Ralph Ellison Biography

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Ralph Waldo Ellison was born on March 1, 1914 in Oklahoma City Oklahoma. Growing up Ellison loved to read and write due to the perhaps DNA inheritance of his father who liked to read so much he couldn’t wait to read his next saga. Ellison’s mother had a passion for bringing home books and magazines from houses she cleaned, at her one of many jobs she had to make end meet as single mother/widowed. Soon after his father died from a work related accident. Ellison was only three years old and his mother was forced to pick up extra jobs to take care of Ralph and his brother so they can make ends meet. In 1933 he left Oklahoma to study music at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He did not graduate, due to tuition fees being high. From there he moved to New York in 1936, where he was influenced by the Harlem Renaissance culture.
In 1936, Ellison began writing under the Federal Writers’ Project, which allowed him to support himself. When World War II came on to the scene in 1941, Ellison served as a Merchant Marine to avoid having to enlist in the segregated military. In 1952 Ellison’s first novel was released, Invisible Man. At the time of this novels release Ellison was in a state of empowerment though culture and intellect. He had courage to send himself to college to become a symphony composer and study music. At these institutions he was able to be mentored and work alongside some of the best, such as the late Langston Hugh’s. He was an honorable handworker staying dedicated to writing. Invisible man was a fictional write up about era that was igniting, alive, and breathing in its present time. He was definitely inspired by current events. He sold millions of copies of Invisible Man. After writing the successful novel at a farm in Verm...

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...kes Ralph Ellis a martyr. Some people call his work mystery novels. He wrote continuously in the effort to educate as he was educated from reading so many topics of books and having a full passion for information an obviously numbers as he projected and compiled manuscripts after manuscript in a spirit of sharing to a people a portion of history that needs to be revealed and as great music writer and composer. He subjected to become inspired by his environment and successfully proved himself so. He will forever live a renaissance man. “Good Fiction is made of what is real and reality is hard to come by” (Ralph Ellison). May he rest in peace.

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References

Websites: www.sparknotes.com/lit/invisibleman www.shmoop.com/invisible-man-ellison http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/i/invisible Books:
Ralph Ellison. (1952) Invisible Man. 581 pages.

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