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Invisible Man (Modern Library)
First published in 1952, Invisible Man revealed the pain of a black man's existence in a white world. It was shocking then, but remains important literature today. It is the story of a young man's journey--through the Deep South to the streets of Harlem, through events and experiences that range from tortured to macabre. As he moves through time, he learns about the black ...more
Hardcover, 624 pages
Published
September 12th 1963
by Modern Library
(first published 1952)
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after an almost intolerably harrowing and intense first chapter, this book is a major letdown. of obvious historical importance, but an inferior and turgid work of literature in which every character but the protagonist is reduced to an over-simplified archetype meant to represent a particular demographic of american society.
what i found most interesting, however, is that despite having lived another forty-two years, ellison never published another novel. from wikipedia:
...more
what i found most interesting, however, is that despite having lived another forty-two years, ellison never published another novel. from wikipedia:
...more
This is strongly reminiscent of German Expressionist drama from the early 20th century. It suffers from an inability to actually characterize anyone beyond the protagonist. Every other character is crushed by the need to represent a whole class or demographic. All of the other figures are episodes in his life, his personal development, his realization of society's deep-seated decay and his inexorable (and predictable) movement towards disillusionment. Which is to say that it is a heavy-handed, y...more
Beggs
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
All Americas and anyone interested in race or america
Shelves:
favorite-fiction
Invisible Man is still as powerful and elegant now as it was when I first read it in school. I understand it better now that I am a bit more mature. I understand it better reading as an outsider looking back on my homeland. I understand it better as a member of the minority in my chosen home. I understand it less and less as a human.
Less because I cannot fathom the reality that lead to the situation Ralph Ellison's nameless protagonist finds the world in. The idea of slavery, ...more
Less because I cannot fathom the reality that lead to the situation Ralph Ellison's nameless protagonist finds the world in. The idea of slavery, ...more
I read this as an elitist college freshman and understood it all as an allegory. The opening pages were more than a little shocking and graphic, but I accepted them in a way that was outside of actual life. I knew that it was written a long time before I read it and it was to be perused and appreciated rather than absorbed. I think scholars tend to do that kind of thing because it keeps us at arm's length to feeling.
I cannot apologize for what I believed because it was the only way...more
I cannot apologize for what I believed because it was the only way...more
K.D.
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review of another edition
Recommended to K.D. by:
TIME Magazine 100 Best Novels, 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006-2010)
This novel can make you angry. A story of a young black man's search of his place under the sun. Heavy emphasis on being black and the difficulties that he has to go through because he is black. A book that oozes with racism. The problem of being a black during the 20's-50's in the Deep South as well as in the North in the now called Land of Freedom. Of the Brave. Of Opportunities. This book screams at us: Black. BLAck. BLACK.
The eloquent unnamed narrator is a black man who participate...more
The eloquent unnamed narrator is a black man who participate...more
Erin Mallon
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone. It should be required!
Recommended to Erin by:
Sunny
All my fears for this book were completely unfounded. I expected something dry and historic, and certainly something that couldn't begin to answer the questions it appears to deal with. It is in fact something alive, empathetic, and which poses questions much larger than even broad racial issues can. It is a book about humanity, identity, and the many ways we see these things-or, more appropriately, the way we often don't. More astounding, it seems to offer answers. Not the one-sided, simpli...more
Full disclosure: I wrote my master's thesis on Ellison's novel because I thought the first time that I read it that it is one of the most significant pieces of literature from the 20th century. Now that I teach it in my AP English class, I've reread it many times, and I'm more convinced than ever that if you are only going to read one book in your life, it should be this one. The unnamed protagonist re-enacts the diaspora of African-Americans from the South to the North--and the surreal exper...more
Jabari
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone, especially high school students
Shelves:
required-reading
As the ancient Mayans said, this world is an illusion, like a smoky mirror, and we live according to a lie we call 'Reality'. Racism is a part of the lie. There's no such thing as a black or white person, it's merely one of many roles or masks that people put on or have put upon them. I've felt this since an early age. Ellison, with every word, phrase, and paragraph illuminated, textured and liberated this truth that sleeps in the diseased heart of America. If that is the case, then who are ...more
The chief irony, as has been noted through article headlines, is that in drawing a most stunning portrait of an invisible man, Ralph Ellison became arguably the most visible black writer of all time (Toni Morrison, assuredly would also receive votes). The irony being a result of Ellison using key events of his life as a foundation for the major plot points of his novel (attending an all black college, a move north, communist association), and then after telling this story of invisibility suddenl...more
Wow, after reading a lot of light stuff lately this book knocked me on my ass. I love knowing from the first paragraph that you are in the hands of a master. This narrative of an invisible man in society was fluid and vibrant – jazz like. Makes sense as Ralph Emerson Ellison was also a jazz musician. While I don't pretend to understand the dynamics of being an African American male in society, I could still relate to the idea of diluting into invisibility by trying to fit into what society dic...more
This is a fascinating book by all standards. It is actually a celebration of literary genius. Ralph Ellison creates a compelling character, one that we all could identify with. This is not the story of black struggle; it is the story of human struggle. Please read this book slowly and you will find pieces of yourself scattered within.
No question, this is one of the greatest books of the 20th century.
No question, this is one of the greatest books of the 20th century.
I started reading this because my Kindle recommended it - well, it appeared as a screensaver, and I'd never read it, so I bought it! It is annoying me at the moment (I'm nearly halfway) because it is SO well written it takes you in to the narrator and you feel what he is feeling. And when he's a bit confused, tightly wound and on edge, it's not a nice way to feel!
OH-kay - have now finished the book.
In summary: Wow. You become the narrator.. Stunningly, subtly powerful. And wha...more
OH-kay - have now finished the book.
In summary: Wow. You become the narrator.. Stunningly, subtly powerful. And wha...more
(revised 3/16/11)
Initially I was not sold on this book at all. The first thing Ellison bothers to do is explain that the titular character is not really invisible but merely ignored, bravely bucking tradition by opening with condescending didacticism rather than saving it for the end. The first hundred pages or so are similar, bogging down a fascinating setting and narrative with chapter-long monologues that mostly just attempt to use words to describe intangibilities with which the ...more
Initially I was not sold on this book at all. The first thing Ellison bothers to do is explain that the titular character is not really invisible but merely ignored, bravely bucking tradition by opening with condescending didacticism rather than saving it for the end. The first hundred pages or so are similar, bogging down a fascinating setting and narrative with chapter-long monologues that mostly just attempt to use words to describe intangibilities with which the ...more
Tortla
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
dedicated students of American literature
It started out as a book with a promising premise: a man is invisible to a society which he disdains. He is violent and self-righteous and mysterious, and introduces a world of complicated struggles against ignorance. Or something. But then the story begins. It's a long-winded narration of how this man has come to be invisible--and less than 100 pages from the end of this plodding 500-page-plus tome there are still only hints of this "how." It's a story of a man becoming jaded, told fr...more
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Aleathia Drehmer
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone with social awareness or who needs some
Recommended to Aleathia by:
Ed Churchouse
I finally finished this book!! I had preconceived notions as to what this book was about before I started reading it and they were shattered almost instantly. I guess I take things too literally most of the time and the idea got into my head that the main character would actually have powers of invisibility.....like superpowers.
Instead, I was taken on a journey through the eyes of a black man in the beginning and middle stages of racial upheaval in the north, particularly Harlem. ...more
Instead, I was taken on a journey through the eyes of a black man in the beginning and middle stages of racial upheaval in the north, particularly Harlem. ...more
Marc
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
All young children
Recommended to Marc by:
Forgotten named school teacher
This was one of the first books I seriously read in High School. When I say seriously, I mean I took in its meaning and purpose rather just appreciate a good story. This book is about a young black man on his quest to be successful in a society dominated by white men, in a time where being colored, one was looked upon with the same significance one would look at a blade of grass. His fruitless quest to be come seen and no longer invisible, awoke within me an awareness, I have not ignored in the...more
Dear Journal,
I almost regret taking the job driving Mr. Norton. even thought the job does come with a good pay (especially since Mr. Norton is a millionaire); I made a mistake of showing him the cabins where the slaves live and I mentioned Jim Trueblood. I was just trying to show him the countryside. I felt like an idiot because then he asked about Jim Trueblood. I told Mr. Norton of how Jim had impregnated his daughter and then the next thing I know Mr. Norton was wanting to talk ...more
I almost regret taking the job driving Mr. Norton. even thought the job does come with a good pay (especially since Mr. Norton is a millionaire); I made a mistake of showing him the cabins where the slaves live and I mentioned Jim Trueblood. I was just trying to show him the countryside. I felt like an idiot because then he asked about Jim Trueblood. I told Mr. Norton of how Jim had impregnated his daughter and then the next thing I know Mr. Norton was wanting to talk ...more
I didn't really like this book. Maybe I just didn't get into it enough, or maybe I misread it, but I feel that, for me, Ellison here had little new to say; I feel I've learned far less with this book than with many others that I've read recently. Granted, I think the way race is dealt with in this book is something important to consider--something that I often forget about. I would agree with one of the reviewers here who says that the mere fact that our country (or any country, for that matt...more
I read this book in college, freshmen year 2nd semester...not willingly. For me, honestly speaking it was a hard read. The professor dissected each chapter...no joy in that initially. But I am glad I read, again a must read. It spoke of racial barriers, politics...and to be truthful I think of James Bond...as related to undercover agents - ulterior motives.
This is as of now my favorite book. I can't even really explain it...but it just got me. I"d have to re-read it again to say exactly why. Sometimes someone just writes one work and it's a masterpiece. That's why whenever someone says that Harper Lee didn't write To Kill a Mockingbird I try to use IM as a defense. It is actually possible for a person to produce one great work and then be done. Two little gems about race in America...they stand alone in their genuis and yet are slighted. I'm ...more
A powerfully told parable of race and identity.
This novel is just as trenchantly relevant today as it was in Ellison’s time, for the politics of identity is just as much, if not more, as potent an issue today as it was then. Muslim, fundamentalist, gay, red, blue … The labels of today obscure as much as the labels of yesterday did. Yes, many of the characters other than the nameless narrator are types, but is this not the point that Ellison wishes to make? For are they not trapped i...more
This novel is just as trenchantly relevant today as it was in Ellison’s time, for the politics of identity is just as much, if not more, as potent an issue today as it was then. Muslim, fundamentalist, gay, red, blue … The labels of today obscure as much as the labels of yesterday did. Yes, many of the characters other than the nameless narrator are types, but is this not the point that Ellison wishes to make? For are they not trapped i...more
Unfortunately, society isn’t always beneficially to one’s search for an understanding of one’s own identity. In fact, society, as a whole, is very detrimental to this quest for self-knowledge because society contains so many factors that all influence the person to act one way or another. With a character with no name or sense of himself, the novel Invisible Man portrays how society hinders and misleads an individual in his search for his own identity. Especially in a time when racism and stereo...more
The first book of over 500 pages which I'd ever read so far in English. Actually, I've an horrible reading skill even in Korean, which is my native language. For that kind of reasons, when I first chose this book, I wasn't even sure if I could finish this book in 3 weeks. I started reading this book as well as my guesses started to change and I made it in 2 weeks!
There was a mark, 'CLASSIC', on the bookcover. And it said it's a novel. And it also said it's covering about something heavy,s...more
There was a mark, 'CLASSIC', on the bookcover. And it said it's a novel. And it also said it's covering about something heavy,s...more
Ellison takes off the shackles of American society in 1952 and brings the nature of the black man and all his history to the forefront in a flurry of eloquently expressed experiences. The invisible man is shot out of The South and into New York City to find out what he is and who he will become.
The invisible man is both a likely and unlikely hero. He becomes a speaker for the rights of those who have no voices. His actions bring change in a way that is not intended by those who se...more
The invisible man is both a likely and unlikely hero. He becomes a speaker for the rights of those who have no voices. His actions bring change in a way that is not intended by those who se...more
"Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison was not a book that I particularly enjoyed. I thought that Ellison was trying to give a social commentary, and he did so by using a great deal of themes, symbolism, and controversial topics. The main character is a nameless man who is oppressed and then basically made "invisible" because of his race. He struggles to exist in the white man's world and Ellison portrays him as a coward who is forced to become the face of what is basically a cult....more
The Invisible Man is an adequate representation of social and civil issues within the period. The novel follows an anonymous narrator, who finds himself "invisible" within his own society. He has lost much motivation and accuracy in relation to activism. Although he forgets this for quite sometime, he rediscovers his use of public speaking through a radical African American group known as the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood is an accurate and reliable group at first. They promote the...more
Although this novel portrays an important message about the necessity of viewing humanity with all senses and open-mindedness, there are parts where the novel seems to be littered with wordy rants and wild philosophical ideas that Ellison seems to throw out. Obviously the ideas presented through out the story are very significant and emotional to humanity, especially the hardships of African American history, so it's not to say that it is a bad novel, because it is indeed a very powerful, influe...more
Invisible Man is an informing and motivational novel that evokes feelings of existentialism within its readers. Ralph Ellison's purpose in writing Invisible Man is fairly obvious. Ellison tells the story of Black oppression through the eyes of an "invisible" black man during the 1950's. Throughout the novel, the anonymous narrator is faced with various trials that he works to overcome so he may achieve a sense of equality. He strives to attend college and become economically succes...more
Ellison's purpose in writing this novel was to show that in that time, even though African Americans had been freed, they were often still overlooked, because that is what everyone was used to. The theme about the book was to show that even if African Americans were prominent citizens, they still had many standards that needed to be kept up and that they could still be invisible to the eyes of many, because they were used and bullied. This book was written in a description style, and this is b...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akins Hollis Engl...: SSR- Marcus | 1 | 1 | Dec 02, 2011 11:54am | |
| Worth the Read: blind/sight motif | 20 | 19 | Nov 20, 2011 10:24am | |
| Worth the Read: Dream motif | 15 | 12 | Nov 18, 2011 08:38pm | |
| Questions???? | 7 | 58 | Nov 18, 2011 01:54pm | |
| Worth the Read: speech/oratory motif | 12 | 13 | Nov 18, 2011 11:52am | |
| Converting to Classics | 6 | 41 | Oct 08, 2011 10:52am | |
| Akins Hollis Engl...: SSR | 1 | 1 | Sep 30, 2011 07:55am |
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Ralph Ellison was a scholar and writer. He was born Ralph Waldo Ellison in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, named by his father after Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ellison was best known for his novel Invisible Man, which won the National Book Award in 1953. He also wrote Shadow and Act (1964), a collection of political, social and critical essays, and Going to the Territory (1986). Ellison references music in his...more
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“What and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what I myself had wished to do?”
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“Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in the face of certain defeat.”
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Ronald makes a good point.
Feb 25, 2009 06:40am
Feb 09, 2012 06:12am