The Destructive Impact of Racism on African Americans in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man

Abstract

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man offers a deep and insightful look at the unfairness and racial injustices that African Americans suffered in the middle of the twentieth century. It has the power to make the reader uncomfortable. It serves up a potent and inescapable critique of the systemic racism that saturates our society. It painfully illustrates the many and varied ways that this racism impinges on the lives of individuals in both psychological and social spheres. The destructive influence of racism on African Americans is the focus of this paper. Ellison's work serves as the basis for understanding and exploring this influence. The journey of the work's protagonist allows for a close look at the nearly overwhelming oppression of African Americans throughout our nation's history. Indeed, the forces of racism—the nearly unassailable barriers to African American identity, agency, and community—form the heart of the novel's narrative and the center of its pervasive theme. The next sections of this paper will discuss African Americans' invisibility as a metaphor for their marginalization. It will illustrate through Ellison's narrative how increasingly important it is for society to understand and recognize the characters' humanity, especially given how racially divided our society has become.