Transcending Gaze:On Identity Construction Of The Protagonist In Invisible Man

Invisible Man,a milestone in American literature,is the only novel by AfricanAmerican author Ralph Ellison(1914-1994)published within his lifetime.It uses firstperson perspective and flashbacks to tell the story of an unnamed,highly educated black man’s struggle for social acceptance in American society where racial discrimination still prevailed in the early 20 th century.Based on Foucault’s theory of gaze,the thesis investigates the identity of the protagonist in the book,focusing on the dialectic of gaze in the book to show the process of identity alienation under the violent power suppression of the gaze,and further analyzes the protagonist’s resistance to the gaze until he transcends the gaze,which will also provide some insights into the relationship between race,gender and class in real life.The thesis consists of three parts: introduction,body,and conclusion.The introduction briefly introduces the author’s life and the plot of his work,outlines the current state of research at home and abroad since the publication of the work,and sorts out the logical lines of the “gaze” in Foucault’s major works.The body includes three chapters.The first chapter deals with the manifestation of the power gaze.The protagonist is subordinated to the power gaze and suffers from “seeing and being seen” on the physical level and “not seeing and not being seen” on the spiritual level,causing the beginning of the identity crisis.The second chapter is the result of the power gaze.The protagonist internalizes the power gaze,identifying with those who have power and denying the past self,thus alienating his identity.The third chapter deals with the checks and balances of the power gaze.The protagonist is reminded and guided by the kind eyes of his ancestors and friends to resist and subvert the gaze,thus reshaping his identity and achieving self-construction.The conclusion ends the thesis by reiterating the identity theme of the text,confirming the significant influence of the power gaze on the construction of self-identity,and emphasizing the significance of Ellison’s writing of invisibility for ordinary people in real life.