| Invisible Man is the greatest novel of Ralph Ellison, which took him seven years to finish and was first published in 1952. It was this marvelous work that Ellison established his position in the field of contemporary American black literature. The novel reveals severe identity crisis the American blacks face in the process of pursuing self-worth by depicting the experiences of five most representative black characters in their incessant quest of visible identities. The oppression of white people to the blacks is no longer limited to economic and military exploitation, instead, it comes more from the ideological and political control. In other words, it is called the invisible post-colonial exploitation. Although there are already systematic studies of this novel both in domestic and foreign academic circles, yet a few of which discuss the characters’ identity problems combined with post-colonialism. And most of these studies are usually confined to the single analysis of the protagonist, neglecting other characters with distinctive features. This thesis is based on Said’s conception of “other”, Bhabha’s theory of “the third space” and Fanon’s expatiation about race and identity, exploring the reasons accounting for the failures of black people’s pursuit for visible identities.It is generally divided into three parts. The first part is composed of four sections. Besides a brief introduction to Ellison and Invisible Man, there are also the problems to be studied and the arguments to be put forward, along with the primary presentation to the thesis’ s theoretical basis and structures.The second part is the body part of the whole thesis, consisting of four chapters. Chapter One focuses on Bledsoe and Brockway, they share a common trait of remaining submissive towards the whites in the process of pursuing visibility, but both fail at last. As the president of a southern black college, Bledsoe is severely alienated in identity recognition in his approach to personal success, he neither belongs to the group of the blacks, nor to the whites; while Brockway willingly submits himself to the ruling of the white people, and behaves like a wagging dog waiting for the mercy of his master. Chapter Two pays close attention to Clifton and radical nationalist Ras, they resemble each other in their resistant attitudes towards the whites in order to be well accepted, both ending with the same result of failure. Getting rid of the Brotherhood, Clifton begins to sell sambo dolls which vividly imitate the typical image of the blacks in the streets, this behavior, on the one hand, is for self-mockery, on the other hand, challenges the white authority; while Ras is a firm advocator of national rejuvenation and independence, he attempts to eliminate the white power and establishes black hegemony for good, which makes him a merciless dictator on the contrary. Chapter Three mainly probes into the protagonist’s identity transformations through three different life stages. They are respectively the protagonist’s college period, his tough time at factory and hospital, as well as the struggling years in Brotherhood. At the beginning, “I” adore the white superiority very much, strongly deny anything connected with blackness. However, in the end, “I” start to bravely embrace black culture and identity with a sense of national pride. The last chapter in this part further combs through the contents of the previous three chapters, and explores the common reasons leading to the characters’ identity plights combined with the details in text.The third part is a conclusion, summarizing the main ideas of the thesis and restating its supporting arguments. And indicating that only with correct selfidentification and full embracement of national identities, can the blacks win others’ respect and find their positions in the white-dominated world. |
