preview

Invisible Man By Ralph Ellison Essay

Better Essays

In his enduring 1952 novel, Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison illuminates the concept of identity not by making statements, but by raising questions. Throughout the course of the story, the unnamed narrator encounters a variety of characters and societal institutions that each shape the narrator’s understanding of himself and his position in society. Though these encounters differ in significant ways, they each contain three defining elements: the pursuit of a goal within the confines of an institution, betrayal by that institution, and a subsequent crisis of identity. This series of conflicts and crises in the formation of the narrator’s identity raises fundamental questions about the origin and nature of identity – particularly, how human beings’ desires and allegiances allow their identities to be shaped by the institutions of their society.
Ellison suggests that identity formation begins with the innate desires most human beings possesses intrinsically, including the needs for freedom, autonomy, and fulfillment of one’s potential. For the narrator, these desires are embodied in the character of Dr. Bledsoe:
But more than that, he was the example of everything I hoped to be: Influential with wealthy men all over the country; consulted in matters concerning the race; a leader of his people; the possessor of not one, but two Cadillacs, a good salary and a soft, good-looking and creamy-complexioned wife (101).
This passage illustrates the motives that drive the narrator forward

Get Access