Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man As Essay

I have also been called one thing and then another while no one really wished to hear what I called myself" (496). He realizes that while he may feel invisible, he is not; he is a real man with real thoughts and opinions and he is finally beginning to understand what they are. For example, he finally comes to terms with being African-American and asks why he should "strive toward colorlessness" (499) in a world of individuals that want to be the same, which means they do not want to be themselves. He observes, "life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat" (499). He realizes that the best way to live to by living as one was born. Robert Lee observes, "what we are left with at the end of the novel is a man living in clear understanding of what he is, but with no means of giving expression to that understanding" (Lee 32). He does not find the gold at the end of the proverbial rainbow but he does realize the significance of knowing oneself and that drives him out of hibernation back into the world, whether or not he is invisible. Upon entering the world again, he is aware that this is the best that one can do.

Invisible Man is a bildungsroman because we see our narrator develop into a mature man that has a clear understanding of who he is. This discovery comes about because of several experiences that compel him to stop and think about his place in the world.He is told at the beginning of the novel how not to live by one that should know - his dying grandfather. He shuns his grandfather's advice and continues to live like everyone else. While he is in the hospital, he begins to really question who he is and at the end of the novel, we see that after some separation from society, our narrator has finally discovered his identity and, more importantly, he can live with this knowledge as a productive member of society, not some man holed up away from the world. Invisible Man demonstrates how man is shaped by society and how one must fight to maintain any semblance of self because the world will surely take it away if it can.

Works Cited

Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. New York: Signet Books. 1952.

Lee, a. Robert. "Sight and Mask: Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man." Negro American Literature Forum. 1970. JSTOR Resource Database. Information Retrieved November 10, 2008. http://www.jstor.org

John Stark. "Invisible Man: Ellison's Black Odyssey." Negro American Literature Forum.….....