Video: The Great American Novel Series: Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)

National Association of Scholars

In 1952, Ralph Ellison published Invisible Man, a masterwork of fiction that follows its unnamed narrator through his travails first as a student at an all-black college, where he is expelled; then as a worker at a paint factory, where he causes an explosion and is sent to a mental hospital; and then through his involvement with a black nationalist faction in Harlem. Influenced by the likes of Hemingway, Faulkner, and Eliot, Ellison’s novel defies easy characterization or classification. Yet it continually makes lists of the greatest American novels. What is it about Invisible Man that resonated so strongly with readers of its day, and now?

This event featured Wight Martindale, member of the National Association of Scholars Board of Directors, Herbert William Rice, Professor of English at Kennesaw State University;  and Mark Shiffman, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Classical Studies and Social and Political Theory at Villanova University. The discussion was be moderated by NAS Director of Research David Randall.

  • Share

Most Commented

February 13, 2024

1.

The Great Academic Divorce with China

All signs show that American education is beginning a long and painful divorce with the People’s Republic of China. But will academia go through with it?...

January 24, 2024

2.

After Claudine

The idea has caught on that the radical left overplayed its hand in DEI and is now vulnerable to those of us who seek major reforms. This is not, however, the first time that the a......

February 2, 2024

3.

Tribalism or Individualism?

The most immediate work of conservatives must be the rejection of tribalism and a refocus on the individual—individual character, industry, and aptitude....

Most Read

May 15, 2015

1.

Where Did We Get the Idea That Only White People Can Be Racist?

A look at the double standard that has arisen regarding racism, illustrated recently by the reaction to a black professor's biased comments on Twitter....

October 12, 2010

2.

Ask a Scholar: What is the True Definition of Latino?

What does it mean to be Latino? Are only Latin American people Latino, or does the term apply to anyone whose language derived from Latin?...

September 21, 2010

3.

Ask a Scholar: What Does YHWH Elohim Mean?

A reader asks, "If Elohim refers to multiple 'gods,' then Yhwh Elohim really means Lord of Gods...the one of many, right?" A Hebrew expert answers....