly, but the seeing "I" is seldom seen." Though I generally have a high opinion of Irving Howe's criticism, I think he's arriving at a conclusion here which entirely deflates his own remarks. Yes, the "I" in Invisible Man is harder to see than the other characters, but that is part of the author's construct. It's the very point he makes over and over throughout the novel. How better to portray an "invisible man?"
If you've never read this important work, try reading the first 40 pages that are on display here at .... It includes the famous battle royal sequence, which is one of the best hook chapters in all of literature. It should be enough to induce you to read the rest of the novel. You are in for an unforgettable read.

The narrow mindedness of some Americans knows no bounds. This book was recently banned by the Randolph County Board of Education from the high school library because a parent of an 11th grader complained. I hope this helps sales of the book. I have never read the book, but I want to now.

Here is a link to the article.

[...]

Ellison's story of a seclusive and anti-social African-American man in the mid-1900s awakens the mind. Wonderfully written, Invisible Man provides a different prespective on racism than what is taught in a history class. The characters are developed and well-thought out. Character evolution plays a main role in Ellison's story. I really enjoyed reading this book. This novel challenges the reader to think outside their world and their preconcieved notions of what life is like for someone in the main character's situation. The plot is quick-witted and fast paced, the characters are three-dimensional and real, and the setting is used appropriately to display mood and tone. If you are looking for an interesting, intelligent novel, I would definitely recommend Invisible Man.

I believe Ralph was exploring three major themes. One, race and color cannot always tell us how and why a person responds to situations the way that they do. There are others factors. Two, we all own America. There is no one way to think about something. Three, individuals must rise above history, tradition, and status quo.

Following black nationalism is a pitfall because it denies that black people help build this nation. Unions and clubs only seek to control individuals for its own purpose. Finally, sometimes you must "burn" your papers and start over but it has little to do with race. Great read, should be required reading for all high school students in America.

This book is philosophical and many questions about humanity are rhetorically asked. I gained a lot of perspective from this book. The issue with the book is that the author gave numerous minute details that was irrelevant to the story as a whole. At times, it became tedious. Overall, an inspiring book.

Invisible Man is not at all what I thought it would be. At first I was overwhelmed by the size of it. It is indeed an immense book and will require one to read it slowly, carefully, and with dedication. The story slowly reveals how if a person does nothing important in his/her life he/she whill never make a difference and to history, they will be nothing but an invisible man. I'd say that if you've got the time and want to read a novel that is very thought provoking, this is the book for you.

Many reviewers found the main theme in the book to be about race relations, and in particular, about black identity in a white world. I don't entirely agree with this take on the book - at least not for the book as a whole. Some reviewers group this book in with a genre of "African American Literature". Sure, one can conclude this because the protagonist is black, but I think it belongs in the realm of "classic literature" without the African-American qualifier. I think so because though the protagonist is black, not all his experiences are uniquely experiences of a man as a black man but rather as a man dealing with other people regardless of his and their race.

The book starts out as some of the other reviewers have stated. The narrator does ponder what his role as a black man is in a "white" world, but really this happens primarily when he is in college and in his first few months in New York. He feels invisible because he feels people only see him as a black man and not as a man period (his humanity is unseen). The narrator feels others, both black and white, have defined who he is and who he should be based on the factor of race alone.

After his experience with the Brotherhood, however, you realize his central driving concern has transformed from: "Why do people (black and white) try to box me into their definition of what it means to be a black man?" to "Why don't they see me as an individual with my own value based not on their preconceived notions of who I am but by the quality of my own beliefs, my own intellect, and my own actions?".

The narrator joins the Brotherhood (a Communist group that has both black and white members) because that group, he believes, does not define him as a black man but as a "man". It turns out to be true that the Brotherhood, as a group, does not see him as a black man per se, but they know that others (in Harlem) do, and so he discovers that to the Brotherhood he is a tool to advance their communist agenda in Harlem (they pick him because they know no black person in Harlem would ever buy anything a white man has to say about "progress"). To the Brotherhood, the narrator does not have an identity as an individual but rather is a cog in a machine. So where he is invisible to people outside the Brotherhood who only see him as a black man, his individuality disappears altogether inside the Brotherhood and so becomes invisible to them as well.

The reason the book is not about a black man's struggle against the white man is that there is a character in the book whose central role is just this and our narrator gets in two vicious battles with this man. The man is Ras the Exhorter/Ras the Destroyer. His is a world of white oppression against the black man. This man thinks that black men in the Brotherhood have sold out to their white oppressor. The narrator, as evidenced by the battles, disagrees.

I think the most pointed evidence of the narrator's search for human identity (not necessarily black identity) is when he delivers his first speech as a member of the Brotherhood. At this point, he misunderstands the underlying purpose of the Brotherhood and delivers a speech that meets with considerable disfavor from the Brotherhood members. They don't like his speech because in it the narrator says, rather evocatively, "... I feel, I feel suddenly that I have become more human..." Here the narrator expresses the affirmation of his individual humanity, not black, not white, not as part of a group, but as a man that is defined by what he believes. Why not black identity? Because throughout the book he gets into battles not just with Ras the Exhorter (who is black); but with Bledsoe from the college (who is black); and with Lucius Brockway from the paint factory (who is black) and with the black members of the Brotherhood. His battles with these other black men are not just physical or verbal; they are symbolic, as each of these men conceives his identity as that inextricably tied to his race. To Ras, the right black is to be just black; to Bledsoe, the right black is the conjured, helpless black; to Lucius Brockway the right black is the white man's black; and, to the black members of the Brotherhood, the right black is not to be black at all but to be "gray". The narrator wants his own definition of himself made by himself for himself.

There's so much more to this book than what I describe above. There are the supporting themes of awareness and blindness as well as despair and hope. There is his relationship with Mary, with his grandfather, and with Sybil. There is incredible pathos in his regard for his briefcase, again another symbol. Each serves as a microscope for us to see just who he is and give his spirit form. It is an incredible book, deserving of all the "hype".

First let me say that this book changed my life and I love it so much I re-read it once a year. It's about a black man trying to find his place in the world and ending up in a lot of different situations because of it. At no point in time do you have the main character's name or any real description other than he's black which brings you into the story even more. You absorb the world in the same manner he does and the language is so wonderful. It is a wonderfully written book. I read Native Son the same year I read this book and this one had a much stronger impact on my life.

This book Invisible Man was a book about an annonymous African American man in the 1950's who throughout his life goes through many hardships and racist pridicimints that finally end him being secluded by himself as a "invisible man" so to speak. He gets cut off from the rest of the world in his own little hole. Overall, I think this is a really great, well written book by ellison. It relates strongly to one of my favorite books Black Boy, and overall even though its really long, 500+, these long pages are full with incitful, and strong language that for the most part isn't boring and kept me wanting to read more. I liked the book and would recommend it to pretty much anyone. I have already recommended it to many people including most of my family. Pretty good.

In a world that claims to have erradicated the problem of racism, we cannot help but be dragged back to reality once we find ourselves reading Ellison's classic novel. We see that in this story, Ellison has created a character that can still speak to us today about the experiences that minorities encounter every day of there lives. Follow the invisible man as he goes to college, finds an apartment to live in, and encounter the many ways in which he is challenged throughout the days of his life. A scary, touching, realistic, and always challenging novel that still has as much relevance today as it did over fifty years ago when if first appeared in the bookstore!

Although I first read this novel, which was instantly recognized on its publication as a great book, as a teenager, I can't imagine that I understood the politics of the novel's second half, and wonder about assigning this book to high school students. There is no graphic sex or violence, but to understand cumulative disillusionments and disappointments seems to me to require experience few teenagers in America have.
Be that as it may, this is at once a wise and a funny (mostly satiric, though two fight scenes approach slapstick) book. I enjoy as well as respect it.
There is a lot to admire in Ellison's creation of characters and milieux and in his often exhilarating language and shifting style. (Ellison himself characterized it as moving from naturalism (à la Richard Wright) to expressionism to surrealism - though the Battle Royale seems already quite surrealist/absurdist to me.) I don't question that it is a great book, but great books (e.g., Moby Dick, The Charterhouse of Parma) are often not perfectly crafted books. The narrator strikes me as being a little too naive to have survived to junior year in college, so that there is some sense in Dr. Bledsoe's shock and irritation at having to give him Negro in the South 101 instruction.
There are too many long speeches (in particular, I'd cut the blind speaker at a Founder's Day assembly) and the narrator seems oddly lacking in sexual desire of any sort -- though he experiences some of what Chester Himes referred to as the absurdities of being a black male with all the fantasies about black virility. The never-named narrator seems too numb too soon, and there is nowhere to go with the notion of invisibility once he falls down a rabbit hole (coal shoot) into his own private, brightly-lit wonderland.

I read Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison independently, while reading and analyzing To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee in my 8th grade class. Both books offer different points of view on the horrible racism of America in the 1930s. Invisible Man is told through the main character's point of view, so the author's views on racism are fully expressed. This is similar to To Kill a Mockingbird because the story is told from a first person in that book as well. The major difference between the point of view from which the two stories are told is that in TKM, the story is told through the eyes of a young white girl, and in Invisible Man it is told from a black man's point of view. The writing is somewhat similar to To Kill a Mockingbird but Invisible Man is darker and more cynical, which makes sense considering that the author of TKM is a white woman, while the author of Invisible Man is a black man. A person's views on racism would be more pessimistic and negative if they had been oppressed and were subjected to racism, and more optimistic and positive if they hadn't. Ralph Ellison must have been discriminated against, up to the point that Invisible Man is somewhat of an autobiography of his struggles with racism. His book is very pessimistic towards the idea of racism ending, as the main character is betrayed again and again by white people. Harper Lee, on the other hand, wasn't oppressed due to her race and therefore her book is optimistic that, over time, racism will go away. A person's beliefs on a subject are greatly affected if that person has been harmed by the problem. I gained a better understanding of the horrible conditions black people suffered not that long ago while reading this book, and that alone is worth the price of admission. Two thumbs up.

I'm reading the book and am currently in the midst of the college lecture "scene". I'm on this page reading these reviews because I'm struggling to understand why this book is so lauded and if I should keep reading. I'm leaning towards no. So far as I've read, this book has not been very good at conveying a message. The term long-winded comes to mind. The words meander around meaning and fail to convey a focused message causing the pages and chapters become a muddled collection of tales and allegories, leaving the reader searching for the point of the last 10 pages they just read and how they are relevant to the plot. Is there a plot?. This book may be meaningful for some, but if you're into good storytelling and fiction I would look elsewhere. Having said that, I haven't finished the book and don't believe that I will.

IMO "Go Tell It On the Mountain" by James Baldwin is a better piece of fiction with similar themes to "Invisible Man"

I hate to be so crude about my opinion of the book, but it was awful. First of all, I had to read this book for school, and though this may have biased my opinion slightly, I just plain found it dull. It had a wonderful beginning, which made me excited to continue, but after that it rambled to the point of dullness. He would go on and on for chapters describing meaningless things making it very difficult to pick up the novel to keep reading. The epilogue was one giant jumble to me. I couldn't understand the language at times, and the theme he was trying to drive home could have easily been described in a few short paragraphs. The central theme is essential, and it is a milestone in African-American literature, but it is a very boring milestone at that.

My class was assigned to read this book and everyone liked it so much that only 3/4 returned their books. Ellison has a pleasing style but the true genius of this book is his comentary. Ellison is able to tackle themes and make them apply to everyone's life. Even though the main character is black and the book focuses on his strugles due to his race, everyone who reads this book can relate at some point or another to the discrimination he faces. Ellison's points are universal allowing everyone to reflect and gain something from this work. It's an interesting look at society and, it's just an enjoyable and fun read!

This book is highly interesting. It never fully worked for me, but kept me wanting to read the whole way through. I definitely think it is worth reading, for there are some really powerful chapters. But there were so many chapters that weren't needed. And you don't even sympathize with the main character. His actions are sketchy all the way through. But I still recommend it.

The prologue to this Ellison masterpiece introduces us to his concept of invisibility. Then we the readers are able to trace the journey of a nameless Southern Black who journeys North to come to the dramatic realization that his work for equality is futile as is his general quest or purpose in life.