Narrator of Ralph Ellison's, Invisible Man and Janie

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Narrator of Ralph Ellison's, Invisible Man and Janie

The narrator in Ralph Ellison's, Invisible Man and Janie, of Zora Neal

Hurston's, Their Eyes are Watching God are both part of a culture

which is constricted and confined by a hegemonious group. The

narrator, as an African - American and Janie as a women, try to break

the everyday constrictions they face by going through self exploration

and their identity search. They find that the understanding of their

individualness brings them empowerment and liberation, setting them

free from societies limitations.

The narrator of Ralph Ellison's, Invisible Man struggles to find a way

to release him from the bigotry that the white race puts upon him. The

narrator spends the novel following a number of ideologies hoping that

he can find acceptance and an escape from bigotry. He plays the role

of the servile black man to the white men in Chapter One; he plays the

industrious, uncomplaining disciple of Booker T. Washington during his

college years; he agrees to act as the Brotherhood's black

spokesperson, which allows the Brotherhood to use him. He finds

success is none of this. He didn't find the answer to his search until

he found the importance of his individual identity.

The narrator realizes that the only escape from societies constricts

is to find his individual desires. Once he can find these, he is no

longer a part of a black society which is being treated like sub

humans, but he can become a self defined individual who stand for

themselves. The narrator finds it necessary to literally take himself

out of society in order to escape the constrains of every day life.

The point is to stand up for oneself, and not a group. Discrimination

lies within judgmen...

... middle of paper ...

...s her money he comes back promising her that they

will share all of their experiences and opinions with each other. They

move from Jacksonville to the everglades. This is another one of

Janie's desires. is to be among the common people. She realized while

with Jody that being upper class was not for her. She grew up common

and couldn't change who she is. With Tea Cake, she finds true love as

a commoner. This sets her free from the constriction of men.

Just like Janie, the Narrator of Invisible Man finds the end of

constriction in self understanding. Though the two characters are

attempting to achieve different ending, they find their means to be

the same. To set oneself from other's constriction one must recognize

what it is they desire. With understanding one can take action.

Without this they can only help but to fall into someone else's

limitation.

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