Invisible Man

The main character of this book is an unnamed black man who, at the start of the book, considers himself to be nothing but a stereotype and therefore socially invisible. He hides himself away from society. The narrator goes on to describe and try to make some sense from the events in his life which lead to his self-inflicted imprisonment. This is an intelligent novel and the author makes...more

The main character of this book is an unnamed black man who, at the start of the book, considers himself to be nothing but a stereotype and therefore socially invisible. He hides himself away from society. The narrator goes on to describe and try to make some sense from the events in his life which lead to his self-inflicted imprisonment. This is an intelligent novel and the author makes great use of metaphor and imagery to bring to life social issues facing African Americans in the early 20th century, reformist ideologies of the time and most importantly, personal identity. My favorite section of the book is where the narrator dresses in a disguise and is over and over again mistaken for a man named Rinehart. But just who is Rinehart? The lover, the gambler, the reverend? Rinehart seems to be a man of many identities, at the cost of losing his own. The narrator becomes disillusioned with his life and realizes that he has lost his own identity.   hide