Diaspora Consciousness In Invisible Man

Ralph Ellison, the famous Afro-American writer, is well known for that he established his reputation by the only novel published in his life time—Invisible Man, which is not only one classic in American literature, but also a great contribution to the treasury of world literature.This thesis, based on the comprehensive research of the achievements in Ralph Ellison's study, intends to represent a new perspective, that is, to explore the diasporic features in Invisible Man with the consideration of Ellison's sense of cultural crisis and his concern with the existing predicament of human beings, and further reveals that Ellison begins a unique literary style to match the unique Negroes'experience.Since the day of the emergence of Afro-American literature, most excellent Afro-American writers have found themselves trapped and confused in the conflict of the two opposite tendencies in both artistry and theme: assimilationism and nationalism. W. E. B. DuBois describes this psychological state as"double-consciousness". In Invisible Man, Ellison also focuses on the identity dilemma or the puzzlement in sense of belongingness through the protagonist's metaphoric experience of seeking his ideal, and, by the protagonist's symbolic ascent from underground, hints an attitude that he thinks should be taken by people in dispersion. Such an attitude is called diaspora consciousness, which may be the most suitable notion in this multicultural era for its close relation to sojourning, displacement and hybridity.Ellison consciously represents this opinion in his literary practice, and Invisible Man is an epitome of diaspora consciousness both in artistry and theme.Hybridity, signifying and double-voice may be the novel's most outstanding diasporic features in artistry. Hybridity is the feature on the linguistic level. While utilizing the"host"language in creation, Ellison hybridizes it by distorting the Standard English and intervening in it with the use of the black's vernacular and folklore. Ellison also employs the most common, most outstanding features of their cultural tradition and its literary texts, signifying and double-voice, to represent their existing dilemma and their strategy of seeking survival in the"host"society.For the theme of Invisible Man, Ellison depicts the psychological landscape of modern Afro-Americans in the multi-cultural environment. Through the protagonist's...