Significance+of+The+Invisible+Man+not+having+a+name

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Throughout the novel __Invisible Man__ by Ralph Ellison, the book's protagonist and narrator goes unnamed. In addition, very few details about his past are revealed prior to where his story begins. By doing this, Ellison prevents the reader from connecting with the invisible man as a person as well as denying the narrator of an identity. Thus, the best the reader can do is to identify him as a member of a group, in this case, black people as a race. His self becomes lost to the reader as well as the people within the novel, making him feel invisible to the reader as well. "You may think that it is odd not to give the main character of a book a name, but if you think about it, what purpose does a name serve? Isn't it said that a man's actions speak louder than his words? In this story, the man's actions go hand in hand with his words, to make him desired by some, feared and hated by others" [5]. In fact, his lack of an individual identity may even mean that the narrator is representative of the African American community as a whole. His experiences are similar to the stages of African American history: exploitation by white people, a "Booker T. Washington brand of personal advancement," attempts at integration, militancy and life underground [4]

**Quotes and Commentary**
To start with, the Invisible Man’s past remains largely a mystery throughout the novel. The reader is told very little about his family, with the exception of his grandfather, who appears only to deliver a line on his deathbed that will haunt the Invisible Man throughout the novel. Even during the events of the novel, information about his travels is often withheld from the reader, such as the name and location of the college he attends. On page 32, he says:

//“My fingers a-tremble, I complied, smelling the fresh leather and finding an official-looking document inside. It was a scholarship to the state college for Negroes. My eyes filled with tears and I ran awkwardly off the floor.” (p. 32)// [1]

The Invisible Man reveals that he will be going to a state school for blacks, but gives neither its name nor the state in which it is located. In fact, his location never revealed until he reaches New York. His lack of a past acts to further steal his individuality, making him feel like he could have been anybody from anywhere. Had his past been revealed, the reader could have been given a means of identifying with him to a certain extent, even if he wasn’t given a name.

//“When I got there I discovered it was on the occasion of a smoker, and I was told that since I was to be there anyway I might a well take part in the battle royal to be fought by some of my schoolmates as part of the entertainment.”// //(p. 17)// [1]

This shows that despite the narrator’s academic accomplishments that would set him apart from the rest of his African American schoolmates, the town’s white big shots only see him as an African American man. This shows that the narrator does not possess an individual identity in the eyes of the society around him, that he is just a member of the African American community. In cooperating with the white people and participating in the battle royal, the narrator is confirming his lack of an individual identity and accepting the fact that those around him don’t see him for anything other than a member of a group.

In the speech he delivers to the powerful white men of his own he talks about “social responsibility.” When he mentions social equality, the white men get angry and he decides to take back what he said. In doing so, he is doing exactly what the white men want him to do. He is not establishing his own identity, just doing what others expect of him. If he chose to stand up and stand firmly by what he believes in, he would be establishing an identity for himself, but in choosing to take back what he said, he is giving up his individuality in the eyes of the white people.

//"'This is your new name,' Brother Jack said. 'Open it.' Inside I found a name written on a slip of paper. 'that is your new name,' Brother Jack said. 'Start thinking of yourself by that name from this moment. Get it down so that even if you are called in the middle of the night you will respond. Very soon you shall be known by it all over the country. You are to answer to no other, understand?'" (p. 309)// [1]

When he enters the brotherhood, he is given a new name, signifying a rebirth into the new society of the Brotherhood. This shows how he latches onto a personality that he is given by others. His old identity was invisible to the brothers, or they simply refused to see it. So thus creating their own identity for him, they got to create someone in their own likeness, almost like playing God. The brothers are the puppet masters, and the Narrator is their puppet. Because of the Narrator not having a specific identity, he doesn't have his own personality. What he does is latch onto others personalities, either by choice or being forced to.

"//And my problem was that I always tried to go in everyone's way but my own. I have also been called one thing and then another while no one really wished to hear what I call myself." (p. 573)// [1]

This is the point in the book where the Invisible Man states his realization of why he had been invisible, though he wasn't invisible by choice at the time. He was so busy assuming the identities that others threw on him that he never got the chance to show his own. He states that no one wished to hear what he called himself and no one does, including the reader. Throughout the novel his true identity is hidden under those of the people he is asked to play, almost always being the obedient black man.

//"Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you?" (p. 581)// [1]

The concluding line of the novel, it is here that the Invisible Man states one last danger of invisiblility. Without an identity to ground him as a person, others, the reader included, are forced to associate him even more strongly as a part of something, such as the black race, than someone who does have an identity and can thus be thought of as an individual. However, because he is so strongly tied to this group now, his actions will reflect upon the entire black race to those who witness them. Since he is invisible, any mistakes he makes will be pinned upon the black community as a whole, since others will not see him as an individual and thus not have a single person to blame for his actions//.// This danger of invisibility is universal- that is to say, it is not just the Invisible Man whose actions shall act as an example for his group, but the actions of "invisible" people everywhere will reflect on their groups, whether the members of that group fit the implications of those actions or not.

The following video includes pieces of the Invisible Man's narration during the prologue. It shows literal descriptions of him being "invisible". //"I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me."// (pg 3) [1] media type="youtube" key="wxlOH9QQ2Uo" height="355" width="425" [2]

Other Works Featuring Unnamed Protagonists

 * __Fight Club__ by Chuck Palahniuk
 * __Sounder__ by William Armstrong
 * __Rebecca__ by Daphne Du Maurier
 * __To Build a Fire__ by Jack London
 * __The Road__ by Cormac McCarthy

__WORKS CITED__

[1] Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. New York: Second Vintage International Edition, 1995. [2] "Invisible Man." YouTube. 3 March 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxlOH9QQ2Uo [3] Mathers, Marshall. "My Name Is. 3 March 2008. [|http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/dusty/dusty/(Eminem)-%20My%20Name%20Is.mp3] [4] Stark, John. "Inivisble Man: Ellison's Black Odyssey." __Negro American Literature Forum__ 1973: 60. [5] "The Journey of the Invisible Man." __123HelpMe.com__. 03 Mar 2008 <[|http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=16640>.]