Universal Invisibility

“Man changes his identity as he passes from one stage or group to another”(1),this idea is conveyed by Ralph Ellison, the author of the Invisible Man, through an African- Americans transition from perspective success to alienation and an enlightenment of identity, which conform his identity. Along this path, our narrator changes his identity, and in doing so, fulfills the message of his Grandfather, losing his true character and ideals, becoming invisible. Despite Ellison’s …

…which blackness and light have long had in Western mythology: evil and goodness, ignorance and knowledge, and so on”(1). Following this ideal, Ellison’s goal was a book not focused on the African-American but and individual “changing his identity as he passes from one stage or group to another”(1), he achieved this ideal through his color usage, blindness, and the narrators perspective invisibility. Developing a message and lesson of identity that pertains to all races.