Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison - Case Study Example This essay would further provide instances from Ellison's life and would provide with the perspective and situation of the United States of America at those times. The book Invisible Man revolves around a black man born in America. It tells about the differences which were between the black and whites of America. The protagonist in the story portrays himself as an invisible man who is avoided and ignored by the society he is living in. The novel takes place in the 20th century which shows that it is placed in the very century that Ellison is living in. The Eastern United States in the mid 19th century was filled with racism and this impacted the whole theme of the book written by Ellison. Racism is a very important theme of the story which is maintained through out. White men are the respected members of the society in the novel, and so they were in the reality too. The college of blacks is run by the whites of the society and thus they should be respected in the novel. The novel came out when the world war II had ended and the world was recovering from the war. However the black society in the 1950s was still lagging behind and was being disc riminated. However actions were taken by the community to revive their rights in the society. Similar sort of actions were seen in the story written by Ellison. The discrimination prevailing amongst the black and whites in America impacted the book most. The fights and violence happening between these two races is also portrayed in the book. As in the first chapter the Battle Royal clearly shows how blacks were used by the Whites for their entertainment purposes. In the 1950s the blacks were treated as the inferior human beings on the face of this earth. It seemed that the white dominated society aimed at making these beings inferior in the society and put harm to them. They did not want the blacks to study or prosper in anyway. As seen in the story the narrator is expelled from his college only because of some harsh incidents which occur with a white trustee of the college. Furthermore in the 1950s the blacks of the United States were not united enough to stand to the white dominat ed society. There was segregation amongst the black individuals of the society which is the sole reason that the blacks could not prosper in the society. Again this was shown at several instances by Ellison in the novel as it is a person of black ethnicity only which expels the author from his college. Further the segregation amongst the groups between blacks is also seen in the novel which creates fights and riots among the black society only. The title of invisible man itself shows that the black individuals are not being seen by the society and seem invisible in a white dominated society. Blacks were not offered proper jobs in the 1950s because of their race and this is also shown in the novel by Ellison when the narrator is not able to get a proper job. The discrimination in the workplace in those times was so much that the blacks were not offered proper jobs even if they were educated. Like in the story the narrator is not offered a good job even when he is educated. The story further shows that the narrator has to settle down to work as a worker in the boiler room where even then he is discriminated by his employers and co-workers. The major theme of the