Travia's AP Blog

  Dear Mr. Ralph Ellison,                                         While reading your novel, Invisible Man , I noticed that black's are still yet invisible today. African Americans are still judged by the color of their skin and not what lies on the inside. People only see where they think we come from or what they think we are capable of doing, which in many cases, are false perceptions. For example, during the battle royale with the narrator, the narrator felt invisible as he gave his speech. None of the audience, whom consisted of Caucasian males, took him seriously. They only looked at him as a black boy and found everything he said to be humorous rather than being supportive, listening ears. Being made a fool of and not being judged by character and not the physical appearance has always been a struggle for African Americans to overcome. Ralph Ellison's, Invisible Man, gives a in depth experience for blacks, and the humiliation that was experienced by them.

Themes of Invisible Man : Identity: Identity is one of the prevalent themes in the novel thus far. For example, the narrator is quite anonymous so far. The readers aren't told a name or have no knowledge of the narrator. It is as if the narrator is actually invisible due to us, the readers, not knowing him that well, only knowing what he's experiencing so far in his life or seeing only what the white's would  see in a black male.   Willingness to be accepted in society:In the novel Dr.Bledsoe and the narrator often find themselves to agree with anything done and said by the white's just to make them look good and allow themselves to be accepted even if they don't agree with everything.  Racism: Racism plays an important role in the novel as well. The narrator knows what he is up against as well as the other black's in the community. The racism in this time period is what causes the narrator to feel invisible in the first place. The narrator feels invisible

Chapter 7 : 1. The vet uses a metaphor in his advice to the narrator, 2. The vet tells the narrator to be his own father. The narrator "being his own father" would allow him to make decisions for himself and lead himself instead of following the rules of others and living by their guidelines. 3. The narrator's arrival in Harlem alludes to the story of Jonah in the bible.

Chapter 4: 1. 2. The narrator is does not care for Trueblood for the disgusting act he committed on his daughter; The narrator does not like the people at the golden day as well due to them demising his chances for college and being accepted. 3. Old plantations were owned by Caucasians but black slaves were the one's who ran the plantations and did all of the work. The college the narrator attends is ran by Caucasians but the college was established for African Americans. 4. Dr. Bledsoe has achieved power in society by following the expectations that the white's have set and also pleasing them in every way possible. He also did not solely base his actions on what he thought his own people would think of him. 5. Mirrors are things in which a person only sees the outside image, whereas an aquarium is transparent, a person can see straight through and what the aquarium contains inside. The mirror symbolizes the image Dr.Bledsoe and the narrator wears in order to impress super

Prologue: 1. In the opening paragraphs of the prologue, there is a tone of unsurety. The narrator claims himself to be invisible but also possesses some characteristics that seem to lack confidence in himself. For example, the narrator says he “may” possess a mind and also mentions he often doubts he even exists.  2. The narrators interaction with the blond man is ironic due to the fact of how he is acting in this time period. It was rare for a black male to approach a white male in such a manner. 3. When the narrator says that the blond man didn’t see him it was actually true. The blond man did not see the narrator. 4. I believe the sleepwalkers are the whites. Sleepwalkers are those who tend to be unconscious and can become rather violent when awakened. I also took into account of the incident with the blond man. 5. Although the narrator is “invisible”, he has a desire for light. Light brings him comfort and reassures him of reality. 6. Louis Armstrong is an artist that the nar