invisible man ralph ellison chapter 7 summary

INVISIBLE MAN RALPH ELLISON CHAPTER 7 SUMMARY FULL

His memory of the prizefighter against the yokel is an important allegory he provides. Symbolically he runs from boxing ring to boxing ring, beginning with the battle royal (in the first chapter) and continuing through to his fight with the blond man. Yet, in the case of the blond man he fails as well and runs away in the dark as he will do time and time again during the novel. He plays the part of the tool or the puppet so many times that he is driven to bump strangers on the street, as in the case of the blond man, simply in order to recognize his own existence in their eyes. The other characters' perception of the narrator is skewed because they create a world in which the narrator is meant to fulfill their destinies and choices they never ask him for input or recognize his individuality. It is important to note that he is referring to the characters, such as Reverend Barbee, Brother Jack, and himself, who will appear throughout the novel in connection to blindness, real or imagined, and how this will be a commentary on their inner eye more than a physical illustration. In the narrator's description of what makes an invisible man, he points out that the fault lies in the beholder and is a problem with the construction of the beholder's inner eye. Until then, he blames society for his irresponsibility and admits to his own cowardice. His dreamlike state finds him asking a woman of his illusions what freedom is and her son telling him that he must learn it from himself.

He explains that when he smokes a reefer one day, the music takes on a new meaning and he sees into the spaces between time. By listening to Louis Armstrong, he hopes to feel his body vibrate and to become aware of a new sense of time. Music is another source through which he gains power in his lair. In this way, his hibernation will be warm and well lit and he will continue to be alive. Light is truth and vice versa, he claims. He resolves to cover even the floor of his underground hole with bulbs, out of spite and a desire to hold and control as much light as possible.

INVISIBLE MAN RALPH ELLISON CHAPTER 7 SUMMARY FULL

The narrator takes his revenge on society in silent, unsuspecting ways, such as stealing electricity from a power company by wiring his room full of light bulbs. The narrator then realized that the man does not see him as an individual and the narrator walked away laughing at the thought that the man was almost killed by a 'figment of his imagination'. He continued to attack the white man as long as the man refused to apologize and kept insulting him. He gives a more direct example by explaining how he almost killed a white man whom he bumped into on the street. They do not accept his reality and thus live as though they do not see him. He is invisible by virtue of how others react to him. He is not a ghost or a man with transparent skin.

He first describes what he means by invisible. Thus the twenty-five chapters which follow the Prologue explain to the reader the events which put the narrator underground where he currently living. It begins by acknowledging invisibility and proceeds to describe the state of the narrator's life as it will be after the final chapter but before the Epilogue. The Prologue is an introduction to the complex narration of how one man came to recognize his own invisibility.

Invisible man ralph ellison chapter 7 summary