Project Text: Literary Analysis

**FINAL DRAFT**

Kelsey Crone

PAS 114 B

Professor Broadous

25 April 2012

Being a Stranger to Yourself

            "And I love light. Perhaps you'll think it strange that an invisible man should need light, desire light, love light. But maybe it is exactly because I am invisible. Light confirms my reality, gives birth to my form." (Ellison.Prologue.6) In The Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison, the journey to self identity is followed through the eyes and thoughts of a black man living in the south during the 1940s. Similar to the main character, also known as the invisible man, Ralph Ellison grew up in a hostile society in the south, with the influence of slavery all around him. Throughout the prejudice of Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, he grew up with the fighting spirit in his own home. When his mother died, Ellison had to take the responsibility to raise his brother and took refuge in a ministers' library, where he became fond of literature and writing. (“Biography of Ralph Ellison”) In the book, the main character considers himself to be invisible, because society refuses to see him and he is without a name throughout the entire story. The main character is an excellent writer and speech giver, who tries to manipulate and convince people to see and acknowledge him. In his home, without being detected, he steals power from the Monopolated Light and Power Company to power his 1,369 light bulbs he has. Throughout his story, the invisible man describes his many jobs, with one of them being a paint maker of the famous Optic White paint; made from many different black bases. Through the complications of delivering a simple speech, the symbolism of the many light bulbs in his home, and the Optic White paint, the invisible man struggles to identify himself and his purpose. This struggle is one of the main themes of the entire story that is reoccurring, and is symbolized in many different ways.
            The main character's invisibility first surfaces when he is to give a speech for the chance to win a scholarship. When he first arrives, unknowingly, to what is called The Battle Royal, he is told to fight men, blindfolded. This is to show the superiority that the white men have in society to keep the black men in a state of darkness, confusion, and fear; the white men become, in reality, more uncivilized. (“Invisible Man Notes”) After fighting, the invisible man (main character) is to then give his speech, with blood in his mouth and his muscles sore. As he begins to give his speech, the invisible man is ignored and laughed at. The white men ridicule the man as for he cannot speak loudly, due to the blood in his mouth. Trying to focus back on his speech, the main character accidentally says "social equally" when he in fact means to say "social responsibility". That's when the white men become serious and angry and questions what he meant by "social equality"; the main character quickly corrects himself and makes quickly for the door, inconspicuously. However, he is awarded with the scholarship he went in for. After being awarded, he reads the letter that he was given by the white men, and it read, at the very end, "...'Keep This Nigger-Boy running.'" (Ellison. Chapter 2.41) The actions of the white men, and how the black men were treated, show their lack of attention and concern for the black men's lives. The invisible man is ignored for what he is trying to achieve and mocked for what he is told to do. Even as he strives for the attention when giving his speech, and fights hard, he is still unseen to the world, and, in a way, to himself.
            When the invisible man goes to his "home", he in fact just goes to his little hole in a wall. He lives in a basement, where he cannot be found or traced. In his little room, he has 1,369 light bulbs, which is said to be the number of Ralph Ellison's age squared when he actually wrote this novel. (Bulgakov) The main character has so many lights because he loves and desires light. He steals all of his power from the Monopolated Light and Power Company, and the company knows that it is being stolen, but they cannot trace to where it is being stolen, making the invisible man unable to be detected. These light bulbs relate to his invisibility due to the fact that the power is untraceable, and since society refuses to see the main character and refuses to acknowledge his existence, the lights bring conformity of his existence to himself, to know he is alive. As he says, "Perhaps you'll think it strange that an invisible man should need light, desire light, love light. But maybe it is exactly because I am invisible. Light confirms my reality, gives birth to my form." (Ellison.Prologue.6) he is totally and completely aware of his invisibility, and at the end of the novel, he accepts it which is why he lives in a small basement. He knows that the only way to manipulate society is slowly and undetectable. Another reason he considers himself "The Invisible Man".
            What many people fail to recognize, is the color of certain buildings. The buildings in DC are white to symbolize that our nation was founded and built by white people. (‘Optic White’) What it doesn't show, is the hard work of many other races, specifically, black people. Most of the south's agricultural economy came from the work and of the hands of black people. As our nation has developed, many Americans still view our country as a "pure" white nation, just as society did in the 1940s. In the novel, the invisible man is instructed to make the infamous Optic White paint. In order to make the "purest" and "whitest" paint, he has to mix together a variety of dark bases. This symbolizes the position of black people in the workforce and in society; all of their hard work is put towards something, but the only results that one sees, is the white. To society, the black people and their work are invisible because society does not see it. The invisible man works and slaves over something getting done, and, in the end, he does not receive credit for it. This strips him of his individuality and of his manhood because any human being is proud of what they have accomplished and produced.
            The main theme of this story is the invisibility that the main character has so much of, and the lack of individuality he has and the acknowledgment he has. Through his many attempts for people to see him and to be confirmed as a person, he fails to do so. His speech, light bulbs, and making of Optic White paint were all symbolized to portray the lack of power and rights the black people had in the 1940s. This reoccurring theme forces the main character to believe what society tells him that he is nothing. At the end of the story he accepts the fact that he is invisible, to himself and to society. He learns that being invisible isn't such a bad thing, but an advantageous one, for he can manipulate society without being traced.

Works Cited

"Biography of Ralph Ellison (1914-1994)." Biography of Ralph Ellison. GradeSaver. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. <http://www.gradesaver.com/author/ralph-ellison/>.

Bulgakov, Mikhail. "Points of Light." Light Bulbs «. The Ambiguities, 5 Apr. 2011. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://ambiguities.wordpress.com/tag/light-bulbs/>.

Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. New York: Vintage International, 1995. Print.

"Invisible Man Identity Quotes Page 2." Shmoop. Shmoop, 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. <http://www.shmoop.com/invisible-man-ellison/identity-quotes-2.html>.

"Invisible Man Notes | Quotes." BookRags. BookRags. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://www.bookrags.com/notes/inv/QUO.html>.

"Invisible Man." SparkNotes. SparkNotes. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/invisibleman/section1.rhtml>.

"Invisible Man Summary and Analysis." Invisible Man Study Guide : Summary and Analysis of Prologue and Chapters 1-2. GradeSaver. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://www.gradesaver.com/invisible-man/study-guide/section1/>.

"'Optic White' in Invisible Man." "Optic White" in Invisible Man â 1950s American Literature. 1950s American Literature, 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://blsciblogs.baruch.cuny.edu/1950s/2010/12/12/optic-white-in-invisible-man/>.

Project Space

Kelsey Crone
PAS 114 B
Professor Broadous
22 March 2012

Elbow Room

Nearly eighty percent of humanity live on less than ten dollars a day; most people spend that much on coffee in the morning. People fail to see the "invisible" in the world; the worthless, the poor, the people in poverty. As we grow and develop opinions, we are defined by the most influential "invisible hand", and that is space. Space is the one thing that defines people without them even knowing it. As today's society changed and is altered into many pretenses, each age group is affected in many different ways. The young don't have their own choices to make, the adults have limited choices to make, and the seniors don't seem to care about the choices that are made anymore. Poverty is the state and/or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support, and it is not only affecting the poor anymore, it is physically and emotionally moving people from the middle class into the lower class.
Children are the most important organism in today's society. The are so important because they are the future, but we cannot have a future, if it is not taken care of. Over twenty-five percent of children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight and/or stunted. Space defines children to the point that they are not given options or choices to make on their own. When children are forced into poverty, it is impossible for them to get out. World wide, there is over 2.2 billion children; over one billion are in poverty. As the number increases, the number of children out of the public education system increases as well. With less and less children in school every year, children are not only hurting themselves in the present, but also in the future and the long run. The choice to not go to school, is forced upon children in poverty because they are discouraged to attend. Worldwide, nearly 121 million children are out of education. The future leaders of this world will not have a high school diploma. It is said that the two main things that will help a person out of poverty is education and relationships. Since children are limited on their relationships, they have their education to rely on the most. Poverty and hunger walk hand in hand, and hunger is a painful sensation or a strong desire caused by the want of food. Not only the want for food, but the need for food. Almost 100 billion pounds of food is wasted in America each year, meanwhile, 12.9 million children go hungry. Space defines children because they are scared and timid of the world and of the people around them. Children are starting to blame themselves for the state that they are in, and that causes them to develop demented thoughts. In 2010, just two short years ago, one in seven households were considered to be in poverty. This was according to the Census Bureau, and it has been the highest number in the United States recorded since 1993. With these escalating numbers, the number of people going into shelters are increasing as well. People from the poor and the middle class are seeking help from shelters every day. However, the qualifications to be a homeless shelter makes it almost impossible to be in one. Some of them are: one cannot be on drugs, one must be looking for a job, if handicapped, one must find a proper shelter to accommodate their needs, and one must come only at certain hours of the day. Along with these qualifications, there is also fears of a homeless shelter. Some of them are: fear of being raped, separated from their family, contracting parasites/diseases, and theft. These reasons are what's making most people reject the thought of going to a homeless shelter completely. Adults throughout the country go through poverty and some never make it out. In 2009, 43.6 million people were in poverty. Space defines adults to the point that they are confined to themselves because of the lack of choices they are given. Ranging from ages 20-60, adults are defined by the space around them. Nowadays, you could see bums to a man with a PhD on the streets. In today's society, there is an invisible line called the poverty line which is the minimum income level used as an official standard for determining the proportion of a population living in poverty. Nearly 35.9 million people live below the poverty line. This space defines us to what level of class people stand in. A father who owns his own company, with two daughters at home is considered to be poor because of the definitions of the poverty line. Even though he is able to support his entire family and able to own a house and spend quality time with his family, he is defined by his space. As the world is seeing the last of the baby boomer generation, they continue to live among society. People ages from 65+ are going through a tough time just like the rest of society. 3.4 million seniors are in poverty and some of their own families don't even care about them. At senior homes, most, if not all, seniors are there simply to feel needed by society, or by other people in general. The most dramatic cases are found in senior homes such as some in spiraling depression. Depression is one of the most difficult diseases to overcome as a human being, but it has been proven that seniors who become a part of something, such as an active member at a senior center, can actually reverse depression and become much happier and pleasant in their lives. Another reason why there are many seniors active at senior centers is because they have nowhere else to go. Even though they might have been wealthy about ten years ago, most are deep into poverty nowadays. In the past four years, the number of seniors entering and exiting the senior center has been very steady, but that can also be due to the seniors old age and/or death. On an average day at a senior center, most of the seniors enjoy their day with one another and play pool or shuffleboard. However, there are the seniors that are still conservative and timid, and they stay away and secluded to themselves. Space defines them in the way that people seem to not care about the older generation. When they feel this way, they seem bitter with themselves and other people. As this society moves forward with the upper, middle, and lower class, the two bottom classes seem to be getting larger in numbers. Space defines each person from what they wear, to how they act. Poverty is one of the main results of how space defines us, because life is so demanding and people seem to just "watch out for themselves". Society needs to realize that helping each other will help the country and better help themselves in their own situation. People deny that other peoples problems are not theirs, but in the long run, they slowly become everyone's problems. Today's society and this world can be better benefited when we learn not to "throw away people" and to learn that we are all each other's "space".

Works Cited

"Evil Deeds." Is Depression a Disease? Web. 20 Mar. 2012. . "Hunger and Poverty Statistics." Feeding America. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. . "Hunger in America: 2012 United States Hunger and Poverty Facts." World Hunger Notes Homepage. Hunger Notes. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. . Payne, Ruby K. A Framework for Understanding Poverty. Highlands, TX: Aha! Process, 2005. Print. "Poverty Facts and Stats." - Global Issues. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. . Saavedra, Miguel. "Why Homeless People Don't Use Shelters." Squidoo. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. . Siddiqi, Samana. "Statistics on Poverty & Food Wastage in America." Some Statistics on Poverty in America. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. .