Aside from the unusual plotline and extremely decriptive syntax, Elison's Invisible Man seems unique due to the unexpected level of reality expressed in the text. The lack of euphemisms used in recounting events and describing scenes impresses me particularly because it establishes a sense of authenticity in illuminating racial tensions in the 1940s-50s. Ellison's use of the phrase "slave-quarter" on p102 serves as a perfect example.
"But I drove him where he wanted to go, sir"
"Where was that?"
"Back of the slave-quarter section," I said with dread
"The quarters! Boy, are you a fool? Didn't you know better than to take a trustee out there?"
Ellison uses the term "slave-quarter" to present a pessimistic but authentic view of the area to which the invisible man brought Mr. Norton. Not only did the area previously serve as slave quarters, but due to the poor conditions and low standard of living, it still remains as such. While "the quarters" are not literal slave quarters, they illuminate the level of racism in society present in the 1950s. The conversation in general serves the same purpose as well, implying that black Americans do not feel comfortable exposing white America to the many horrors present in the black community. The pure authenticity present in Invisible Man shows that most race relations in the 1950s involved nothing more than separation and a desire to gain an advantage. Elison's portrayal presents a real view of society to bring attention to the flaws within it.
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I agree with you that in this novel Ellison portrays the separation of the African American race in the post-slavery era. I also think it's important to detail that Ellison's specific use of "slave quarters" is most likely a reference to the fact that many African Americans once freed were placed into another form of "debt" slavery as sharecroppers. Therefore although they are no longer "slave quarters" in the area, the people living there are still under the control of white people whether as sharecroppers or in their inability to afford education. The separation between those African Americans attempting to use their freedom to "move up" through colleges and jobs, and those who comfortably partake in slavery is an accurate depiction of the struggles which the African American race faced in the racist times of the early twentieth century. Ultimately just as the white people had done in the boxing match, in reality the consequences of slavery created a post-slavery era where although the black race was freed they were also divided so as to keep them from ever uniting and achieving freedom and equality.
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