Invisible Man

1. The book is titled Invisible Man instead of The Invisible Man because the whole idea of the story is that the main character possesses no definition of self. “The” is a definite article, and therefore Ellison does not include it in the title, for the role of the protagonist is anything but distinct.

2. The significance of IM’s grandfather dying at the beginning of the novel is that it provides insight into the purpose of the novel. Like the death of IM’s grandfather, slavery continues to haunt the posterity of those who endured it, not the exact implantation of the institution upon them, but the racial prejudices and hardships that have stemmed from it.

3. The boys feel these simultaneous, opposing feelings because at once the woman represents both the forbidden and their deepest desires. Throughout the book Ellison represents the white woman as a symbol of illicit longing, something unattainable and potentially dangerous, a beautiful entrancement that can only end in ruin.

4. Tatlock says he will do it for himself because in actuality, the person he most hates is himself. Although in appearances he is physically fighting IM, spiritually he wars with himself.

5. The significance of the surge toward the fake gold coins is that society’s rewards are false. While the contestants suffer humiliation in hopes for approval from society, they in turn receive only reminders of their desperation in seeking it; Society rewards submission with degradation.

6. IM says “social equality” instead of “social responsibility.” He makes this mistake because, subconsciously, this is what he really wants to say. He receives a scholarship to college and a new briefcase for his speech and academic achievements, and this comes to symbolize everything in his life that prevents him from defining his true identity and have kept him “running.” He places his scholarship, the coins from the broken bank, and his new identity with the Brotherhood all into the briefcase, things...