Invisible Man Essay: Shedding Fear -- Invisible Man Essays

Shedding Fear in Invisible Man Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison explores the issues of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness done the protagonist Invisible Man. Invisible Man is not giving a name. Ellison explores how unalienable rights cannot be harbored without freedom from the obstacles in life - especially from ones own fears. several(prenominal) major characters affect the protagonist. One of the major characters is Dr. Bledsoe, who is the president of the school. Dr. Bledsoe had a major effect on the main character, because the friend idolizes him. He was every thing that I hope to be, (Ellison 99), but the Dr. Bledsoe degrades him when we says Why, the dumbest black bastard in the cotton patch knows that the only way to please a white man is to tell him a lie (Emerson 137) and calls him a Nigger. In addition, the athletic supporter grandfather had a major effect on him. The Protagonists grandfather last word, Live in the Lions mouth (Ellison 16) has a lasting ef fect on him throughout most of the novel. Finally and most important, Ras the Destroyer, whom the Protagonist fears whom along with Dr. Bledsoe in a separate encountering calls him a better fool (Ellison 140). The first encounter of the Protagonist own fears is introduce when his grandfather s tells the Protagonist to go against the white man by overcome em with yeses (Emerson 16). These words haunts the Protagonist when he is kicked out getting kicked out of college. When Dr. Bledsoe kicks him out of college, the Protagonist reflects on his grandfather last words undermine em with grins, agree em to death(Emerson 16). For a moment, the Protagonist wonders if his grandfather might be right. Howev... ...ld not let him rest. He states that Im an invisible man and it placed me in a hole- or showed me the hole I was in.(Ellison Epilogue). This is an effective metaphor, because that is where life left him. As stated by a German Philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, A snake that does not shed its skin will reach. The Protagonist realized he must shed his metaphorical skin of fear and denial of world a Negro in order to obtain his unalienable which are rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The freedom he obtains through shedding his skin is that he knows he is free to be himself without the fear of not being accepted. Works Cited Ellison, Ralph. The Invisible Man. New York, Vintage Books Latu, Susan. School Web Site. 1998. Phillips, Elizabeth C. Monarch Notes Ralph Ellison Invisible Man. New York, Monarch