Invisible Man (Magill Book Reviews)
At a glance:
- Author: Ralph Ellison
- First Published: 1952
- Type of Work: Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: African Americans, Values, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., Self-discovery, United States or Americans, Communism or communists, Politics, Racism, South or Southerners, New York City, Social issues, Education or educators, 1940’s, Alienation, 1930’s, Emotions, College life, Amputation, amputees, or prosthetics, Riots, Truthfulness and falsehood
- Locales: Harlem, NY, South (U.S.)
This book begins with a prologue in which the narrator explains why he has gone underground. Essentially, he has retreated from a society in which he could find no place for himself as an individual. From his subterranean hideout somewhere in the depths of Harlem he reflects on his past as a means of regrouping in the present and preparing for his future.
He tells an extraordinarily vivid story about his authoritarian Southern background; his confusing experiences as a naive student at a black college, where he meets a visiting white philanthropist; and his journey to New York...
[The entire page is 937 words long]
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