Abstract:Invisible Man is Ralph Ellison’s first novel and the only one that appeared when he was alive. When it first appeared in 1953, the novel provoked strong reaction in the literary field of America and also the American society. The novel won National Book Award in 1956, which made the book a masterpiece in American literature. It is a story of a nameless young black man who suffers a lot in the society with severe racial discrimination and he fights really hard to find his own culture and identity. The novel becomes more attractive and meaningful by using various identical symbols. My paper, hence, aims at revealing the application of symbolism in this novel and exploring Ralph’s incredible writing techniques by analyzing the typical symbols such as colors, objects, words and music. With the application of symbolism, on one hand, the author tells us about the growth of the protagonist, and on the other hand, he shows much concern on the mental plight of all individuals in the modern society.

Key words: symbolism; racial discrimination; blues; mental plight

CONTENTS

摘要

Abstract

1. Introduction1 

  1.1 Introduction to Ralph Ellison and Invisible Man

  1.2 Introduction to Symbol and Symbolism

2. Symbolism in Invisible Man…………3

  2.1 Symbolism of Colors: White and Black

  2.2 Symbolism of Objects 

     2.2.1 The Eyes

     2.2.2 The Recommendation Letter

     2.2.3 The Chains

  2.3 Symbolism of Words

     2.3.1 Grandfather's Words

     2.3.2 The Old Woman’s Words  

  2.4 Symbolism of Actions

     2.4.1 Symbol of Flying

     2.4.2 Eating Baking Yam

  2.5 Symbolism of Music: Blues

3. Conclusion9

Bibliography…………………………………………………………….………….10

Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………….11