Invisible Man

Chapters 1-7

By:

Emily,

April,

Tyler,

& Erin

By

Ralph Ellison

Plot summary 

• Lived in the South, is a black man, feels that he is invisible to others.
•  Is a gifted public speaker, speaks infront of a white crowd. Speech goes swell, the men reward him with a scholarship to a studious black college.
• Forced to fight in the "battle royal", which is very humiliating.
• While at the college, accidentally gets himself in to trouble and expeled. 
• Dr. Bledsoe sends him off to New York to find a job.

Characters

Narrator- Valedictorian of his high school, acolyte of Booker T. Washington, wins scholarship to a college similar to the Tuskeegee Institute after participating in a battle royal for the amusement of local whites. Goes to college but gets kicked out for showing the darker side of town to a white trustee. Very naive, doesn't yet see the world for what it really is yet. Gets stranded in New York at the end of the section.

Narrator's Grandfather- Former slave, died years prior to the start of the story. Believed in "yessin them to death".

Dr. Bledsoe- Principal of the college. Obsessed with maintaining the power he has, would gladly sell out his students to stay on top, totally betraying his race for his own benefit. Surreptitiously expels the narrator and strands him in New York.

Characters

Mr. Norton- White trustee of the college. Views the college and its students as his legacy, their achievements are his achievements, but doesn't see the students as people, an oversight he doesn't realize. Gets strangely drawn into Trueblood's tale of despair.

Jim Trueblood- Local black man living almost as a tenant farmer, has a one-time physical relationship with his daughter, ending in her preganancy. He hates what he did, but is astonished by the fact that no matter what he does, the white people help him out, while the local blacks hate him.

Homer A. Barbee- Blind orator, gives a speech about the founder at the college. His revelation of the Founder's impotence casts doubts as to the actual successes of the school.

Characters

The Doctor- Local black war veteran, frequent visiter of the Golden Day. Intelligent, the only one who sees how the narrator and Mr. Norton actually see each other: Norton seeing the narrator as just another achievement for his legacy and the narrator seeing Norton as an almost God-like supreme being.

                Quotes

 "I am one of the most irresponsible beings that ever lived. Irresponsibility is part of my invisibility; any way you face it, it is a denial. But to whom can I be responsible, and why should I be, when you refuse to see me?"    

• In this quote the narrator makes a fact of the reoccurring theme; racism. He poses the question in which he intends the reader to question why should he, like many other African Americans take responsibility if they are not going to be given privileges for such actions.                                                                                                                        

                  Second Quote 

"to repress not only his emotions but his humanity . . . [to be] invisible, a walkingpersonification of the Negative, . . . the mechanical man!" Chapter 3, pg. 94 

•  Again the narrator gently brings in the theme of invisibility and it's connection with racism.           

                  Third Quote 

"And yet I am no freak of nature, nor of history. I was in the cards,other things having been equal (or unequal) eighty-five years ago. I am not ashamed of my grandparents for having been slaves. I am only ashamed of myself for having at one time been ashamed." (Chapter One) 

• In this quote the Narrator   reveals what kind of man he is, and who he will be through the entire story. He is a man who has learned and grown from the struggles in life.

          Fourth and Fifth Quote 

"Still I was more afraid to act any other way because

they didn't like that at all."

•     The significance of this quote lies in the fact that he admits that he is scared. He was being "haunted" by the words of his grandfather to be something great, however stricken by racial matters, he believes that it is not right.

"I had an impulse to run out of the room. I feared what Mr. Norton would say to me, the expression that might come into his eyes. And yet, I was afraid to leave."

• Although they were horrible to him, he was afraid to leave, because it was all he knew, and life there was better than what it could have been.

motifs - recurrent thematic elements 

Racism: Ellison reflects his views on the injustice in racism. In the beginning of the story we see a very strong and smart African American man who is ready to go to college, however it is not in his intellectual ability in which he is judged but rather based upon the color of his skin. 

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Invisibility/Inferiority: The theme of invisibility is a political statement used by the narrator to represent and convey the fact that during the time, African Americans faced great trouble and were viewed as workers and not people. They had no rights, and were only visible when in persecution (College)

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                        Motifs

Stereotyping: As in any other story involving race, stereotyping is a major theme in the Invisible Man. The Narrator struggles throughout the entire story to overcome many challenges that would not be challenging if he had been another race. 

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Acceptability: Acceptability has two different contexts..

• What was considered acceptable behavior in society and the conduct each person was to keep. 
• As well as Acceptance in society, from Whites.    

Impact ~ 1-4

Chapter 1 - Makes the narrator blinded and not see the truth, one that took his grandfather took his whole life to realize. Section symbolizes his literal blindness and social blindness.

Chapter 2 - Mr.Nortan makes it seem like there is some hope, and that everyone is related. Relating African Americans and Caucasians.

Chapter 3 - Shows that men can get away with anything, even incest and that they are rewarded with money and fame because it is what they are expected to be like. Even when told to do something the narrator still gets into trouble. He is treated very differently for his action.

Chapter 4 - The narrator is led to believe that he will not get into trouble with Bledsoe. Mr.Norton said that it was not his fault and it is thought that this would save him from getting into trouble.

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impact ~ 5-7

Chapter 5 - The narrator hears a very moving story by a blind man in the chapel. it involves, surviving, hard work and escaping slavery. It uplifts him as if one person can make a difference. <- Serves more as an uplifting chapter and leads the narrator to trust others blindly

Chapter 6 - Only to down fall with the narrator receiving the punishment of being sent to New York to work for the summer. He was yelled at for listening to what Mr.Norton wanted and said that he doesn't know what he wants, yet the narrator is invisible and has no say to object to Mr.Norton's request.

Chapter 7 - The narrator is told to look beneath the surface. Not all things are as they seem.

Works Cited

Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. New York: Modern Library, 1994. Print.

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"Redirect Notice." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&um=1&hl=en&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS470US470&biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&tbnid=P3aU1mrrqgRqTM:&imgrefurl=http://hollywoodhatesme.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/the-invisible-man-vs-the-invisible-woman/&docid=_2SWNUvxLtINcM&imgu