The inextricability of American identity dilemma in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man: A thematic study

نوع المستند : المقالة الأصلية

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A lecturer of English Literature Department of English, Faculty of Arts ,Kafr El-Sheikh University

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Abstract
     Though Ralph Ellison’s masterpiece, Invisible Man (1952), has not been acclaimed by Black nationalists, both the book and the writer continue to create momentum, either by means of praise or criticism, within the literary arena at large. Ellison is the first African American writer to get the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction in 1953. Furthermore, in a Poll of two hundred authors Invisible Man was recognized as the most distinguished work at that period. In this novel,  Ellison weaves the questions of human insight, social justice, and profound inquiries into the human mind and the justice of the heart together. The plot follows a search for self-identity reflecting American life in the 20th century. It is a journey undertaken through a labyrinth of freedom, assimilation, rejection, and opportunity. The aim of this study is to prove that the novel’s influence transcends the previously mentioned framework. It echoes American man's desperate yearning to achieve his own individuality and identity as a human being. Thus, this paper unveils Ellison’s unobtrusive and subtle outlook of American life and the theme of the inextricability of American identity dilemma in Ellison’s Invisible Man. It highlights Ellison’s belief that the plights of the White Americans at large and the African Americans are inextricable. Thus, the vision of The Invisible Man is not limited to ethnic struggle or race issues. It rather illustrates a national existential dilemma that describes the American society in the twentieth century.

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