Invisible Man Novel Guide

“The act of writing requires a constant
plunging back into the shadow of the past where time hovers ghostlike.”." –Ralph
Ellison

The
Character Map shows the characters that the Invisible
Man interacts with in the North and South.

Invisible
Man Blogs is a collection of student insights about the
novel.

A
Character Analysis of the major characters in the novel.

Themes
of Invisible Man is an examination of the major thematic
elements of the novel.

The
Wikipedia Entry for Invisible Man could certainly
use your assistance to become a better resource for future students.

The
Penguin Reading Guide for the Novel is actually a reasonably
detailed summary of the book, exploring major themes, raising
discussion questions, and suggesting related texts.

Quotes
from the Novel If you are looking for that perfect passage
for an essay, this is the spot.

Really
Brief Summary, Chapter by Chapter. If you are desperate,
visit here.

Bildungsroman
Notes: Is Invisible Man an example of a bildungsroman?

Book
Reviews

“Nobody deserves your tears,
but whoever deserves them will not make you cry.”-Gabriel
Garcia Marquez

The
Magic of Love in the Time of Cholera by Algis Valiunas

"The
Heart's Eternal Vow": A Review by Thomas Pynchon

Other
Information About Ellison

“The blues is an art of ambiguity, an
assertion of the irrepressibly human over all circumstances,
whether created by others or by one's own human failing.”–Ralph
Ellison

Featured
Author: Ralph Ellison The New York Times looks
at Ellison and his works.

Nobel
Prize Lecture — "for his novels and short stories,
in which the fantastic and the realistic are combined in a richly
composed world of imagination, reflecting a continent's life
and conflicts".

"Shipwrecked" —
Marquez writes about the experience of Elian Gonzalez in the United
States.

Art
Inspired by Gabriel Garcia Marquez — a collection
of art, created by Colombian artist Claudia Ruiz, celebrating
music in the novels and short stories of Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

An
Interview with GGM, in which he discusses his writing,
the cultural of Central America, and his writing.

Information
about Music

“There must be possible a fiction
which, leaving sociology and case histories to the scientists,
can arrive at the truth about the human condition, here and now,
with all the bright magic of the fairy tale.” –Ralph
Ellison

The
Lyrics to Black and Blue —
Compare and contrast these lyrics with the more commonly played version.

Invisible
Man Album–This large (over 80 megs) file contains a
collection of blues music for use while reading the novel.

PBS
Classroom on the Blues–Great information about
the blues and African-American culture.

Sick
City — A detailed look at cholera and the dangers it
presented before sanitation.

Reader
Response Criticism — A solid explanation of the meaning
of Reader Response Criticism.

Introduction
to Reader Response Criticism — A simpler summary of
Reader Response.

Essay
Prompt: Tone in Love in The Time of Cholera — The
tone essay prompt, with supporting notes and reading.

"Mementos Mon," a
review by Jean Franco that nicely captures the use of tone in the
novel.

“America is woven of many strands. I would
recognise them and let it so remain. Our fate is to become one,
and yet many. This is not prophecy, but description.” –Ralph
Ellison

Booker
T. Washington—
The inspiration for the novel's Founder.

Dialectical
Historicism—
A graphic representation and notes about the view of the Brotherhood
on history.

The
Case of the Negro by Booker T. Washington–A look
at Washington's approach to dealing with the race question.

Sick
City — A detailed look at cholera and the dangers it
presented before sanitation.

Reader
Response Criticism — A solid explanation of the meaning
of Reader Response Criticism.

Introduction
to Reader Response Criticism — A simpler summary of
Reader Response.

Essay
Prompt: Tone in Love in The Time of Cholera — The
tone essay prompt, with supporting notes and reading.

"Mementos Mon," a
review by Jean Franco that nicely captures the use of tone in the
novel.

Philosophy
Resources

“By and large, the critics and readers
gave me an affirmed sense of my identity as a writer. You might
know this within yourself, but to have it affirmed by others
is of utmost importance. Writing is, after all, a form of communication.” –Ralph
Ellison

Notes
About Existentialism —
My notes about existentialism and Ralph Ellison.

Voyage
to the Village— An excellent site devoted to exploring
modern magical realism.

"The Love-Dream of a Prodigious
Sleeper"–Richard Eder argues that the book
is an example of GGM's magical realism.

Sick
City — A detailed look at cholera and the dangers it
presented before sanitation.

Reader
Response Criticism — A solid explanation of the meaning
of Reader Response Criticism.

Introduction
to Reader Response Criticism — A simpler summary of
Reader Response.

Essay
Prompt: Tone in Love in The Time of Cholera — The
tone essay prompt, with supporting notes and reading.

"Mementos Mon," a
review by Jean Franco that nicely captures the use of tone in the
novel.

Review
Material

“I am not ashamed of my
grandparents for having been slaves. I am only ashamed of myself
for having at one time being ashamed.”-Ralph Ellison

Spark
Notes on Invisible Man –pretty basic
stuff here, with analysis that is mostly superficial.

Random
House Reading Guide Questions — –critical questions
about the novel.

Study/Review
Questions —
A Willamette University study guide from a course about the novel.
(Towards the bottom of the page)

Chapter
Questions A great collection of chapter by chapter questions
about the book.

Articles
of Note

Coming Soon