Invisible Man

Okay! I've just finished this towering novel, listening throughout to Joe Morton's narration. It's easy to see why reading it in my old edition, from my college years and probably in 7 point type, might have bogged me down, because the jazz rhythms are so important and often carry the listener by their sheer momentum through what might seem repetitive on the page . Morton gives each character its own voice and cadence, which makes the dialog clear and the characters vivid and diverse.

The story is a classic Bildungsroman, detailing the growth of a naive character through episodes that both damage and enlighten him. It is also an existential novel of a man struggling to gain self-knowledge too often through the definitions of others, show more until he has no choice but to look deeply into himself. The episodes are brilliantly delivered, from the first abysmal racist entertainment to the last riot in Harlem. Some of them made me wriggle with discomfort or anger or impatience at this innocent man's blindness; that might speak to my own naivety as much as anything.

Some details that are relevant: it is set in the thirties, principally in Harlem; the times are infused with the aftermath of the depression; the Great Migration north; the growing ideology of socialism; the racism we still cannot escape. References that might be somewhat obscure to a current reader: Marcus Garvey and Booker T. Washington as two models of behavior promulgated from within the black community.

Some details that are delightful: trolley cars on 125th Street! Double-decker buses. Wide-shouldered suits. And a time when $300 was a fortune with which to pay back rent and board and still have money left over for a new suit of clothes. Hot sweet yams from a corner cart - but maybe they still sell those in Harlem.

I was afraid the book would not hold up after so many years; I was mesmerized. show less

This book is a feat of virtuosity. It follows the protagonist of the story, who is also its narrator, through his journey to absolute disillusionment. When the story begins, we meet the narrator as a cynical man, filled with rage, and even acting on it, in the streets of New York, and then he begins to narrate his life starting, naturally, from childhood. As a Black child in the American South and later as a young Black man, the narrator believes that following the rules the system has set out and acting in the way he is expected to by authorities will guarantee him happiness and prosperity. Disenchantment begins soon after he has to leave college following a series of comical events that lead to his expulsion from the school, and as he show more makes his way in life, each step becomes one disillusion then another, so that the unknowing and hopeful young boy we meet in the beginning no longer remains in the man he becomes.

This is a "great" book by all the metrics usually bestowed on books like this: wide scope, an adventure of sorts as one discovery leads to another, imaginatively vivid passages, unforgettable characters, speaks to the present (unfortunately so too) and reads very fresh despite the eight decades that have passed since its publication. There's an ironic and comical tone to this book that holds the extraordinary events and images in place, and I'm still reeling at how good this was. It was a tough one and I've taken some days upon completion before I even thought of reviewing it. I was tempted to give it the five stars with no review. Partly because most of what I had to say has already been said by others; partly because I've been so blown away by this that nothing would have been clear and coherent enough to express how Ellison sustains sharp vision through the madness.

Oppression, the monstrosity that it is, begets further monstrosity. On the people that enact it, as well as on those who are subjected to it. I've only read a few fictional works that paint it all as succinctly as this one did, and even fewer with such flourish. show less

Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison’s ground-breaking fictional exploration of racial and social issues in mid-twentieth century America, begins with one of the most celebrated openings in all of modern literature: “I am an invisible man…I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.” Indeed, that pretty much sums up the theme of the entire novel, although the journey will take the reader almost another 600 pages before it ends. The story follows a young, unnamed African-American man—whose lack of identity and terse physical description make him almost as invisible to us as to the other characters—from his school days in a small Southern town to his migration to New York City, where he spends time working in a show more paint factory followed by an unlikely ascent to being a leading social activist in Harlem before being forced into hiding after a race riot that goes horribly wrong. Along the way, Ellison weaves into the tale a wide-ranging and diverse set of topics, including the fraught nature of black-white relationships, the relative effectiveness of reform policies, and Marxist-Communist philosophy, as well as some of the most remarkable story-telling I have come across in quite a while.

There is little question that this is an important book, but it is also one that would be difficult to classify as an enjoyable reading experience, if for no other reason than the consistently grim picture it portrays. What was the most striking thing about the novel, though, was just how relevant is still seems today, some seven decades after it first appeared. For instance, in a pivotal scene near the end, an unarmed black man resisting a questionable arrest is gunned down on the street by a white police officer, an event that eventually galvanizes the community to violent protest. Of course, that sounds all too familiar still, despite the apparent progress made on race relations during the past century. On the other hand, Invisible Man could have benefitted from a good editor; some of the vignettes border on being over-the-top hysterical (e.g., the infamous Battle Royal scene, the roadhouse incident, the Brotherhood meetings) and simply go on too long. Also, the author’s use of symbolism throughout the story (e.g., paint that cannot become truly white until mixed with a dark-colored compound) is quite heavy-handed. Nevertheless, those that regard this book as a classic are not wrong and it is one that continues to demand attention so many years after its publication. show less

The story is narrated by a young and idealistic Black man endeavoring to find his place and purpose. Although he tries to do everything "right" — go to college, find a decent job, advocate in and for his community — misfortune not of his own making seems to hound him at every turn. Especially depressing was the illusion that the Invisible Man (he is never formally named) so earnestly believed in, assured by his mentors that he was part of something important and momentous, only for it ultimately to become apparent that nearly everyone he encountered, from the beginning of the book to the end, was using him for their own gains. I was almost expecting a tone of dark humor à la The Good Lord Bird, but there was scant occasion for show more laughter. show less

This was a vividly rendered masterpiece whose message went beyond race to speak of - and possibly for - people who have fallen out of history. Having found himself a tool in everyone's game, the narrator sees it as a viable option to embrace his invisibility, and finds through this that everyone is linked, that the exploiters and the victims are inextricably connected.

"Invisible Man" is the story of one unnamed black man’s journey to self discovery. And, oh what a journey it is! In the opening scene he is isolated, living in an underground hovel in Harlem, so disillusioned with his past life that he has severed all ties, suspended all action, figuratively speaking, has become invisible. Hence he tells his story, dropping back to the days of segregation and unrestrained discrimination, when the narrator was a high school senior and naively thought he was going important places. He imagined himself ready to follow in Booker T. Washington’s footsteps and become an inspiration to all blacks, a catalyst for change, an ambassador for equal rights.

In spite of winning a scholarship to the only black show more college in the south, he experiences a series of life altering disappointments, painful betrayals, and shocking revelations. One particularly haunting scene is when he is invited to give his high school valedictorian speech to a select group of white men at a private gathering. It turns out prior to his speaking, he is forced to enter a boxing ring blindfolded with 11 other peers and box until there is only 1 boy left standing. And afterwards, as if that weren’t enough, money is scattered onto an electrified square of carpet and all 12 boys are forced to claim their reward. Ellison paints a very graphic image of those obese, red-faced white men, cigars hanging out of their mouths, drooling and practically getting aroused watching the boys struggle through this perverted nightmare, being pushed to the carpet and getting shocked every time they reached for a few coins, battered and bruised, their faces bloody from fighting. This scene sets the stage for the narrator’s insatiable pursuit for equal rights; his college experience, association with the Brotherhood, and his plunge to nihility.

The Modern Library Edition of "Invisible Man" offers an introduction written by Ralph Ellison in which he says his narrator “is associated ever so distantly” with the narrator of Dostoevsky’s "Notes from the Underground". Dostoevsky’s narrator also surrenders to nihility, suspended in a sphere of nothingness, disillusioned by the false promise of communist dogma. But the similarity ends there. Dostoevsky’s character is weak, repugnant, offensive, and a slacker who makes every effort to draw on the readers sympathy, whereas Ellison’s narrator is ambitious, principled, and in many ways heroic.

I started out thinking this was going to be a “poor me” plea using the “race issue” to exploit sympathy for the narrator, but that would be an insult to Ellison. There is a much deeper message of existentialist philosophy; man’s responsibility to himself and a message of hope. Ellison provides an example of how one man’s story can impact the future and "Invisible Man" imparts the message that whatever the circumstances, it is never too late to seek salvation and begin anew.

This incredible story won Ellison the National Book Award in 1952 and still remains on the top 100 Novels list of Modern Library and the Readers Choice list. It’s a must read! show less

37. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
OPD: 1952
format: 596-page paperback (1995 edition)
acquired: February 2022 read: May 7 – Jun 12 time reading: 18:29, 1.9 mpp
rating: 5
genre/style: Classic novel theme: Richard Wright sorta
locations: Manhattan, circa 1930s? or maybe post-war.
about the author: 1913-1994. American writer and critic from in Oklahoma City, mostly famous for this novel.

What a monster of a book, laying out long gangly arms every which way, rolling as it wants, until suddenly there is structure and its slowly locks into a reality, and then stays there a long time, but not entirely. It pushes a little surreal one way, a little the other, wobbly between literary states. Ellison uses American communism to work his ideas of show more racism, blindness, and the truth of conformity as an argument used for power grabs. But it's gloriously complex while staying completely within reach. Long, wandering, and very powerful. Not sure what I expected, but this was certainly richer and more rewarding than whatever I imagined.

A plot summary, it opens in the present, with famous opening lines:

"I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids -- and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me."

We never learn the man's name, or names. But after setting his underground Manhattan situation, he reflects back on his history, attending a Jim Crowe era southern black college, and being expelled for mishandling a white trustee's visit. Arriving and stumbling through Manhattan and especially Harlem. He becomes the spokesperson for a lightly disguised equivalent of the communist groups active in New York in the 1930's. Communists were the first only non-all-black group of this era to openly recruit black members and support black issues and equality. Most of the book is about his role in this organization, how they use him and he uses it, how he learns and manages his community. But his success brings unexpected responses and lessons. It's here, where equality is preached, racism and blindness stand out so clear, and incontrovertible. In many ways, this world falls apart.

This is a demanding, but smart, creative and rewarding 5-star read.

2023
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