A Unique Voice For Identities

Though a black writer, Ellison does not dwell on the Negroes' social status, civil rights movement and their prospects in his works. Unlike the black writers before him, ' Ellison does not depict purposefully the unfairness and discrimination of the Negroes; instead, he remains calmly objective when it comes to the black-white relations and reveals his unique opinions on Negroes' search for identities. First of all, the premise to achieving one's true identity, he thinks, is to treat one's national culture and tradition fairly, to accept one's past, and to keep one's individuality. In the second place, racial integration is the way to realize interracial exchanges, thereby learning from each other. Consequently, people of one race can be accepted by the other. In addition, the individual's personal diligence is very important for improvement and perfection. Therefore, it is also an effective way for self-identification.Both black and white critics make either laudatory or derogatory comments on Ellison's attitude toward racial issues; the blacks in particular attack him sharply, criticizing him as betraying the black tradition. To be honest, Ellison's points of view are still universal in significance. Ellison's daring to be against the main tendency of black identification dates back to his frontier spirit cultivated in his early living environment. The effect of the frontier can find expression in his active, optimistic, tolerant and objective attitude towards reality in his inclination to break the restrictions for perfection. What counts as well is his experience in music, especially in blues and jazz. The two forms of music enhance his insight into the essence of man and encourage him to challenge limitation and make him start anew.Invisible Man is his first and only novel; it is also the one to assure him a prestigious place in the history of American literature. In a sense, the protagonist's experience is the reflection of the author's journey from ignorance to knowledge. Ellison's racial and cultural attitudes are fully unfolded in the novel. Therefore, I want to analyze Ellison's unique ways to deal with racial issues and the forces in shaping his uniqueness with the help of his masterpiece Invisible Man.My dissertation consists of five parts. The first part is the introduction which is abrief account of the author's life, literary achievements and the novel to be explored.Chapter I presents the author's unique perspective on Negro's search for identity by analyzing the typical behaviors of the various Negro characters and the events concerned under the special circumstances. As a black writer, Ellison does not criticize the evil of racial discrimination and expose the Negroes' sufferings sharply and indignantly. Rather, he explores the inner world the Negroes and puts forward his impartial proposal of what the Negroes should do on their way to visibility. In his presentation Ellison describes the various practices by the Negroes, which is an expression of his perspective of diversity. This chapter comprises two sections. The main idea of the first section is as follows: in a white-dominant society, with the hope of gaining sympathy from the white, the Negroes resorted to obedience to the white at the beginning because most of them were still at a loss as to what caused their unfavorable position and why they were not powerful enough. The protagonist, Dr. Bledsoe, and Jim Trueblood are the representatives of unconscious obedience, pretending obedience and distorted obedience respectively. The complex experiences of the protagonist enable him to realize his foolishness; Dr. Bledsoe is seemingly obedient to the white and tries his best to cater to the white while ordering the black about and displaying his prowess before them. His success and glory cannot, however, cover his hypocrisy; there is no point in talking about one's value for a person who betrays his compatriots. It's hard to understand Jim Trueblood's conducts. He tells and retells his affair with his own daughter before the white who show him mercy...