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Summary: wzh1
Review: I think this book would be more help to my option.
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Summary: Powerful Book, Highly Recommended
Review: Invisible Man is a symbolic, surreal, and philosophical account of a young man in search of identity. Naive but intelligent, he finds his journey at all turns defined by race. Initially he sees only the overt implications of America's racial divide; later, he is unable to see beyond the subtleties of a complicated social problem. Eventually he comes to understand his "invisibility," the inabilitiy of others to see him as HIM. In fact, he comes to understand that they can't see him at all -- they see the world THROUGH him, and manage to continue to see the world with their own poor vision. Nameless but not voiceless, naive yet shrewd, trusting while becoming increasingly cynical, the protagonist's attempts at self-realization are beaten down under a weight too great for any man of ambition to hold up beneath -- in this case the weight of a society that chains its members with prejudice. For his part, the protagonist largely rejects violence, repudiates thoughtless hatred, and struggles with what options remain in a swirling world of chaos and racial insanity. The closest the author comes to a definitive statement is in the Epilogue, where he writes: "Whence all this passion toward conformity anyway? -- diversity is the word. Let man keep his many parts and you'll have no tyrant states. Why, if they follow this conformity business they'll end up by forcing me, an invisible man, to become white, which is not a color but the lack of one. Must I strive toward colorlessness? But seriously, and without snobbery, think of what the world would lose if that should happen. America is woven of many strands; I would recognize them and let it so remain." At the end of that particular paragraph he concludes, "None of us seems to know who he is, or where he is going." While society rolls forward in spite of its self-made ball and chain, individuals suffer for the shackles. Ellison seems to feel that true freedom lay in individuality, not necessarily beyond race but at least apart from it, in a world that frustratingly, and sometimes violently, continues to remind each of us of our race, and therefore, insidiously, of our supposed roles. I would not say this book is a beautiful book in terms of language -- sometimes pedantic and verbose, it is not a book with tight sentences strung together like little beads on a string; but I would say this is a beautiful book in terms of composition -- in terms of pace, content, symbolic consistency and emotion. This is a powerful, and sometimes frustrating book. If you are fond of the better works in American Literature, put this on your list. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: A good book, but same ol' same ol'....
Review: After reading Ralph Ellison's book, Invisible Man, it bring on a severe case of "Been there, done that." This and last year we have read "Color Of Water", "Black Boy", "Fences", etc. They all seem to have exactly the same theme: It is, or was tough being black in America. The one theme that doesn't seem to appear is what anyone plans to do about it besides blame white people for their problems. In some ways, it almost seems some of these writers are on an ego trip-especially Ellison, seem to be under the impression that all white people do is spend their lives figuring out how to make black people feel bad about themselves and being black. Ellison seems to forget that there are two sides to the stories he tells. I realize that being black in America is an experience I can never totally understand, or relate to, but I think I can speak for many people who are beginning to ask, are there any black people who are employed, happily married, good to their children? While I know that there are for sure black people like this, why don't we ever hear from them? None of the books I have read in my life thus far by black authors have ever described a happy functioning black family. At times these books we have read only further validate and substantiate the negative stereotypes pinned to them. If this had been one of the first, or only books on this subject I probably would have enjoyed it. I thought it was well written, other than the fact that at times Elision's description of things and situations gets so in-dept it is distracting.
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Summary: Very Symbolic
Review: This book should be required reading for all Americans. It shows many of the racial problems that were and still are surrounding us in American culture. Ellison's amazing use of symbolism in the course of IM's journey, using everything from colors and objects to names from myth and religion, he shows what a truly intellegent man can do when faced with a social issue like racism, bigotry and segregation. Exceptionally entertaining.
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Summary: I'm speechless...
Review: All I can say is that Ralph Ellison was a brave, brave soul for writing this tale of social injustice in a time when it wasn't proper to have a black hero or talk about racial discrimination. What shocks me the most is that this book was published and that it wasn't hidden away from us to read. It really woke me up to the injustices black American's faced before my parents were even born.
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Summary: Intriguing... long, but intriguing....
Review: Certainly, Ralph Ellison deserves his place among the classics of American literature. He makes reading this nearly 600-page behemoth an almost completely pleasurable experience - though at times you really have to start skimming when Ellison starts expounding on these long, ultra-descriptive, semi-philosophical rants that seem to lead no where. Despite the often not-so-subtle method Ellison uses to convey his ideas, the book is actually quite engaging, both in entertainment-wise and intellectually. A must for anyone who considers him/herself well-versed in American literature.
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Summary: Invisible Man
Review: This is THE book that should be used in English schools to illustrate racial tensions in American history, instead of To Kill A Mockingbird, or The Colour Purple. Angry, political (in the best possible sense) and intelligent.
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Summary: invisibility
Review: I rated this book, The Invisible Man, four stars. I found the book to be intriguing, but in some cases the book allows the reader to draw his on opinions. The book is about a young man who tries to be accepted into society by working his way through college to become an educator. He runs into a conflict at school and is expelled. He moves to New York to find work, thinking he can return back to school later on in the fall. When his jobs doesn't work out well, and the fact that he gets hurt doesn't contribute to the certainty that he's headed to failure. Until he comes across an organization called Brotherhood. They are people who make speeches in a scientific, but also in a political manner to help the society become a better place. But he soon realizes that they're only trying to manipulate the people into doing what they want. As a result, he becomes utterly invisible, as a black man struggling to live in a white society. He chooses to stay and live underground away from it all because there's nothing he can do. There's no one to turn to, no one to help him, and there's no one who cares enough to help him, a black man, make it in an environment where everyone's trying to make it and be heard.
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Summary: this is by Alex Hibbs from Chicago IL March 1, 2000
Review: This book Invisible Man was a book about an annonymous African American man in the 1950's who throughout his life goes through many hardships and racist pridicimints that finally end him being secluded by himself as a "invisible man" so to speak. He gets cut off from the rest of the world in his own little hole. Overall, I think this is a really great, well written book by ellison. It relates strongly to one of my favorite books Black Boy, and overall even though its really long, 500+, these long pages are full with incitful, and strong language that for the most part isn't boring and kept me wanting to read more. I liked the book and would recommend it to pretty much anyone. I have already recommended it to many people including most of my family. Pretty good.
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Summary: Lengthy Wisdom
Review: "Invisible Man" details the turbulant, inflective journey through life a young black man experiences as he grows up in the South, pursues a higher education, and eventually ends up in a 1950's Harlem. Ellison's work is one of those pieces that one can tell is simply a thinly veiled excuse to portray the philisophical views and musings of its author. Such works are often very thought inspiring (see "The Picture of Dorian Grey" and most anything by George Orwell and Kurt Vonnegut) but "Invisible Man" in particular loses a lot in its length. In attempting to convey the environment within which our narrater resides, and by doubly trying to depict his reaction to every aspect of such, the real philisophical meat is lost in relevant verbosity. All in all, the novel is a worth while read, but unless it is broken up, and it's subject matter poses significant interest to the individual attempting to take it on, one need not try.
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