Invisible man

The Piece of literature I choose to write about is the Invisible man by Ralph Elison. Invisible man is about A young black man (Ralph Elison) who grows up and goes through his life struggling to figure out his identity and where he fits into the world as he searches for social acceptance into the white man's society.This story takes place in the south during the late 1920's or early 1930's at a time of course where African american's were discriminated against and underprivledge, something we have seemingly moved passed in today's soceity. Elison's struggle to find acceptance and perhaps success in the white mans society only moves him further away from reaching his goal of finding his identity and his place in the world around him. He can not seem to find a balance or a happy medium with it all. Where one thing seems to be working there are other things in conflict with it. It seems to Elison that when he tries to be a sucess in his life and forth into the white society he is somehow letting down his own people, that he is being the white man's "Sambo," doing everything he's asked, or perhaps conforming, and perhaps for nothing at all because he's never going to be accepted and treated equally. On the other hand Elison feels that if he does not go forth in white society and try to be successful he will be living up to the negitive stereotype that the white man holds him to. So there is a since of being "Damed if you do damned if you don't." Elison's conflicting views, emotions, and severe opposition drives him into hiding because he comes to the conclusion that he can not be seen in society for who and what he is, thus dubbing himself "The Invisible man."

Ralph Elison writes in a way as if to tell reader's he has given up and he does not care. Clearly him going into hiding renforces it. I think that the point the author is trying to make is that it does not matter what you do in life, how much you try, or what methods you use nothing will change. You are what you are, You can except it, you can choose not to, or do thing at all. The results the same.