Invisible Man

Rating:
Summary: A good read for anyone
Review: I read this a year ago, in 6th grade (not as an assignment), and I was amazed by it's depth and rich texture. A very interesting look into the black man's struggle. Definately a classic!

Rating:
Summary: Powerful and worth your time
Review: I had to read this book for an English assignment and I didn't know what to think of it at first. It seemed kind of boring and a little to deep. That was the beginning. As the book's plot unfolded, I was drawn into this man's struggle for an identity. When he gave a speech and said, "We will not be dipossessed," I realized what he wanted and how powerful his words were. The author tone was that of anger but also of caring. The narrator of the book wanted change without violence. The author made a powerful point in this book and even though I thought it boring at the beginning I felt by the end of the book that it was worth my time. I also feel that everyone should read this book because it addresses the universal themes of seeking an indentity and over coming oppression.

Rating:
Summary: a masterpeice!!!
Review: I have read lots of the classic novels of our time and this book is one of, if not the best novel I have ever read. Before I was assigned to read it in my 11th grade lit class I had never heard of it before in my life, nor had I ever heard the name of its author, Ralph Ellison. That is rediculous. "Invisible Man" should be considered one of the greatest works of fiction in this century. If every high school student in the nation has to read "Hamlet" before they graduate, they should also certainly have to read this book. If "The Great Gatsby" was ranked the #2 english written novel this century, this book should be #1 and then some. Why? Well, first of all, the book is incredibly well written, with an endless supply of themes intertwined within every sentence of every page. All the literary elements are there and they all add together to make an amazingly well crafted story of every black man's struggle to find his identity in an unjust society. There is alot to be learned in the book. It shows how truly terrible the white race has been towards the black race. It taught me that there is injustice towards the blacks still today, and it helped me understand where blacks come from, and why they are so upset. The story isn't only a tale of a lost black man searching for identity, it is also the story of every man's struggle to be seen. That is proven in the final line of the book, "And it is this which frightens me: Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you?" The book is fairly long, as well as very complex and sometimes could be hard for a mediocre reader to stay with. But if you put in a little more time and effort into the book, you won't be dissapointed.

Rating:
Summary: Since this was an assigned novel, I kept reading.
Review: I almost stopped reading this book after the prologue. It seemed eerie. But since this was an assigned novel, I kept reading. It takes a while to get into this book, but once your in, you become lost in the text. There is so much vivid description. The author, Ralph Ellison, really wants you to get a mental picture of where you are in the story. The strangest thing in this book is that the narrator has no name, no identity. This is part of him being invisible. One of the most important quotes that I read was when the narrator joins with the "Brotherhood". "This is your new identity," Brother Jack said. "Open it." as he was handed a white envelope. This quote supports the fact that people can make changes in the their life that effects who they become. But nothing is more important than a name is society and a face in life.

Rating:
Summary: I did, however, take up a liking to this book.
Review: In the beginning of the book, I hated it. I couldn't find the plot, and most of the information in the text confused me until the meaning came out later in the book. I did, however, end up liking the book. Everyone has had their own experiences with oppression, which makes the main character very believable. I think that is helpful to the reader. I think an incredibly important quote from the text is when he (the main character) is working in a paint factory. "White is Right." This quote is exactly what Ralph Ellison is trying to make fun of throughout the entire book. The factory was a metephor for a plantation, or some slave driving place. "White is Right" is meaning the color of paint, but when it is read into, it sounds more racist. This book impressed me a lot. Ellison used many metephors to get his point across and it makes the book confusing, but quite interesting.

Rating:
Summary: best book i've ever read
Review: The invisible man is the best book that I have ever read. For those that would say that it does not deserve such praise, I would beg to differ. How can anyone not love a book so beautifully written, so masterfully crafted. Every page, every sentence in the novel serves a purpose. The novel in its entirety is certainly the best-written book I have ever read, and I could hardly imagine anyone saying otherwise. The complexity of the book comes not only from the advanced themes, but also from the technical aspects of the novel. No one could claim that the text doesn't deserve to be commended. But it is perhaps its advanced themes that deserve the most recognition. For a novel written during the height of overt American racism, Ralph Ellison makes a stunning commentary of the black man's predicament. He writes the story of the invisible man - the story of all men. To those who would argue that the invisible man deserves no praise, I ask you to remember the last sentence of the novel. "Who knows but, on a lower frequency, I speak for you?" You obviously did not hear him.

Rating:
Summary: Well-written themes, but not very enjoyable
Review: This book has been given many wonderful reviews, but I do not believe it deserves all the praise it has received. The opening of the book is well written, as it sets up the main theme of the book: "I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids--and I might even possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me." I thought this was a very good opening quote, because it draws the reader in and makes you curious to learn what is going to happen. This quote attracted me, and I wanted to learn how the narrator's "invisibility" came about, but the book progressed slowly, and made it hard for me to stay with it. When the book finally became interesting, I had lost interest and did not find it enjoyable. One of the biggest merits of this book would be the style of writing. Ellison uses a lot of symbolism to emphasize the themes of invisibility and race, and I thought this made the themes more evident and more easily understood. Another way Ellison developed his theme of invisibility was by never giving the narrator, a.k.a. "Invisible Man," a name. This strengthened the idea of invisibility, and was a merit of the book. However, at the same time, this was a weakness to the book. I was easily frustrated by this because I never knew how to refer to him, and also because there are parts of the book that are poorly written due to the fact he is trying to hide the narrators name. I had a lot of trouble getting through this book because of its slow progression and my lack of interest. I do feel it is a decent book because it addresses two very strong issues of race and invisibility. The two themes connected to each other and I thought they were portrayed well. I do give Ellison praise for writing this during a period of time of struggle between blacks and whites, and for the way he addresses the issue. I think anyone who is willing to struggle through a book as it slowly progresses would probably enjoy this book, but I would not suggest it if you have trouble with a slow-moving book.

Rating:
Summary: A Landmark in American Literature
Review: Invisible Man is a great book. It is the story of a young black man who embarks in search of a dream. On the way he discovers the true nature of our society and his place in it. In the end he finds not any dream but his true self, disenchanting as that may be. This is a superbly written book. Ellison has a command of the English language rarely achieved. His every word connects to a theme. Though frustrating at times, Invisible Man is well worth the effort.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended!
Review: This book exposes the life of a young black man and his struggles to achieve acceptability in society. The book does a good job of keeping this person "invisible". This is a worthwhile novel.

Rating:
Summary: Not the Great Work I Expected.
Review: This novel, while great with "technical" things like image, style, place, and the use of jazz in language, didn't have anything to say. Ellison spends so much time trying to tell the reader what the black man is not that he doesn't stop long enough to tell us what the black man is or could be given the chance. The Trueblood, Golden Day, and Paint Factory are great stories by themselves, but put together they are surely laughable, and leave the novel without the reality it deserves and needs in order to be taken seriously in the second half. By the time the protagonist, in the Epilouge, tell us that he just may "speak for us" he is left with nothing to say, and has placed himself so far out of reality that I felt that Ellison was telling us that we are all doomed. In the end, Ellison is commended for writing a non-protest novel, but he forgets to give his protaganist a voice and instead gives us cartoon-cutout stereotypes to villify. A step in the right direction for African-American literature (from protest to human experience), but just not far or firm enough. Very, very dissapointing, I was expecting a classic.