February Literary Analysis: Invisible Man
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3.  The narrator's frank and thoughtful tone allows for a more reflective edge to the story. It probably helps that he's telling his story from hibernation, allowing him to capture the truth to the moments in his life.
- "Everybody know i been here ever since there's been a here-even helped dig the first foundation. The Old Man hired me, nobody else; and, by God, it'll take the Old Man to fire me!"
- "Flags were fluttering in the breeze from each of a maze of buildings below the sign, and for a moment it was like watching some vast patriotic ceremony from a distance."
- "Suddenly i lay shaking with anger. It was no good. I thought of young Emerson. What if he'd lied out of some ulterior motive of his own?"
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1.      Imagery- “The plant was in Long Island, and I crossed a bridge in the fog to get there and came down in a stream of workers. Ahead of me a huge electric sign announced its message through the drifting strands of fog: Keep America Pure with Liberty Paints.”

Tone- “Everybody know I been here ever since there's been a here-even helped dig the first foundation. The Old Man hired me, nobody else; and, by God, it'll take the Old Man to fire me!"

Syntax- “They have a new racket around,” he said, twirling the match between his finger and thumb.”

Diction- “I came back. The voices still droned above me and I disliked them. Why didn’t they go away? Smug ones.”

Characterization- “I’m afraid my father considers me one of the unspeakables…. I’m Huckleberry, you see….”

Theme- His true identity, he realizes, is in fact invisible to those around him. Only by intentionally isolating himself from society can he grapple with and come to understand himself.

Symbolism- America would not be America without the contributions of black people. Taking another angle, the name "Liberty Paints" is ironic since it implies freedom for all, which is clearly not the experience of the narrator throughout this entire story.

Setting- The narrator is born and raised in the American South, only to wind up in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem, which is a major center of African-American culture.

Genre- Invisible Man is literary fiction because of its in-depth exploration of one man's psyche and its innovative style.

Style- A life-long lover of jazz, Ellison conceived of Invisible Man as jazz's literary equivalent.

Characterization

1.      The narrator is directly characterized and mistaken for a reverend, a pimp, a gambler, a fink, a unionist, a Southern Negro, a New York Negro, a rapist, a lover, a doctor, and a good singer. Mr. Norton is directly characterized as a wealthy white man who helped found the narrator's college, Mr. Norton is described by the narrator as a "symbol of the Great Traditions." Dr. Bledsoe is indirectly characterized as the president of the narrator's college, and the narrator looks up to him until he turns out to be a big phony. Brother Jack is indirectly characterized as a white male, he easily enters the narrator's life and offers him a ton of opportunities off the bat: money, a job, and the chance to represent his community.

2.      The author’s syntax and diction doesn’t change when the author is describing a character because his sentence structure is still multiple short sentences describing the character. The diction stays informal as well when he describes a character.

3.      The nameless narrator is a dynamic and round character because he never stays the same person. The title of the book is perfect for the protagonist because you never learn the narrator’s name or his identity which makes you doubt if the narrator know his own identity.

4.      By the time I finished the novel I didn’t feel like I just met a person in real life because I couldn’t really relate to his experiences. The narrator was treated terribly because of his race which doesn’t affect me because nowadays racism isn’t as common as it used to be during the time period when the novel was wrotten.