Metaphor Essay, Research Paper

The novel, The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, opens with the nameless narrator hearing the last words of his dying grandfather. Throughout the rest of the novel, the messages from his grandfather are omnipresent. They foreshadow his downfalls in the future. He is convinced by his parents to ignore his grandfather?s words of wisdom by his parents, but his grandfather is right in the end. INSERT TEXT HERE. The narrator is not only a black man, but a black sheep.

The narrator sees his education as his hope for the future. When he looks in the briefcase given to him by the superintendent he sees something. “It was a scholarship to the state college for Negroes. My eyes filled with tears and I ran awkwardly on the floor.” The narrator could now afford to take his education further. Education is so important to the narrator because it raises his status above the other blacks, but when he tried to use the education he faltered. He feels as if he will be able to contribute so much to the world when he receives this scholarship from the superintendent. This gives the narrator a hope for the future.

Towards the end of the novel, the narrator begins to realize the truth about his life. “I was and yet I was invisible, that was the fundamental contradiction. I was and yet I was unseen. It was frightening and as I sat there I sensed another frightening world of possibilities.”