The Transcendent Unity Of Invisible Man

Invisible Man, the masterpiece of American Negro writer Ralph Waldo Ellison (1914—1994), is a perfect transcendent unity of moral and art. The sense of transcendence takes its origin in Ellison's life experience and educational background, indicating a hard pursuit for one's identity during which he can transcend all the bounds of individual, race, reality and history to a world of possibility. Moreover, Ellison is also especially aware of the transcendent nature of art, i.e. the superior power of shaping the chaotic life. This makes it possible to fully present a theme of identity and transcendence in his fiction with several artistic skills, and ultimately realize the marvelous combination of theme and style. Thus this essay is dedicated to a study of the transcendent unity in Invisible Man.The essay consists of four chapters: chapter one is an introduction of the connation of transcendence both in moral and art which is closely connected with Ellison's life experience and educational background; chapter two concentrates on analyzing the theme of identity and transcendence in Invisible Man on three levels—to transcend individuality and racism, to transcend reality and vision, and to transcend history, disclosing that invisibility is the only true identity of people and offers the means to transcendence; chapter three is dedicated to the artistic techniques employed by Ellison—the narrative skills, the system of symbols and images on vision, and the black folklore; and chapter four concludes the whole study.