Invisible Man

Lesson 34
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ELA

Unit 1

12th Grade

Lesson 34 of 36

Objective


Analyze this scene as the Supreme Ordeal of the narrator’s journey and explain his Reward.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison  pp. 556 – 570

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Target Task


Multiple Choice

The narrator’s declaration, “They want you guilty of your own murder, your own sacrifice” (p. 558 top) mainly serves to

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Sample Response

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The narrator’s decision to burn the contents of his briefcase can most accurately be described as revealing his

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Sample Response

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Writing Prompt

Describe how the events of this chapter function as the narrator’s Supreme Ordeal, Reward, and Journey Home. Explain using evidence from the text.

Key Questions


  • pp. 556-557: Describe how Ras looks in this scene. Why is this significant?
  • p. 557: Make note of the contents of the briefcase. What do they have in common with each other?
  • What is the narrator trying to convince Ras of? Why?
  • pp. 558-561: Annotate everything on these pages that shows the narrator's growing enlightenment.
  • p. 559: "And I knew it was better to live out one's own absurdity than to die for that of others." What is the narrator realizing here?
  • p. 561: Why does he think he wants to go to Mary? What did she represent for him?
  • Re-read the description of the Supreme Ordeal. In what ways is this chapter the narrator's Supreme Ordeal? Find evidence.
  • p. 566: What does the narrator fall into? Why is the darkness symbolically significant? Track images of light and dark in the coming pages.
  • p. 566: What does he tell the white men is in his briefcase? In what way is this actually true? How does this statement represent the narrator's enlightenment?
  • p. 568: Why is the narrator screaming here?
  • p. 570: "At a price I now see that which I couldn't see." What is our hero's Reward for passing his Supreme Ordeal?

Next

Describe how the narrator’s ideas about identity have evolved and what theme the author is conveying.

Lesson 35
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