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Invisible Man | Ralph Ellison and the Birth of the Anti-Hero

In the following excerpt, William J. Schafer explores how Ellison’s ‘‘invisible man’’ can be seen as an anti-hero in search of an identity.

The anti-hero of Invisible Man, though we come to know him intimately, remains nameless. He is no-man and everyman on a modern epic quest, driven by the message his grandfather reveals in a dream: ‘‘To Whom It May Concern … Keep This Nigger-Boy Running.’’ His primary search is for a name—or for the self it symbolizes. During his search, he is given another name by the Brotherhood, but it is no help. When he becomes a ‘‘brother,’’ he finds that brotherhood does not clarify his inner mysteries.

In creating his anti-hero, Ellison builds on...

[The entire page is 2081 words long]

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