A Study of Symbolism in Invisible Man

Abstract

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is recognized as a monumental work of black American literature both at home and abroad, and has an undeniable place in the history of American literature. "Invisible man", is a young black American who is eager to explore and prove himself. The book describes the process of his transformation from blindly worshipping white Americans to seeing the essence of white people, from being physically invisible to being psychologically invisible. Thus, further exposing the long-standing problem of racial discrimination in the United States and various anomalies in American society. In fact, every description in the novel is more than a simple narration of characters and scenes; they all contain profound symbolic meanings. This paper analyzes and summarizes the symbolism in Invisible Man by analyzing static symbols such as color, character, objects, and music, as well as dynamic symbols such as speech, behavior, and vision, in order to further elaborate the role of symbolism in Invisible Man in promoting the theme of the text.