| Pub. Date | : Jun, 2019 |
|---|---|
| Product Name | : The IUP Journal of English Studies |
| Product Type | : Article |
| Product Code | : IJES21906 |
| Author Name | : Nibir K Ghosh |
| Availability | : YES |
| Subject/Domain | : English Studies |
| Download Format | : PDF Format |
| No. of Pages | : 11 |
Beginning with the complexities created by the color line in the racial discourse of the world’s most powerful democracy, the USA, the paper brings into bold relief the significance of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man in the pantheon of African American writings. It offers a kaleidoscopic vision into the major historical landmarks that shaped the racial experience in America. The nameless black narrator, in his journey towards self-discovery, realizes he is invisible not because people cannot see him but because they refuse to see him. He is treated not as a human being but simply as a natural resource for the benefit and convenience of the white man. Unlike the overtly militant Bigger Thomas in Richard Wright’s Native Son, the narrator in Ellison’s novel accepts and affirms that even an invisible man has a “socially responsible” role to play. Rather than indulging in a politics of retreat, he prefers the stance of the politics of affirmation to assert his own identity and existence. By exploring all the significant aspects of the racial confrontation and by looking for a tangible solution to bring about a black-white interface, Ellison has produced through Invisible Man a state of mind from where one can begin to understand the “American Dilemma” better than ever before.
The white man comes to the wide and roaring river; he jumps on the black
man’s back and shouts to him, “Swim!” The black man toils and finally reaches
the far bank, exhausted; his hand reaches up for recompense, but the white
man is indignant. “Without me,” he says, “you would never have crossed the
river.” (Caute 1970)
When people like me, they tell me it is in spite of my color. When they dislike
me they point out that it is not because of my color. Either way, I am locked into
the infernal cycle. (Fanon 1967, 116)