Invisible Man Questions and Answers
In the novel Invisible Man, why does Dr. Bledsoe expel the narrator from college? What is the effect?
What does "Who knows but that on the lower frequencies, I speak for you" mean?
What is the message of Invisible Man?
What is the main conflict in Invisible Man?
What does the narrator's grandfather say in Invisible Man?
In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, how does racism influence the narrator's search for identity?
What is the significance of music in the Prologue of Invisible Man?
Why is the main character invisible in college ?
How does the narrator in Invisible Man treat women?
In Invisible Man, what is the narrator's perception of himself at the beginning of the novel compared to at the end? Using this idea to write a thesis. Describe how Ellison shows this change.
What is the main idea/theme of Invisible Man by Ellison?
What are the narrator's dreams and goals, and how are these variously fulfilled throughout the book?
In The Invisible Man, why does Dr. Bledsoe expel the narrator from college?
Why have white people lavished help upon Trueblood since his disgrace, when they ignored him before his crime?
Is the Battle Royal section in Invisible Man realistic? Why or why not?
What is the significance of precisely 1,369 light bulbs used in the basement in the prologue?
Who is the Founder in Ellison's "Invisible Man"? I thought the Founder was Booker T. Washington, but now that I have read further the narrator distinguishes himself as preferring the ways of the Founder versus Booker T. Washington. Who is this Founder?
Why does young Mr. Emerson show Invisible Man the contents of the letters from Dr. Bledsoe? Why does Invisible Man distrust his offers of friendship?
In the epilogue of Invisible Man, why does the narrator say that "reality is as irresistible as a club"?
In Invisible Man, specifically in the prologue section, who are the "sleeping ones"?
In Invisible Man, what is ironic about the narrator's encounter with the blond man?
What is the significance of the grandfather's deathbed speech who has he betrayed?
How is humor used in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man?
In Chapter 9, why does the narrator refuse grits and pork chops at the breakfast counter?
In the book Invisible Man, why do students and teachers at the college hate and fear Trueblood and the other black belt inhabitants?
Why is Dr. Bledsoe so angry with the narrator?
Why does Mr. Norton give Trueblood one hundred dollars?
What happens at the Golden Day in Invisible Man?
What do the gold coins the boy must scramble for at the battle royal turn out to be?
Is the Invisible Man or Ras the Exhorter more convincing as a speaker and leader and why?
In Kate Chopin's The Awakening (1899), protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess "that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions." In Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man, identify a character who conforms outwardly while questioning inwardly. Then write an essay in which you analyze how this tension between outward conformity inward questioning contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid merely the summary.
What does the blindfold symbolize in chapter 1, "Battle Royal," of Invisible Man?
How to understand the message “Keep This Nigger-Boy Running"?
For H. G. Wells' The Invisible Man, describe the stranger's demeanor when he entered the inn.
Why did the men who are giving the narrator a scholarship put him through such an ordeal at the club in Invisible Man?
To what does the narrator of Invisible Man attribute his invisibility?
What is the effect of Ellison's choice not to give his protagonist a name?
What is important about the portrayal of women in Invisible Man? What was the role of women in the novel, how were they treated, why were they important?
The concept of "boomeranging" is often times mentioned in the Ralph Ellison's novel "Invisible Man." If boomeranging is the backfiring of one's words or actions, how does this motif relate to the book as a whole?
Discuss the author's use of the analogy hibernation.
Why does Invisible Man move underground after the riot in The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison?
What college does the Invisible Man go to?
In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, Mr. Norton calls the president of the college a "trustee of the college," however, the crazy vet/physician calls him a "trustee of the consciousness." What does he mean by that?
Why is the narrator's identity kept from the reader in Invisible Man?
What does the word "Tod" mean in German? Why is this a symbolically appropriate name for Tod Clifton?
What made Mrs. Hall think that there were spirits in the room? What did she guess about the stranger?
In the prologue of Invisible Man, why does the protagonist need light so much?
Critically analyze Mr. Norton's visit to the home of Jim Trueblood in Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.
In Invisible Man, chapter one, which was originally published before the rest of the novel as a short story called “Battle Royal,” can be seen as both a rite of passage and as an initiation. Why?
Do you think the narrator in Invisible Man finds his individuality?
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