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The title of the novel Invisible Man:
1) invisible means that can’t be seen
2) figuratively, it means the narrator, as a black man, is not recognized by the white society
Invisible Man
What is the theme of this novel? Search for self-identity.( the author’s experience from ignorance to enlightenment as he searches for selfidentity)
He has said that "the nature of our society is such that we are prevented from knowing who we are."
Invisible Man
"I am an invisible man ... I am a man of substance, flesh and bone, fiber and liquids – and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me...When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or frigments of their imagination – indeed, everything and anything except me."
In 1933, Ellison entered the Tuskegee Institute on a scholarship to study music.
In 1936, he went to New York and there met the black writers Langston Hughes and Richard Wright.
Invisible Man
The narrator begins telling his story with the claim that he is an “invisible man.” His invisibility, he says, is not a physical condition—he is not literally invisible—but is rather the result of the refusal of others to see him. He says that because of his invisibility, he has been hiding from the world, living underground and stealing electricity from the Monopolated Light & Power Company. He burns 1,369 light bulbs simultaneously and listens to Louis Armstrong's “(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue” on a phonograph. He says that he has gone underground in order to write the story of his life and invisibility.
Structure of the Text
Part Ⅰ(Paras.1-3) The beginning part. Part Ⅱ(Paras. 4-90) The main body of the battle
royal incident. Paras.4-5 --- setting; people Paras.6-9 ---the white girl’s dance Paras. 10-28 --- violent and brutal fight itself Paras. 29-46 --- the black boys were humiliated Paras. 47-90 --- the narrator’s delivering his
Battle Royal
Battle royal: (in the dictionary)
1) n. pl. battles royal; A battle involving many combatants. 混战(许多斗士、参赛者参 与) 2） A fight to the finish.决斗战，殊死战 3）here it means a battle involving many black boys , fighting in disorder , until only one is left. Battle royals were usually fought among black fighters. These events often took place before formal fights started. The winner would collect a few coins tossed to him by the spectators at the conclusion of the fight.
Ralph Waldo Ellison was an African-American writer.
He was born in Oklahoma City, Okafter Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Ralph Ellison (1914—1994)
Battle Royal
In the American South, when the racial thing entered, and when the notion of white superiority was introduced, the battle royal was twisted into something else.
In the Prologue of Invisible Man, the author says, “You ache with the need to convince yourself that you do exist in the real world, that you’re part of all the sound and anguish, and you strike out with your fists, you curse and you swear to make them recognize you.” The battle royal can best dramatize this sentiment and the struggle to be recognized, to be visible. Ellison chose the battle royal, presented it in a broader context of meaning, and raised it to the level of art.
Battle Royal
What is the historical reality of the battle royal?
Why does Ellison choose it to explore the racial structure of the American South and establish the theme of invisibility.
Battle Royal
Commentary Chapter 1 consists of six key episodes:
(1) the grandfather’s deathbed scene (2) the narrator’s arrival at the hotel (3) the naked blonde’s erotic dance (4) the battle royal (5) the narrator’s speech (6) the narrator’s dream
Ellison was best known for his novel Invisible Man (1952), which won the National Book Award in 1953. He also wrote Shadow and Act (1964), a collection of political, social and critical essays, and Going to the Territory (1986).
African-American Literature
The history of African-American literature is as old and varied as the United States itself, but there are several recurrent themes: combating racism, searching for a black identity, and maintaining a unique quality of life. One of the first published African Americans was Phillis Wheatley, whose collection of poetry precedes the U.S. Revolutionary War by three years (1773). Eighteenth-century “Slave Narratives,” journals of personal experiences by slaves, were (and still are) a source of insight and inspiration to readers. African-American literature of the 1800s was dominated by autobiographical works, culminating in Booker T. Washington’s Up From Slavery at the turn of the century. The early twentieth century produced many influential African-American writers, among them Langston Hughes and Ralph Ellison. Contemporary authors such as Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou continue to expand the canon of African-American literature.
The central theme of Ralph Ellison's writing
search for identity, a search that he sees as central to American literature and the American experience
1) invisible means that can’t be seen
2) figuratively, it means the narrator, as a black man, is not recognized by the white society
Invisible Man
What is the theme of this novel? Search for self-identity.( the author’s experience from ignorance to enlightenment as he searches for selfidentity)
He has said that "the nature of our society is such that we are prevented from knowing who we are."
Invisible Man
"I am an invisible man ... I am a man of substance, flesh and bone, fiber and liquids – and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me...When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or frigments of their imagination – indeed, everything and anything except me."
In 1933, Ellison entered the Tuskegee Institute on a scholarship to study music.
In 1936, he went to New York and there met the black writers Langston Hughes and Richard Wright.
Invisible Man
The narrator begins telling his story with the claim that he is an “invisible man.” His invisibility, he says, is not a physical condition—he is not literally invisible—but is rather the result of the refusal of others to see him. He says that because of his invisibility, he has been hiding from the world, living underground and stealing electricity from the Monopolated Light & Power Company. He burns 1,369 light bulbs simultaneously and listens to Louis Armstrong's “(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue” on a phonograph. He says that he has gone underground in order to write the story of his life and invisibility.
Structure of the Text
Part Ⅰ(Paras.1-3) The beginning part. Part Ⅱ(Paras. 4-90) The main body of the battle
royal incident. Paras.4-5 --- setting; people Paras.6-9 ---the white girl’s dance Paras. 10-28 --- violent and brutal fight itself Paras. 29-46 --- the black boys were humiliated Paras. 47-90 --- the narrator’s delivering his
Battle Royal
Battle royal: (in the dictionary)
1) n. pl. battles royal; A battle involving many combatants. 混战(许多斗士、参赛者参 与) 2） A fight to the finish.决斗战，殊死战 3）here it means a battle involving many black boys , fighting in disorder , until only one is left. Battle royals were usually fought among black fighters. These events often took place before formal fights started. The winner would collect a few coins tossed to him by the spectators at the conclusion of the fight.
Ralph Waldo Ellison was an African-American writer.
He was born in Oklahoma City, Okafter Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Ralph Ellison (1914—1994)
Battle Royal
In the American South, when the racial thing entered, and when the notion of white superiority was introduced, the battle royal was twisted into something else.
In the Prologue of Invisible Man, the author says, “You ache with the need to convince yourself that you do exist in the real world, that you’re part of all the sound and anguish, and you strike out with your fists, you curse and you swear to make them recognize you.” The battle royal can best dramatize this sentiment and the struggle to be recognized, to be visible. Ellison chose the battle royal, presented it in a broader context of meaning, and raised it to the level of art.
Battle Royal
What is the historical reality of the battle royal?
Why does Ellison choose it to explore the racial structure of the American South and establish the theme of invisibility.
Battle Royal
Commentary Chapter 1 consists of six key episodes:
(1) the grandfather’s deathbed scene (2) the narrator’s arrival at the hotel (3) the naked blonde’s erotic dance (4) the battle royal (5) the narrator’s speech (6) the narrator’s dream
Ellison was best known for his novel Invisible Man (1952), which won the National Book Award in 1953. He also wrote Shadow and Act (1964), a collection of political, social and critical essays, and Going to the Territory (1986).
African-American Literature
The history of African-American literature is as old and varied as the United States itself, but there are several recurrent themes: combating racism, searching for a black identity, and maintaining a unique quality of life. One of the first published African Americans was Phillis Wheatley, whose collection of poetry precedes the U.S. Revolutionary War by three years (1773). Eighteenth-century “Slave Narratives,” journals of personal experiences by slaves, were (and still are) a source of insight and inspiration to readers. African-American literature of the 1800s was dominated by autobiographical works, culminating in Booker T. Washington’s Up From Slavery at the turn of the century. The early twentieth century produced many influential African-American writers, among them Langston Hughes and Ralph Ellison. Contemporary authors such as Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou continue to expand the canon of African-American literature.
The central theme of Ralph Ellison's writing
search for identity, a search that he sees as central to American literature and the American experience