Invisible Man: Prologue

Where was the novel written?

• Harlem.

• New York.

• Georgia.

• Vermont

According to Ellison, which of the following is important for perseverance?

• Tolerance.

• Laughter.

• Determination.

• Courage.

The narrator considers himself an invisible man because--------------.

• people refuse to see him with their inner eyes.

• people subconsciously ignore him.

• people can't see him.

• people don't understand him.

An unnamed narrator introduces himself as an "invisible man." He say that he is a real man of flesh and bone, and that he possesses a mind. This summary reflects which of the themes discussed?

• Race and Racism

• Identity and Invisibility

• Dreams and Unconscious

• Ambition and Disillusionment

The narrator recounts an anecdote about bumping in to a white man who cursed at him. Enraged, the narrator attacks him. The narrator realizes that the man doesn't even see him and that he is a nightmare to the man. This is an example of all the themes except?

• Race and Racism

• Identity and Invisibility

• Ambition and Disillusiment

• Power and Self-Interest

The Narrator elaborates on his own invisibility. He indicates that it is not a physical defect of his own, but rather a mistake of the inner eye of others. This summary is an example of the theme of?

• Ambition and Disillusionment

• Identity and Invisibility

• Confessions, Revenge, and Forgiveness

• Overlapping Opposites

The narrator notes that most of his action now is done softly, to not awaken the sleeping. In this way, he siphons off power from the electric company, using it to light his hideout for free. He tells us that he lives in a forgotten section of the basement of a whites-only building. He calls his home a “hole,” and compares himself to a bear in hibernation. This is an example of all the themes except ___?

• Race and Racism

• Identity and Invisibility

• Power and Self-Interest

• Dreams and the Unconscious

The narrator has lined every surface of his apartment with light bulbs to consume as much energy as possible. He says he needs the light because he is invisible, and that it “confirms my reality.” When he is alone, the narrator listens to Louis Armstrong, who has “made poetry out of being invisible.” This is and example of which theme?

• Power and self-Identity

• Dreams and the Unconscious

• Ambition and Disillusionment

• Confessions, Revenge, and Forgiveness

The narrator recounts an episode of listening to Louis Armstrong. He is accidentally given marijuana instead of a cigarette one night, and smokes it at home while he listens to music. The experience triggers a vision, where the narrator finds himself “hearing not only in time, but in space as well.” He is drawn down into the dream of the music.

This an example of which theme?

• Identity and Invisibility

• Power and Self-Interest

• Dreams and the Unconscious

• Ambitions and Disillusionment

In the vision, the narrator hears an old woman singing a spiritual, and then sees a fair-skinned woman being bid over by slave-owners. He then hears a passionate sermon being preached on the “Blackness of Blackness,” complete with call and response. The preacher emphasizes that black is “bloody” and that the sun is “bloody red.”

This is a reflection of which theme?

• Race and Racism

• Identity and Invisibility

• Power and Self-Interest

• Ambition and Disillusionment