The Invisible Man

In the novel The Invisible Man, written by Ralph Ellison, was a novel in which the narrator felt as if nobody cared. Because of this, he called himself the invisible man; thus being the title of the novel. The narrator received a rare offer. He was asked to be a spokesperson for a brotherhood seeking equality between whites and blacks. He accepted and his life was changed forever. Throughout the novel his role in the brotherhood changes. The narrator goes from being the lowest member, to a well respected member, to being exiled from the brotherhood completely. While these changes are taking place in the narrators respect level, his feelings are evident. Overall, the narrator goes through the brotherhood and has many different roles, while still maintaining his pivotal role in the novel.

“It was ahead of me, angry and shrill, and upon hearing it I had a sensation of shock and fear such as I had felt as a child when surprised by my father’s voice. An emptiness widened in my stomach.” (Ellison, 159) This is the feeling of the narrator as he is a witness to a “black power” speech. The narrator did not follow the beliefs of black power. He felt that everyone should be of equal standings and that nobody should act as if they were above others. The feeling that the narrator feels after witnessing the speech is awkward and new to him. He has an anger building up inside of him and doesn’t know what to do to control it. A few days later, the narrator sees a black family being thrown out of their house. This angers him greatly and prompts an impromptu speech. The narrator feels as if the old couple is being treated unfairly. A crowd has already gathered and the narrator feels his time to act is now. After his speech, something strange happ...

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...arrator to represent his own feelings. Ellison, himself truly wanted equality for all people. He used this book to show that and represent how everyone needed to work together and not be corrupt. The narrator was also a foreshadowing of the civil rights movement to come in the years after the publication of this novel. This novel represented how some people could be too trusting, such as the narrator. The strongest feeling the narrator felt throughout the novel was trust. He always wanted to be able to trust the members of the brotherhood; especially the white members. The narrator was guilty of being too trusting. Overall, Ralph Ellison wrote a prolific novel that is still in the homes of many today. He used the narrator as an example of how much a person’s feelings influence their actions; something that is true to every person, no matter what color their skin is.