Abstract

Invisible Man, written by Ralph Waldo Ellison, a famous black writer, is a distinguished novel about an African-American’s struggling in the tough and adverse society, from blindness to vision, from darkness to light and from losing to identifying himself. Ellison told us about the black people how to recognize himself and fight with racial discrimination. In this thesis, by analyzing the symbols, I will demonstrate how the symbols contribute to the theme. With the analysis of the symbols in the novel, we can see the social phenomenon and its characteristics of America, and we can get a better understanding of western culture.
Key words: Invisible Man, African-American, symbols
Contents
1.Introduction.1
2.Demonstration2
2.1 Invisible Symbols2
2.1.1 Characterization.2
2.1.2 Identity3
2.1.3 Damage5
2.1.4 Significance of the Invisible Symbols6
2.2 Visible Symbols7
2.2.1 Eyes.7
2.2.2 Dolls8
2.2.3 Colors10
2.2.4 Significance of the Visible Symbols.11
3.Conclusion12
Works Cited13
Bibliography14