Denis Shannon
AP English
Literary Criticism of Invisible Man
February 29, 2008

With his novel Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison has become a very well regarded author. This is due to his style of writing which gives the reader the message so that he or she may easily grasp it. This is a sign of a writer who has mastered his or her trade. Ellison clearly falls into this category. Through the use of various literary techniques such as symbolism and theme, Ellison is able to give the reader a clear idea of the message he set out to create by writing his novel.
Ellison's novel Invisible Man is one that uses literary elements to its advantages. The novel obviously relies heavily on symbolism, but also relies on the element of story. Unlike some authors, Ellison's novel contains a story that is directly related to the theme that he is portraying. The story of the protagonist, who remains nameless and is the character the title refers to, is one of the ways that Ellison chooses to convey his themes. This is different than the work of many authors in that they choose to mask the main idea of the novel behind symbols and metaphors rather than have it on the page directly in front of the reader. This is not to say that Ellison doesn't use metaphors and symbols, because he certainly does conceal some of the meaning through the use of these, but the story itself does reflect the main theme. That theme is the oppression of blacks by whites through various means. This is reflected by the struggle that the protagonist faces in trying to get an education and subsequently make a living in New York City. While attending college, the protagonist volunteers to be a chauffeur for a trustee of the college, Mr. Norton. This leads to Mr. Norton seeing some unpleasant sights involving blacks near the college. As a result of this, Dr. Bledsoe, the president of the college, expels the protagonist for showing the trustee these unpleasant sights. Dr. Bledsoe implies that his expulsion is due to the fact that he has made Mr. Noron think that the college is not doing as well as t could to benefit blacks. This is one of th many ways that the story shows how whites have a negative influence on blacks.
Another way that Ellison conveys the meaning of the novel to readers is through the use of his writing style. Ellison is careful about how he makes the characters in his novel speak. For example, the black characters in the novel that seem the happiest with their lives speak with a dialect that is different than that of the whites, while the ones that are struggling to conform to the demands of whites speak with the same dialect as the whites. This seen many times throughout the novel. For example the man that the protagonist and Mr. Norton meet at the Golden Day is said to speak like a white man. This character is clearly one with a troubled life, as he is incarcerated in a mental institution. The most obvious character in the novel who speaks in the same dialect as the whites is the protagonist himself who clearly has to struggle to stay alive, while characters who do speak in dialect, such as the homeless man that the protagonist meets in the city seems to be very happy.
Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man is one that very effectively conveys the theme that Ellison desired to convey with this work. This novel is one that clearly accomplishes its goal: to leave an impression on the reader of the theme. Many authors strive to attain the skill to write with the clarity that Ellison has, though not many achieve the goal.