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Posts tagged ‘invisible man’

Jan 17

Invisible_Man3
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Ranking The First 51 Books

So, as you may know, Time Magazine chose not to rank the 100 All-Time novels when they created this list, but I thought I’d be a dove and help them out. So I rank each novel after I’m finished with it. I like to call these my totally meaningless and highly subjective rankings.

After every 5-6 books, I take a little time to explain why I ranked each book as I did. It’s my way of staying accountable to you and letting you rain down hate upon me in the comments section, if you so choose.

So, here’s how I ranked books 46 through 51:

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Oct 23

Invisible man
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Book #48: Invisible Man

Invisible Man is hands-down one of the most powerful novels I’ve ever read.

I read the novel in college, and I don’t know whether it was age or maturity, but Invisible Man slapped me across the face this time around. I won’t forget it.

It starts with an unnamed protagonist—the “invisible man” modeled after the unnamed protagonist in Dostoevsky’s Notes From The Underground—who grows up in Harlem in the middle of a racist society. To earn a scholarship to college, he has to participate in a “battle royal” while blindfolded with other young black men.

Older white men mock them from the crowd and then force them to scavenge for coins on an electrified rug. It’s one of the most degrading scenes in literature…but, because of that, it’s one of the most powerful openings in literature as well.

The story continues with the narrator getting kicked out of college by the school’s African-American president who caters to the white trustees. He then finds a job in a New York factory before finally settling in as a speaker for “The Brotherhood”—basically a group of white communist men who are looking for support in Harlem.

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Oct 18

Invisible_Man3
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What Is A Protest Novel?

In his interview with the Paris Review, Ralph Ellison insisted that Invisible Man wasn’t a protest novel.

He explained it this way:

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Oct 16

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Was Ralph Ellison The Most Interesting Man In The World?

I would’ve loved to hang out with Ralph Ellison.

Not only was he the author of Invisible Man, one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, but the guy was a jack of all trades who seemed to know a little bit about everything. He seriously reminds me of “The Most Interesting Man In The World” from the Dos Equis commercials.

Take a look at this paragraph from the summary of the American Journey documentary I posted about last week.

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Oct 11

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Ralph Ellison: An American Journey

If there’s one thing PBS can do, it’s make an excellent documentary. I’ve posted before about documentaries on the life of James Baldwin and Walker Percy and Richard Wright and The Dust Bowl weather event that inspired The Grapes of Wrath.

But they also created An American Journey, the first ever documentary to cover the life of Ralph Ellison. Since, surprisingly, a feature film has never been made about Invisible Man, the documentary also includes the first scenes ever filmed from the novel.

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Oct 9

invisible-man
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Is This The Most Degrading Scene In Literature?

I’m not sure that a novel has ever opened with the intensity of Invisible Man.

Not long after the opening lines of the novel, Ellison takes us into one of the most emotionally disturbing scenes in literature. Even if you never read Invisible Man, the “Battle Royal” scene is worth a read. This particular scene was published separately by Ellison long before Invisible Man came together as a novel.

A group of white men blindfold a bunch of young black men and force them to fight each other in boxing style battle royal match. It’s nuts. When the match is finally over, the white men take the blindfolds off and lead the black men to their “payment.” They’ve scattered a bunch of coins on a rug that has an electric current running through it. You can imagine what happens next.

Finally, after being bloodied and electrified, the black, unnamed narrator is given the opportunity to present a speech to the white crowd, one he had prepared for and had thought was supposed to be the purpose of the gathering. As he quotes a Booker T. Washington speech from the stage, he’s jeered and cursed by the white men. It’s an ugly, yet powerful, scene.

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Oct 4

Invisible man
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“I am an invisible man.”

I’m a sucker for opening lines. That’s why I include the opening line in each novel I review, and I’ve posted about some of my favorites before, like the opening lines from The Blind Assassin and The Bridge of San Luis Rey and Lord of the Flies, and I even posted about the Bulwer-Litton fiction contest—a battle to see who can write the worst opening line to a fake novel.

A book’s opening sets its tone. A bad first line is like an offense starting a football game with a false start on the first play. Immediately, they go backwards five yards.

A good first line pulls you in right away. It can even dive right into tension and intrigue. It makes you care and want to read more.

I’m digging Invisible Man for a lot of reasons—the majority of which has to do with Ralph Ellison. Wow. What a writer.

And, in my meaningless opinion, Ellison pulls off one of the best opening paragraphs I’ve read.

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Oct 2

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11 Comments

Ralph Ellison On Writing For An Audience

In 1955, Ralph Ellison sat down for an interview with The Paris Review.  A portion of the interview focused on whether or not Ellison, an African-American, believed Invisible Man to be a protest novel.

Ellison didn’t necessarily see the book that way, as he didn’t see a distinction between art and protest. The conversation turns to the responsibility of the African-American writer when much of his audience will be white.

I love what Ellison has to say about this:

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Sep 26

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14 Comments

Next Up: Invisible Man

This will be my second time through Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man–not to be confused with The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells. 

I last read the novel back in college, about 13 years ago. And I remember really enjoying Ralph Ellison’s writing style and the experimental style of the novel.

For starters, the protagonist in Invisible Man is unnamed. This is fitting, since the book is a statement on the identity of African-Americans in the early 20th century. It’s a story of searching and trying to fit in amidst a culture that considers you a second-rate citizen, even a sideshow.

Some quick facts about Invisible Man and Ralph Ellison:

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May 21

atonement
17 Comments

The Votes Are In For The Next 5 Novels

This is one of my favorite parts of the 101 Books project–picking the next five books to read. You guys helped me out with it this time around.

The votes from over the weekend are in. As you know, I picked An American Tragedy and The Bridge Of San Luis Rey. The top vote getters from you guys was Atonement, Invisible Man, and The Grapes of Wrath.

Here’s a little about each book.

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