Rating: 
Summary: Why am i reading this?
Review: Throughout reading this book I found myself questioned with "Why and I reading this". Although very well written, I felt that it took the author 3 pages to say something that could have been said in a half of a page. When I first picked this book to read, I thought that it would be about an African American man and his struggles in slavery, not some agitator who ultimately gives up on everything he worked toward to become and invisible man in society that lives in solitude. What kind of message is this book sending out? Is it to give up on your dreams, hopes, and aspirations? That is ultimately what I got out of the book. After reading this book I became unsure of whether or not I actually understood it's meaning. Maybe this was why I found a strong dislike for the book. Some parts in this book struck me as rather odd. The scene in the beginning of the book is what I found most peculiar. This is where the narrator is young and is asked to deliver his speech, made at his graduation, to a group of important white men in his community. When the narrator arrives he is forced to watch a naked woman dance and is then given clothes, which to his dismay are for the purpose of fighting blindfolded in a portable boxing ring with other young black kids. After brutally being attacked many times by other kids, he is left alone in the ring with a much bigger black boy and is forced to fight him. The other boy wins and after their match, the boys are "paid" with coins and a few bills that are placed on and electrified mat which purpose is to embarrass the boys even further in front of the white gentlemen. Only after all of this torture is he instructed to give his speech, which only a few of the drunken gentlemen listened to. I myself could have done without this scene. I saw no relevance or purpose to it being in the book other than to inform the readers that he is a gifted public speaker with much to say, which was established many pages before this inappropriate scene. A few other scenes such as when we (the readers) find out about Jim Trueblood and how he impregnated his daughter, the accident and the Liberty Paints plant where the narrator ends up at the hospital and the doctors are unsure of what to do, and the seduction by a white women's rights activist whose husband didn't notice some black man sleeping with his wife made me stop reading and say to myself, "what the heck!?" I did not understand why scenes such as the ones mentioned above were written.I feel that one word that would best describe this book in my opinion is pointless. Maybe I just couldn't grasp the true meaning of this book, or maybe it really was terrible. I will never know, but I do know that I enjoyed this book the least out of all the books I ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: A Book to be Enjoyed -- Again and Again!
Review: Dense with powerful symbolism and dancing with artfully subtle language, Invisible Man stands as one of the greatest works of American literature ever. Moving and evocative, but with great dignity and candor, it reveals to the each reader the perpetual search that waits within each of us. While it's not a roadmap to inner truth, it's a damn good start towards self-awareness... Other recent great Amazon Purchases: The Basketball Diaries by Carroll, The Losers' Club by Richard Perez
Rating: 
Summary: Am I awake?
Review: This book was nothing that I thought it would be. I thought it was going to be about slavery and how black people became independent. Everyone I spole to said it was stupid and not to read it, they were right.
"Invisible Man" is a boring book. The only thing that it's really about is how black people were treated after slavery. It starts out when a boy (the narrator) gets expelled from college, because he took a trustee to the old slavery houses. The trustee discovered a story on how this man impregnated his own daughter and his wife at the same time. Eventually the trustee started to have some sort of attack, and the man took him to a bar/whore house, where lunatics from some hospital near by attented. The director of the college expelled him and gave him some letters of recommendation so he could get a job, they really were letters that basically said don't hire this man he's trouble. Well geuss what? He got a job all by himself and he got hurt and fired in the same day. In between all of that black people called eachother brother, sister, and niggah which get's a little old after the first five times. The only think this book is about is how black people were treated so badly, I don't feel bad for them because they didn't try to change it. I think that since the man moved into a free state where they treated black people a little better that he should have done something greater instead of becoming an insirational speaker for some secret organization. All he did was speak infront of people speeche after speech. And all for what?
In the end he gave up, he accepted defeat. He simple accepted something taht he could have changed. He made himself the invisible man, and so he lived in his hole with many lights
Rating:
Summary: simply wonderful
Review: I love this book. I love its clear and well maintained themes. I love its crisp and vibrant prose. I love its vivid and very well orchestrated imagery. I love its masterfully paced narration and resolution. I love tracing the countless literary and cultural allusions in it. I love its honesty about the interwoven pain, boredom and joy of being an African American in the USA. I love its prophetic endurance in our culture. (You'll notice Ellison didn't title it _Invisible Negro_.) I love its blend of mythic fantasy, apocalyptic surrealism and plain ol' gritty realism. I love how funny this book is. I love this book's musical prose and how its lyrical rhythms mirror and anticipate its narrative flow. Most negative reviews about this book stem from a desire for a better story. _Invisible Man_ is a good story. It is only a better novel qua literary genre. Its primary value is not, however, that it is an "exciting" story or "a good read", but that it is a superb *piece of art*: philosophical, visual, musical, beautiful. And as for the criticism that Ellison is an Oreo, that he softpeddles his critique of U.S. racism, that he puts "Whitese" in a Black man's mouth - all these objections miss two major points of Ellison's aesthetic and moral philosophy. First, just as Ellison could be nothing but authentic in his writing, so too is his narrator authentic in his testimony - no matter what Huey Long or Eldridge Cleaver might say. The narrator is alive because he has his own voice; he is not a caricature. Second, Ellison resisted (essentialist) Black rhetoric for its own sake. He was too good a communicator to be a good Black Nationalist pundit. I'm willing to admit the prose nay seem pretensious at times. But the narrator's rare eloquence is integral to undermining the stereotype of "dumb darkies". Jack the Bear may street jive or he may wax philosophical - either way, his voice is the light that defies (and defines) his invisibility in a blind world. This is one of the few books I've voluntarily read more than once. The other was Tolstoy's _Anna Karenin_.
Rating: 
Summary: not my type
Review: though this is considered a great american novel, it was not everything i had hoped for it., i would not have read this book if it wasnt for my senior english ap class
Rating:
Summary: Ralph's Ellison's Invisible Man
Review: Ralph Ellison's epic novel about an invisible man is an adventure throught time and life as an African-American during the 1950's and 1960's. It depicts one man's struggle to gain recognition among his peers, including Dr. Bledsoe and Mr. Norton. The narrator, who is the main character in this book seems to be the embodiment of all of the racial problems in the 1950's and he shows many ways of dealing with racial problems. The some of the ways the Narrator had encountered, he fought throught them with the strength we all should have. I gave this book a five out of five because of the content, emotion and the way Ellison describes everything with great detail.
Rating:
Summary: Quite a Ponderous Read
Review: I've read "Invisible Man" 3 times now for various reasons, and each subsequent reading has proven this novel to be weaker than the one before. Ralph Ellison offers up a fascinating narrative about race relations in America in the first half of the 20th Century, but it sadly is overwhelmed by his overheated prose style. The invisible motif is effective as a metaphor for a black man's status in American society, but Ellison is so heavy handed in his use of it that it quickly becomes tedious. And by the time the feverish finale (involving riots in what has become a surreal stand-in for New York City) has come to a close, my patience has come to an end. It's probably worth reading this book once because it does maintain an important place in modern American literature. Sadly, in literature classes and on "best-of" lists, books like "Invisible Man" and "Native Son" are frequently used as token place holders for African American literature as a whole, when I think there are much better books about the African American experience that frequently get ignored. For example, on the MLA's list of 100 best 20th Century novels, both Ellison's and Wright's books are included, but obviously lacking are spots for "The Color Purple," "Beloved," and "Their Eyes Were Watching God," all better than "Invisible Man" in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Why not?
Review: Though it takes a few pages to build up excitement -- (excitement, mind you, is different from intensity ... this book is powerful starting with the first pages) -- once you get going, the pages turn like mad; for a 608 page book, it's a fast read. It sort of has a rolling snowball effect, but doubled, in the sense that as the drama builds and builds, our character, (who we never know the name of), simultaneously has eye opening revelations about life. This book is filled with questions. Why act like society tells me to? What is the point of this? Why do people use others for their own means? What is an identity? and finally ... Why not become invisible? It's a staggering thought ... for both the character and the reader. Why not? You'll almost want to, after all the emotion Ralph Ellison puts into his writing. Why not? It's a brilliant idea. Why not forget your past and take on a new identity -- or better yet, take on multiple identities. Truly an eye-opener.
Rating:
Summary: An eye-opening look at racism
Review: Ellsion paints a vivid picture of New York during the 1950's. The main character, a nameless protagonist, is a black man who journeys from his southern college into the streets of Harlem. Throughout the novel I found myself in the shoes of the character experiencing the fears, victories, and sorrows of the invisible man. This novel is reminiscent of Uncle Tom's Cabin but then goes a step farther. Ellison is able to weave a tapestry of thought and culture which each word upon the page. The book is simpy engrossing and will open one's eyes to a whole new experience. This isn't the type of novel you read but experience, so experience it for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: A truly engrossing look at racism in the 50's
Review: Going through high school and the first few years of college I learned about racism and life during the mid 1900's. After reading Ellison's masterpiece i now feel i truly understand what life was like during those years for african americans trying to find a place in the world. From the battle royal at the beginning to the shocking ending, it was a sad journey that i felt i was a part of for invisible man. This is one of the best books i have ever read. 5 stars plus!!!
|
