The Protagonist’s Pursuit of Identity in Invisible Man.docVIP

The Protagonist’s Pursuit of Identity in Invisible Man Major: 08 Business Administration Name: Rachel lu Invisible Man, written by Ralph Waldo Ellison, is a distinguished novel on an Afro-American’s struggling in the tough and adverse society, from blindness to vision, from darkness to light and from losing to identifying himself. Ellison told such a black people’s fighting story in breaking the edge of race and region rather than in criticizing on racial discrimination. What Ellison presents to us is not only an Afro-American’s pursuing his own identity but a universal phenomenon, the mental crisis in western countries. The protagonist’s pursuit of his own identity is the key line throughout the whole novel. First, he gradually accepts the culture of Afro-Americans that originally he hates after his awareness of being himself. As he finds his own ground for his identity, he begins to fight against the white authorities, aiming to get rid of their control. Finally, he takes on his social and racial responsibilities and successfully gains the mental independence. In a broad sense, he ultimately finds his unique identity, an invisible man. In the beginning of the story, the protagonist hasn’t independent identity at all. What he pursues is the acceptance and approval of the white’s society, as a black. Therefore, he engages himself into the white’s education model, and tries hard to adapt himself to the unfair rules and disciplines of the nation. However, his result is the endless insult and abuse imposed by the whites dominated society. Ellison is skillful in using symbolism to emphasize the theme. For instance, the blindfolded in Chapter 1 is an extraordinarily successful symbol. This symbol foreshadows the protagonist’s invisible identity and the root reason why he is invisible. Additionally, it also indicates the protagonist’s suffering in the way he pursues his identity. First, it symbolizes white people’s ignorance on the racial discrimination to