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Individual Identity In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man

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Ralph Ellison explores the concepts of searching for one’s own individual identity in his book Invisible Man. Invisibility can make one feel like they do not have a purpose in the world and they simply blend with others that 's why having one’s own identity is important to have. Ellison uses the theme of identity to show what it feels like to be in search of oneself..He plays with the concepts of who am I? and what is my purpose in this world? This concept plays a role in identity because it helps a person find their self worth and individuality. Ellison gives the reader a good learning lesson on identity by showing that people are not the same and consistently change. Ellison suggests that one should find his or her own self identity or they …show more content…

In the first chapter the main character states,”I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though as have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass” (prologue). In the prologue the narrator accidentally bumps into a white man at night and the narrator gets upset and attacked the guy because he thought the white man called him an insulting name. The narrator was seconds away from slitting the strangers throat when he realized that the man couldn 't see him. The narrator questions if people refuse to see him and or he is invisible. In search for his identity and to no longer be invisible the narrator moves to the south and takes on the identity of an northerner. He has an internal conflict to between his southern heritage and his new northern heritage. For example the main character is handed a yam from the yam vendor as he bites into the yam he is reminded of much he misses home. Before tasting the yam the narrator tried to to disown his southern heritage for his new identity as a northerner. Ellison shows by the reader disowning his southern heritage he is disowning

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