Invisible Man

Invisible Man Summary | Introduction Summary

Ralph Ellison attempts to explain the origins of this novel in the introduction. Ellison states that although the story takes place in a peacetime setting, it actually came out of another narrative that had been a war novel. In the summer of 1945, Ellison was on sick leave in Vermont when the story began revealing itself to him. Ellison describes working in a nice office in New York, and how no one really questioned his presence there. However, at home in his small apartment neighbors questioned his character for keeping strange hours. Ellison goes on to explain that his wife supported them with dependable income while he wrote.

The novel was written in Harlem, and Ellison used the voices, idioms and political concerns of those people with whom he shares a racial and cultural background - meaning African Americans. The original story Ellison was working on is about an African American pilot, who was taken hostage in a Nazi prisoner of war camp and who happens to be the highest-ranking American there. The main conflict of the story revolves around the racial tension this situation provides. Ellison goes on to describe that all wars are wars within wars for African Americans who have historically fought for the right to fight. Ellison recalls stories from African American soldiers while he was in the Merchant Marines, which address the issue of being equal in times of war but not during times of peace.

While Ellison was working on this story, he began understanding that there was a more complex underlying issue of the character's self-identity. Ellison tells of another story he wrote about another African American soldier being beat up by his fellow Americans, but then was greeted heroically by a group of Welshmen. Ellison begins hearing the voice of a narrator and dealing with the ideas of benign neglect and reverse discrimination. Meanwhile, Ellison is aware that despite these ideas, African Americans are really being kept in check and balance. Ellison describes whites as having a moral blindness to this situation, and therefore this leads to the concept of a character that is invisible. Ellison is aware that there needs to be an element of laughter in the narrator in order for there to be perseverance.

When Ellison sees an advertisement for a "Tom show," or showing of Uncle Tom's Cabin, he embraces the concept that history is a part of the present. Ellison begins noticing various experiences to use in this narrative. For example, Ellison uses his reporting of a riot in 1943 and details from church services and college ceremonies in his novel. Ellison also realizes that with the help of art, even war could be transformed into something deeper. Ellison becomes aware that the idea of invisibility is deep within the American culture.

Ellison tries to keep working on his original novel, and meanwhile tries to conceive of a character that could be a part of the American culture and experience the human condition. Ellison begins realizing that the character should be young, powerless and ambitious for leadership, but doomed to failure. Giving the character intellectual depth was a struggle for Ellison. However, Ellison realizes that art and democracy can combine to be a raft of hope and draws upon the basic concept that every citizen could ideally become president. Ellison realizes the need for a narrator who can think as well as act. Ellison then had to overcome the task of understanding that there are human universals, but that racial stereotypes exist as well.

Ellison describes enjoying the act of writing this novel and drawing upon the African American culture of storytelling and folktales. Ellison also comments that the words of the prologue contain the ending. It is also important to note that this introduction was written thirty years after the original publication of the novel.