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African American Narrative In Ralph Ellison's The Invisible Man

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African American Narrative In Ralph Ellison's The Invisible Man
Baker, A. Houston, Jr., Blues, Ideology, and Afro American Literature, The University of Chicago Press, 1984 Baker’s book discusses many novels that relate to the African American narrative in depth. He discusses the themes and motives used in these literary works as well as how they pertain to the struggles of the black american. Baker writes about the different writing techniques and motives that black writers used to convey their message. A central point of this work is that the “blues voice” as well as the economic undertones that come with it are significant to the American narrative as a whole. Baker’s other central point of the work is that Blues is a combination of traditional and modern responses to the hardships Black Americans …show more content…
The narrator lives underground, steals electricity, and listens to jazz records in his humble dwelling, choosing to remain underground so he can document his life story. The narrator chronicles his experience as a black man living in America, and his internal conflict between his desire to succeed in the world of the white man, and his desire to stand with his people. The narrator gets involved with a political organization called the brotherhood, and becomes a well respected speaker. Eventually, The narrator is betrayed by the organization and has a desire for revenge. He plans to undermine the brotherhood by appearing to comply with them until he is able to destroy the group from the inside. The Narrator gets involved in a massive riot in harlem, and he eventually escapes down a manhole when he is pursued by Ras, the leader of a black nationalist group, and the police. The narrator says that he has remained underground since, but he reveals that now he is comfortable enough to come …show more content…
Early’s writing is direct yet easy to understand, and allows the reader to truly grasp the significance of Jazz music. This article is immensely useful and relevant because it provides not only the history behind the Jazz art form but the cultural impact it has on american culture. The article also speaks about how Jazz music was the epitome of black creativity in America, which is very relevant to the topic at hand of how the Black narrative is woven into this style of

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