Book: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison published 1952
ISBN: 0679732764
AP literature class optional read + School librarian recommendation
Average goodreads rating:
3.8 stars (out of 89,433 ratings)
My Rating:
4 of 5 purple elephants
One of the most interesting things about this novel is the nameless protagonist or 'Invisible Man' as he encounters adversity as an african american man in the 20th century. The book is full of deep, well written metaphor to the extent where you could probably read this book ten times and see different things each time. Even the first page took my breath away. It was both frighteningly real and hauntingly beautiful how the narrator describes his invisibility.
The book made me angry in a good way. Mostly because of the sheer injustice bestowed upon the black community. A great example being the powerful scene in which the main character wakes up in the hospital after an accident at his brief job at a paint plant. He overhears the doctors discussing his controversial treatment -shock therapy- and how they would never use it on a 'harvard graduate' but he was fine since he was just so inferior. I was both disturbed and angry at this.
However I was also somewhat upset his character. He was a definite pushover in that he accepted the torment of both the white community and the brotherhood. I do realize that this was a core aspect of the book and related to his invisibility how he grows as a person and learns to develop his voice and figure out who he is.
I can't write about this book without mentioning the relationship of the narrator and Brother Jack. At first I had good feelings about the both the brotherhood and Jack. They seemed to have good intentions and Jack seemed to be kind (however a little quirky) but as the novel progressed it seemed to grow darker and darker. Evidence of corruption began appearing in the brotherhood and we learned of Jack's mistress, Emma. Jack cracked down harder and harder on the protagonist's speeches and I started questioning whether they were still even on the same side. Near the end of the book I wasn't as shocked when it was revealed Jack had written the threats to the narrator. I took both the change in Jack's attitude and the warnings of Ras the exhorter about ''deception of the white man'' as foreshadowing to this.
The reason I deducted a purple elephant... The book was a little hard to understand, slow in a few places (granted, what did I expect? It's a book for AP lit) But mostly I hated the treatment and lack of representation for women in this book. The leader of the women's rights group... supposedly an activist for equal treatment and lower sexualization of women decides not to discuss her activism when the narrator meets with her, but to have sex... I mean, come on! Later in the novel, another woman named Sybil throws herself at him wanting not to talk to him for anything except to convince him to take part in her graphic rape fantasy. Also, no main characters were women. (Unless you count Emma but her appearance in the story was super brief)
But overall I think this was a great depiction of struggle in black society that isn't exactly shown in history books and the story is beautifully written. It's a classic book that I believe everyone should read at some point of their lives.
Thanks for reading! - R
One of the most interesting things about this novel is the nameless protagonist or 'Invisible Man' as he encounters adversity as an african american man in the 20th century. The book is full of deep, well written metaphor to the extent where you could probably read this book ten times and see different things each time. Even the first page took my breath away. It was both frighteningly real and hauntingly beautiful how the narrator describes his invisibility.
The book made me angry in a good way. Mostly because of the sheer injustice bestowed upon the black community. A great example being the powerful scene in which the main character wakes up in the hospital after an accident at his brief job at a paint plant. He overhears the doctors discussing his controversial treatment -shock therapy- and how they would never use it on a 'harvard graduate' but he was fine since he was just so inferior. I was both disturbed and angry at this.
However I was also somewhat upset his character. He was a definite pushover in that he accepted the torment of both the white community and the brotherhood. I do realize that this was a core aspect of the book and related to his invisibility how he grows as a person and learns to develop his voice and figure out who he is.
I can't write about this book without mentioning the relationship of the narrator and Brother Jack. At first I had good feelings about the both the brotherhood and Jack. They seemed to have good intentions and Jack seemed to be kind (however a little quirky) but as the novel progressed it seemed to grow darker and darker. Evidence of corruption began appearing in the brotherhood and we learned of Jack's mistress, Emma. Jack cracked down harder and harder on the protagonist's speeches and I started questioning whether they were still even on the same side. Near the end of the book I wasn't as shocked when it was revealed Jack had written the threats to the narrator. I took both the change in Jack's attitude and the warnings of Ras the exhorter about ''deception of the white man'' as foreshadowing to this.
The reason I deducted a purple elephant... The book was a little hard to understand, slow in a few places (granted, what did I expect? It's a book for AP lit) But mostly I hated the treatment and lack of representation for women in this book. The leader of the women's rights group... supposedly an activist for equal treatment and lower sexualization of women decides not to discuss her activism when the narrator meets with her, but to have sex... I mean, come on! Later in the novel, another woman named Sybil throws herself at him wanting not to talk to him for anything except to convince him to take part in her graphic rape fantasy. Also, no main characters were women. (Unless you count Emma but her appearance in the story was super brief)
But overall I think this was a great depiction of struggle in black society that isn't exactly shown in history books and the story is beautifully written. It's a classic book that I believe everyone should read at some point of their lives.
Thanks for reading! - R
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