Abstract

Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man was highly praised as “an epoch-making novel” and “an epic of modern American Negro life”. This is not only because of the profound significance of the novel’s themes, but also due to the rich and dedicate use of writing techniques in it. Especially, the ubiquitous symbolism has great originality in Invisible Man. Most of the previous studies are restricted to the systematic analysis of symbolic significance or the function of symbolism to reveal themes. However, few scholars continue to dig deeper into contemporary meanings of this novel. By analyzing the novel and synthesizing the researches at home and abroad, this thesis will make use of symbolism to explore the symbols in Invisible Man: “invisible”, eating backing yams, letters and briefcase. These symbols respectively refer to the protagonist’s awakened identity, acceptance of his cultural identity, barriers during searching for identity and a clue to the shift of the hero’s identity consciousness, which serves for deepening the extraordinarily predictive theme of pursuing identity in the novel. In the process of dealing with symbolism, the protagonist’s spiritual journey of searching for identity has an important enlightening significance for contemporary youth to realize their own values and look for a truly identifiable self-style in a multi-cultural society.

Keywords: Symbolism; Invisible Man; pursuit of identity; contemporary youth; inspiration

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 Background Information-1

1.2.1 Study on Invisible Man at Home-2

1.2.2 Study on Invisible Man Abroad-3

1.2.3 Research Problems-4

2. Theoretical Frame-5

2.1 Introduction to Symbolism-5

2.2 Function of Symbolism in Novels-6

3. Symbols in Invisible Man Highlighting the Theme of Pursuit of Identity-7

3.1 From "Visible" to "Invisible": Awakened Identity-7

3.2 Eating Baking Yams: Acceptance of One's Cultural Identity-8

3.3 Envelope: Barriers during Searching for Identity-9

3.4 Briefcase: A Clue to the Shift of Identity Consciousness-10

3.5 Summary-12

4. Reflection and Inspiration for Contemporary Youth-13

4.1 Searching for Identity -- Determining One’s Own Value-13

4.2 Looking for a Truly Identifiable Self-style in a Multi-cultural Society-13

5. Conclusion-15

References-16