Invisible Man

Lesson 27
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ELA

Unit 1

12th Grade

Lesson 27 of 36

Objective


Explain how the author uses diction and other techniques to foreshadow the events of the chapter.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison  pp. 399 – 422

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Target Task


Writing Prompt

What event does the author foreshadow from the beginning of the chapter? Explain your answer with specific techniques used by the author.

How does the author use this event to develop one of the major themes of the novel? Explain using evidence from the text.

Key Questions


  • The narrator is about to do something that will cause him trouble. At what point do you, the reader, realize what kind of trouble he is headed for? When does he? How does the author let the reader know? (diction to describe the woman: feminine fertility, sensuous, striking, etc.; narrator's choices and actions: goes to her house, agrees to drink wine rather than coffee, etc.; woman's words: "throbbing vitality," naked power, primitive, etc.; his thoughts: "I'd get the hell out of here")
  • p. 418: The woman's husband comes home and looks into her bedroom. How does he react? How is this both surprising and very different from what one would expect his response to be? How does it develop the theme of invisibility?
  • The woman had claimed to be interested in the Brotherhood. What was she actually interested in? How does this develop the theme of invisibility and/or racism in the North? Explain using evidence.

Notes


Students will need to read to the top of p. 418 in order to answer the Target Task questions. The remaining pages of the chapter can be read for homework.

Next

Explain how the author builds suspense in Chapter 20.

Lesson 28
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