The Duality of the Narrator's Personality

From the inception of the novel, Ralph Ellison presents the narrator with two identities. The first, one of oppressed invisibility, evokes feelings of sympathy from the reader. The second, one of violent rebellion, convincingly urges the reader to reconsider the feelings of initial sympathy for the narrator. These two depictions of the narrator perplex the readers, as we are left puzzled at both the identity and the role of the narrator within society.

In the very first paragraph of the novel, the narrator begins the novel with the declaration: "I am an invisible man." The reader immediately starts to sympathize with the narrator as he goes on to use the words "spook" and "haunted" (3). These words accentuate the gloomy aura of oppression that surround the narrator. As the paragraph continues, Ellison juxtaposes "flesh and bone," "fiber and liquids," and "mind and invisible" (3). These pairings emphasize the narrator's desire to be viewed as a functioning entity of society. Additionally, the contrast between the tangible mind and the invisible nature of the narrator further evoke feelings of sympathy and compassion from the reader. Additionally, the narrator writes: "I am invisibile, understand, simply because people refuse to see me." Society's denial of the narrator's right to be recognized furthers this image of oppressiveness and engenders deeper feelings of compassion in the reader's mind. The narrator continues to appeal to the reader's sympathy as Ellison uses the similie,"like the bodiless heads" and "circus shadows," to describe the extent of the narrator's physical and emotional invisibility (3). This gruesome similie serves to highlight the isolation of the narrator from the rest of society as a freakish pariah. The reader certainly feels sympathy towards the narrator because of Ellison's depiction of the narrator as an oppressed outcast of society. The narrator also describes his oppressed isolation from society as "wearing on the nerves" (3). This indelible image of endurance highlights the physical and emotional fortitude the narrator utilizes as he continues to struggle with his identity. By the end of the first paragraph of the novel, the reader immediately starts to sympathize with the narrator's condition.

On the very next page, Ellison creates a stark contrast from the preceding page by portraying the narrator as violent and vengeful. Ellison describes the narrator's frustration: "I sprang at him, seized his coat lapels and demanded that he apologize" (4). The tricolon crescens of "sprang," "seized," and "demanded," emphasizes the narrator's indignation at the man's insulting remark. Indeed, the narrator feels that the "tall blond man" "insolently" glared at the narrator while cursing him. Instead of sympathizing with the narrator, the reader now begins to reevaluate the image of oppressed invisibility on the preceding page. Although the narrator proclaims that he is "invisible," he comes out from his shell of invisibility and starts to attack the white man. Ellison emphasizes the nature of the attack with the anastrophe "breath hot," the juxtaposition of "flesh tear and the blood gush out," and the vehement declarations of "Apologize! Apologize" (4)! These phrases illustrate the narrator's utter frustration at the white man's remarks. The image of the man "profusely bleeding" and the narrator "kicked him repeatedly, in a frenzy," accentuates the violent nature of the narrator's response to the white man's remarks. The oppressed, demure narrator of the preceding page vanishes in this bloody showdown between the black narrator and the white man. Ellison portrays the narrator's contrasting personality by affirming the narrator's joy at obtaining revenge: "Oh yes, I kicked him! And in my outrage I got out my knife and prepared to slit his throat" (4). The narrator's violent joy at seeking revenge muddles the reader's previous compassion towards the narrator.

Thus, Ellison portrays the narrator as both oppressed and violently vindictive. He juxtaposes these two depictions on the first two pages of the novel to create a duality within the personality of the narrator. This duality would certainly be an interesting topic to pursue in a paper on the novel. Indeed, the narrator's contrasting personality galvanizes the reader to question the narrator's role in society. From what we have read thus far, we are left puzzled by not only Ellison's portrayal of the narrator, but also his general portrayal of African Americans.