Rebecca Crown Library wiki / LAS Freshmen

FRESHMEN SEMINAR

Invisible Man

By: Ralph Ellison

This is a guide to assist in the reading of the text, Invisible Man. Below you will find links about the author, the text, the themes presented in the novel and interpretations of those themes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Articles:

BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG SPEECHES. By: Boyagoda, Randy. Harper's Magazine, May2007, Vol. 314 Issue 1884, p93-98, 5p, 1bw; (AN 24704716)

I N THE TERRITORY. By: Als, Hilton. New Yorker, 5/7/2007, Vol. 83 Issue 11, p74-80, 6p; (AN 24930086)

One-Hit Wonder. By: Yaffe, David. Chronicle of Higher Education, 7/27/2007, Vol. 53 Issue 47, p54-54, 1p; (AN 25941082)

VOICES OF HARLEM: The Ralph Ellison STORY. By: Taylor, David. Scholastic Scope, 2/23/2004, Vol. 52 Issue 13, p4-9, 6p, 1c, 4bw; (AN 12254776)

Books:

Ralph Ellison and the raft of hope : a political companion to Invisible man /

Author: Morel, Lucas E.,

Publication: Lexington : University Press of Kentucky, 2004

Ralph Ellison : a biography /

Author: Rampersad, Arnold. Publication: New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2007

The Cambridge companion to Ralph Ellison /

Author: Posnock, Ross. Publication: Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2005

Invisible Man notes, including life of Ellison, critical commentaries, character analyses, Invisible man and Conrad's Heart of darkness, review questions, selected bibliography /

Author: Inness, Jeanne, 1939-; Roberts, James Lamar,

Publication: Lincoln, Neb. : Cliffs Notes, 1969

Video/ DVD:

Ralph Ellison: An American Journey (DVD)

REVIEWS OF THE NOVEL

Jim Trueblood and His Critic-Readers: Ralph Ellison's Rhetoric of Dramatic Irony and Tall Humor in the Mid-Century American Literary Public Sphere. By: Johns, Gillian. Texas Studies in Literature & Language, Fall2007, Vol. 49 Issue 3, p230-264, 35p; (AN 26378619)

CRITICISMS AND INTERPRETATIONS

Articles (listed with themes):

Theme: “politics as intrinsic aspect of the self”

Acknowledging Invisibility: The Avoidance of Self and Other in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. By: Almachar, Elmer. Conference Papers -- Western Political Science Association, 2005 Annual Meeting, Austin, TX, p1, 36p; (AN 18604279)

Theme: Relations of science, technology, and race

An Afrofuturist Reading of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. By: Yaszek, Lisa. Rethinking History, Jun2005, Vol. 9 Issue 2/3, p297-313, 17p; DOI: 10.1080/13642520500149202; (AN 17628456)

Theme: Chapter 3 and the character of Supercargo

Ellison's 'Invisible Man' By: Benson, Larry. Explicator, Spring2000, Vol. 58 Issue 3, p164, 2/3p; (AN 3318910)

Theme: Analyzes the use of photographs/ blindness/ The Brotherhood

Ellison's INVISIBLE MAN. By: Thomas, J. D.. Explicator, Fall2006, Vol. 65 Issue 1, p42-44, 3p; (AN 23653925)

Theme: Social radicalism and individual freedom

"Invisible Man" and African American Radicalism in World War II. By: Hobson, Christopher Z.. African American Review, Sep2005, Vol. 39 Issue 3, p355-376, 22p; (AN 19204885)

Theme: Cultural concerns that shaped the novel

Ralph Ellison and the Problem of Cultural Authority. By: Warren, Kenneth W.. boundary 2, Summer2003, Vol. 30 Issue 2, p157, 18p; (AN 10388676)

Theme: Race and identity

Ralph Ellison is an 'American Master' on PBS. New York Amsterdam News, 2/14/2002, Vol. 93 Issue 7, p26, 2p, 1bw; (AN 10242220)

Theme: Race, freedom, and the unconscious

RALPH ELLISON'S SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION. By: Doane, Randal. Sociological Quarterly, Winter2004, Vol. 45 Issue 1, p161-184, 24p; (AN 12546872)

Theme: Individualism

Saying yes and saying no: Individualist ethics in Ellison, Burke, and Emerson. By: Albrecht, James M.. PMLA: Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, Jan99, Vol. 114 Issue 1, p46, 18p; (AN 1422743)

Theme: Typography and punctuation used in the novel to evoke/ express emotion

The Blackness of Blackness … Reading the Typography of Invisible Man. By: DeVere Brody, Jennifer. Theatre Journal, Dec2005, Vol. 57 Issue 4, p679-698, 20p; (AN 20215297)

Theme: Discourse of identity, discourse of individuals

Toward a Critical Genealogy of the U.S. Discourse of Identity: Invisible Man after Fifty Years. By: Arac, Jonathan. boundary 2, Summer2003, Vol. 30 Issue 2, p195, 22p; (AN 10388695)

Books (listed with themes; books with a * denote that it is available at Rebecca Crown Library):

Theme: various criticisms*

Twentieth century interpretations of Invisible man; a collection of critical essays.

Author: Reilly, John M. comp.

Publication: Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall 1970

Theme: various criticisms*

Ralph Ellison; a collection of critical essays,

Author: Hersey, John, 1914-1993, comp.