Invisible Man

Lesson 15
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ELA

Unit 1

12th Grade

Lesson 15 of 36

Objective


Analyze how the author develops the theme of racism in the North and the theme of identity in this chapter.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison  pp. 231 – 250

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Target Task


Multiple Choice

Which best describes the relationship between Chapter 1 and Chapter 11?

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Sample Response

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Writing Prompt

What is the purpose of the birth imagery in Chapter 11? What is the author’s message to the reader here about the narrator? Explain using evidence from the chapter.

Key Questions


  • p. 232: Where is the narrator? Why? How do you know? What portion of the Hero's Journey is this? How do you know?
  • p. 236: What are the doctors doing to him? What are they debating as they do? What does their tone reveal?
  • p. 237: Read the paragraphs from the middle of the page to the bottom. Re-read p. 27 of the Battle Royal. Compare the two passages. How are the events similar? Compare the narrator's reaction to the two situations. What does this tell us about the narrator's development?
  • p. 238: "Their meanings were lost in the vast whiteness in which I myself was lost." What is the literal meaning of this statement? What is the more metaphorical interpretation? How does this sentence and this scene develop the theme of racism?
  • "Left alone, I lay fretting over my identity."(p. 242)
  • p. 243: The doctors cut a cord that had been attached to the narrator's stomach. What does this symbolize? What other birth imagery is there in the chapter?
  • What is the author's purpose for the birth imagery? What is the underlying message?
  • p. 243: "When I discover who I am, I'll be free." How does this phrase, this chapter, this imagery contribute to the development of the theme of identity? Who is the narrator right now compared to who he was?

Notes


  • Before reading Chapter 11, review the major events of the homework reading. Why do the men at the meeting label him a "fink"? What do they mean by this? How does this scene reinforce the narrator's beliefs that "everyone seems to have some plan for me."?
  • How does his fight with Mr. Brockway further reinforce this belief?
  • Students can finish Chapter 11 for homework if necessary.

Next

Analyze the narrator’s internal conflict and be able to explain where he is in the Hero’s Journey stages.

Lesson 16
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