Hidden Treason: Aspects of the Protagonist's Action in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man

• Název v anglickém jazyce: Hidden Treason: Aspects of the Protagonist's Action in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
• Klíčová slova: Ralph Ellison, Afroamerická literatura, Občanská neposlušnost, Americký sen
• Klíčová slova anglicky: Ralph Ellison, African-American literature, Civil disobedience, American Dream
• Akademický rok vypsání: 2014/2015
• Typ práce: bakalářská práce
• Jazyk práce: angličtina
• Ústav: Ústav anglofonních literatur a kultur (21-UALK)
• Vedoucí / školitel: David Lee Robbins, Ph.D.
• Řešitel: skrytý - zadáno a potvrzeno stud. odd.
• Datum přihlášení: 27.05.2015
• Datum zadání: 27.05.2015
• Schválení administrátorem: zatím neschvalováno
• Datum potvrzení stud. oddělením: 02.06.2015
• Datum a čas obhajoby: 12.09.2016 08:30
• Datum odevzdání elektronické podoby: 13.08.2016
• Datum proběhlé obhajoby: 12.09.2016
• Odevzdaná/finalizovaná: odevzdaná studentem a finalizovaná
• Oponenti: Mgr. Pavla Veselá, Ph.D.

Zásady pro vypracování

From the very moment of its publication in 1952 Invisible Man by Ralph Waldo Ellison has been widely discussed by critics but, in my view, the Prologue did not receive due attention. In my thesis I am going to argue that it is exactly in the Prologue where the readers can see Invisible Man in full action, although he himself seems to overlook it even in the Epilogue, in which the protagonist is still uncertain about his future action. That is possible, for the tone of the whole novel suggests that the protagonist is not as insightful as he may think. Otherwise, if the Prologue is not there to show the readers that the protagonist is actually in full action, the purpose of the Prologue as a mere introductory piece seems to be redundant if one is to bear in mind that in the first paragraph of the first chapter the protagonist repeats the essential information of the Prologue, that is that he is invisible. In my thesis I am going to discuss the protagonist's action in the Prologue and how it serves the purpose of the entire novel, the key activity being the "fight against Monopolated Light & Power" which could be read on two levels: as straightforward civil disobedience and as symbolic artistic manifesto. The former concept is significant in the range of the whole novel and American tradition as well, and that would be closely scrutinized. The latter one was of great importance for Ellison himself as he agreed with Kenneth Burke who influenced his thought that art is action in itself.
After the nature of Invisible Man's activity would be discussed, I would proceed with its aims starting with the grandfather's advice which bore considerable influence on the protagonist's outlook. The fact that in the Prologue the advice is referred to only covertly makes it only more worthy of scrutiny, especially with the word "treason" showing up in the hallucination sequence — the word that appears not only in the advice but on several occasions in the novel, too. The question is what exactly that treason is against, and how Invisible Man participates in it, if he does, since in the end Invisible Man is all for democracy. In my thesis I am going to connect all these concepts and goals with the help of Invisible Man's action in the Prologue.

In the Introduction the main issue would be the Prologue, namely its function in the novel. Since in the first paragraph of the first chapter the narrator again tells the reader that he is invisible and it took him a long time to understand it — which plays an apparently sufficient introductory part,— the purpose of the Prologue becomes unclear. If one compares it with the Epilogue, the other part written underground, he or she would notice that the Epilogue is more of an essayistic piece whereas the Prologue describes the protagonist's life underground. The aim of this thesis would be to investigate that life in relation to action for which Invisible Man strove for a long time and for which, from his point of view, he still has to wait.
Chapter I would deal with the tangible side of Invisible Man's action — with his "fight against Monopolated Light & Power". In essence it may be read as an act of civil disobedience which can be seen in other parts of the novel as well. The nature of civil disobedience in American tradition would be discussed there as the only way for African Americans to claim their rights. Still, it is worth noting that Ellison himself did not consider his novel purely political.
In Chapter II the "fight against Monopolated Light & Power" would be read as a metaphor. Such concepts as Light and Power were crucial for the nineteenth century philosophy; and Invisible Man's remark that his hole was in the basement "shut off and forgotten during the nineteenth century" suggests that these philosophical concepts should be also taken into consideration. Even electricity may stand for eloquence, another important concept, which is bound with freedom in the words of the woman from Invisible Man's hallucination. The protagonist himself shows his great eloquence, and not only in his speeches but also in his writing. His book is a work of art, and art, according to Kenneth Burke who influenced Ellison, is actually action in itself which would be discussed in terms of the present novel.
Chapter III would start with evaluating the role of the grandfather's deathbed advice in the narrative. Although its meaning is more or less deciphered by the protagonist in the Epilogue, this part of the novel does not deal with the entire advice: it lefts out the rhetoric of treason and "the lion's mouth". In the Prologue the advice is but covertly mentioned; nevertheless it is exactly in this part of the narrative in which Invisible Man describes his environment which may be some creature's stomach, so to say, — a whale's, in fact. Hence it would be reasonable to investigate the treason part of the advice as well: in the whole space of the novel, in which the concept is often mentioned, and in Invisible Man's underground actions in particular. The main question is: What is Invisible Man's treason?
Chapter IV would deal with the concepts of novel and history. This particular novel may serve as a record of the previously unrecorded history (similarly to F. Douglass and his autobiography). Many characters in the book may be seen as being out of history due to their invisibility to the establishment. The most striking example of those are Tod Clifton and the so called zoot suits. Invisible Man himself eventually "plunges out of history" for a time being to write his memoires. Through writing down the previously unrecorded history he makes the reader consider everybody's humanity which is essential for democracy as a concept.
The Conclusion would start with developing of the sleepwalkers and dreaming imagery of the Prologue in connection to the American Dream being unattainable for the African-American community (as it can be clearly seen on the example of the Double V campaign). Essentially, it is the reader who should help Invisible Man out of his hole because, metaphorically speaking, Invisible Man was chased there by him. Invisible Man's action is in writing down his story and making the reader understand that "diversity is the word" and that personal responsibility for it, as well as for democracy, should be taken.

Seznam odborné literatury

Callahan, John F. "Chaos, Comlexity and Possibility: The Historical Frequencies of ralph Waldo Ellison". Black American Literature Forum 11.4 (1977): 130-138. JSTOR http://www.jstor.org/stable/3041648. 16 Jan 2015.
Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. London: Penguin Books, 1999.
Ellison, Ralph. Shadow and Act. New York: Vintage International, 1995.
Fabre, Genivieve, and O'Meally, Robert. History and Memory in African-American Culture. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. ProQuest ebrary. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/cuni/detail.action?docID=10087193. 18 Mar 2015.
Jarenski, Shelly. "Invisibility Embraced: The Abject as a Site of Agency in Ellison's Invisible Man". MELUS 35.4 (Winter, 2010): 85-109. JSTOR http://www.jstor.org/stable/25759559. 16 Jan 2015.
Kellner, Menachem Marc. "Democracy and Civil Disobedience". The Journal of Politics 37.4 (1975): 899-911. JSTOR http://www.jstor.org/stable/2129181. 21 Mar 2015.
O'Meally, Robert, ed. New Essays on The Invisible Man. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. 20 Mar 2015.
Peiss, Kathy. Zoot Suit: The Enigmatic Career of an Extreme Style. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011. ProQuest ebrary. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/cuni/detail.action?docID=10641566&p00=zoot+suit. 26 Apr 2015.
Pryse, Marjorie. "Ralph Ellison's Heroic Fugitive". American Literature 46.1 (Mar, 1974): 1-15. JSTOR http://www.jstor.org/stable/2924120. 16 Jan 2015.
Trimmer, Joseph F. "The Grandfather's Riddle in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man". Black American Literature Forum 12.2 (Summer, 1978): 46-50. JSTOR http://www.jstor.org/stable/3041594. 16 Jan 2015.