Invisible Man deals with racism and finding one's place in society. An idea I find interesting is that the author doesn't name his main character. I think he does this to show that the Invisible Man could be anybody and that anyone can relate to him. It also shows the readers that the author is talking about the black race as a whole rather than one specific identity.
-Karissa C.
Karissa,
ReplyDeleteI wrote my reading responese on the same topic. The fact that the author never gives a name to the Invisible Man further suports the fact that he actually feels and thinks he is invisible to society. It seems like the book is narrorated to be like an autobiography although it his present life.
-Amanda C.
Maybe the protagonist does not ahve a name because he is you. (And me and her and ...)Really, isn't the invisibility he feels something we all feel in the modern world to some degree? If he is invisible, aren't we all?
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of why he feels invisible is due to the fact that he failed to make lasting connections in his life, at least with people who deserved it.In the beginning of the novel, he had a lot of respect for Dr. Blesdoe, until he realized that he could not be trusted (which he discovered far too late) and that he was only concerned with his own personal gain. He goes into having the operation without having anyone to be there for him, and leaves even more disenfranchised from society and that may be why he feels invisible.
ReplyDeleteKarissa,
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying about the reasons that the author does not give his character a name. I feel that a name would allow readers to distance themselves from a character if they do not like what they are reading. However, the ambiguity of the character's identity allows readers to fill in the identity with themselves, thus the lack of a name is more impactful this way.
- Geena