Symbols and Journey Used in Ellison's Book "Invisible Man" and Miller's "Death of a Salesman"

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In the book Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison and the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller the two writers use various symbols to develop the American Literature Theme of The Journey. Two important symbols Ellison uses in Invisible Man are dreams and the narrator’s briefcase. Two important symbols in Death of a Salesman are diamonds and the car. Ellison and Miller use these symbols to take their characters through their life’s journey, whether physical or metaphorical.

The portentous dream the narrator has in the beginning of Invisible Man foreshadows his whole journey throughout the book. In the his dream at the end of the first chapter, he finds an envelope in his briefcase that says, “To Whom It May Concern, Keep this Nigger-Boy Running” (Ellison 33). This proves to dictate every mo...

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