Ralph Ellison Invisible Identity
An Invisible Identity In the Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison's portrayal of a nameless narrator leaves the readers with an unforgettable impression of one's struggles with both external force- an oppressed society with unspoken "rules" and internal conflict- perception and identity. Throughout the novel, the narrator encounters various experiences that would change his perception, thus revealing the truth of his society and his self- realization of "invisibility". The narrator's depiction first appears to be intelligent, deeply introspective, ambitious, and gifted with oral abilities, however, is still too naïve to see through the invisible barriers around him. The first experience that tainted his innocence is the "Battle Royal", in which
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Gradually he understands that he cannot be a Rinehart, for his nature stops him from denying his honesty to affirm deceit. By recognizing his mistake of searching his identity in everyone but himself, he recognizes the key to his identity. For all his life up to that moment, he has follow different ideologies from the college to the Brotherhood to build up his individuality without trusting himself to develop his own identity, thus having not lived his own life but rather has allowed social limitations to take control of his life. He now embraces his identity - an invisible man even if other cannot see it, because he is "invisible, not blind" (564). Finding his identity also changes his perception, making him deliberate his grandfather's words again: whether "yes" can have a different and more positive meaning as to assert the principals in which America was built on rather than its corruptness. Additionally, the burning of the papers in his briefcase (high school diploma, his new name, the anonymous note, etc) that signifies a symbolic meaning of ending with the past, along with his hints of coming out of hibernation to assume " an invisible man has a socially responsible role to play" (571), suggest another rebirth, this time with an identity and without
Gradually he understands that he cannot be a Rinehart, for his nature stops him from denying his honesty to affirm deceit. By recognizing his mistake of searching his identity in everyone but himself, he recognizes the key to his identity. For all his life up to that moment, he has follow different ideologies from the college to the Brotherhood to build up his individuality without trusting himself to develop his own identity, thus having not lived his own life but rather has allowed social limitations to take control of his life. He now embraces his identity - an invisible man even if other cannot see it, because he is "invisible, not blind" (564). Finding his identity also changes his perception, making him deliberate his grandfather's words again: whether "yes" can have a different and more positive meaning as to assert the principals in which America was built on rather than its corruptness. Additionally, the burning of the papers in his briefcase (high school diploma, his new name, the anonymous note, etc) that signifies a symbolic meaning of ending with the past, along with his hints of coming out of hibernation to assume " an invisible man has a socially responsible role to play" (571), suggest another rebirth, this time with an identity and without