From Invisibility To Visibility

This thesis deals with the major themes in the novel Invisible Man. The theme of invisibility reflected in this novel is a state that the narrator could not be accepted by the society. The society refuses to take him as a responsible integrity. Another major theme in the novel is the narrator's search for identity. The identity of the narrator is fluid, which is imposed by the white dominant society. The narrator is viewed from different perspectives, which makes his identity dynamic and interchangeable. The novel Invisible Man is also concerned with the pursuit of freedom. The narrator longs for the physical freedom, and spiritual freedom. For physical freedom, the narrator wants to act and move according to his own decisions. For spiritual freedom, the narrator is eager to be the soul of his own body. He is tired of cramming his minds with enforced ideas and concepts. The narrator hopes to hold his own ideas without the disturbances from the outside world. Ellison not only places this narrator within the African American's struggle for identity, he also makes all the human beings think about their own identities.