The Importance Of Names In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man

The narrator in Invisible Man is mistaken for a reverend, a pimp, a gambler, a fink, a unionist, a Southern Negro, a New York Negro, a rapist, a lover, a doctor, and a good singer. All are mistaken identities imposed upon him by the people he meets, but Ellison gives the reader all necessary information about IM’s identity through watching IM’s reactions and interactions with other characters in the book; he helps add to this by giving each character a symbolic name. THESIS- In Ralph Ellison’s novel, Invisible Man, his ironic and symbolic use of names reveals and hides true character and identity of the individuals in the novel, and IM’s interactions with these characters build his own identity; irony strings along throughout the book while
Halfway through the novel, and after meeting new characters and much personal development, IM questions himself, “what and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what I myself had wished to do?... I had never formed a personal attitude toward so much. I had accepted the accepted attitudes and it had made life seem simple” (13.265). At this point in the novel, the reader sees IM questioning paradigms he has accepted about who he is, he asks himself questions and focuses on what he has lost from his own point of view. He realizes that he “had never formed a personal attitude,” and simply “accepted the accepted attitudes.” This realization make him aware of the black man stereotype that he is carrying out, ignorant and controlled by the society around him. This is a turning point in the novel as IM starts on his quest to claim his own identity and attitude with direction and purpose, rather than accepting the ones expected of him. In the Prologue, he speaks from hindsight and shares his view with the reader, “I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer. ... I am nobody but myself. But first I had to discover that I am an invisible man!” (Prologue. 13). Ellison’s use of exclamation is rare, his emphasis shows the excitement and importance on his acceptance of his identity; as well as Ellison’s repetition of “I,” IM, for the first time, is turning to himself for the answers. Ellison gives the reader IM’s viewpoint as he is the narrator, he shares his thoughts and parts of his identity, while the other characters identities are presented by their symbolic names. The quote portrays this viewpoint change and IM finally taking responsibility