Invisible Man, written by Ralph Ellison, is a very interesting story. In the reading we were given, there seemed to be a lot going on with the narrator. Not knowing information at all and jumping into the last five pages, there were some things that were very clear and some that were confusing. It was very clear that the narrator was trying to escape something or someone and his name was not known What was very interesting was the narrator’s attachment to his briefcase and what he did with the papers inside of it. Before the narrator jumped into the black hole, he was very hesitant of giving anyone his briefcase, but when he was inside, he burned it to make light.

What it seems like Ellison is trying to show the reader through the narrator’s actions is the struggles African Americans had during this time period. In this time period, African Americans were segregated from whites and were not seen as equals. Throughout this time, African Americans were not really seen as humans and did not get any respect. The narrator of the story was only mentioned as “he” or “the black man”. This represents the racism that was going on during this time. In addition, Ellison is trying to show the narrators wanting to forget his past life and wants to live without segregation.