Invisible Man

Lesson 35
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ELA

Unit 1

12th Grade

Lesson 35 of 36

Objective


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

Readings and Materials


  • Book: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison  — Epilogue

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Target Task


Writing Prompt

What is Ellison's message about identity? Use evidence from the epilogue and/or other places in the novel to support your answer.

Key Questions


  • p. 573: What is the narrator saying happened to his own identity when he tried too hard to please others?
  • p. 573: "I always tried to go in everyone's way but my own." Whose "way" have we seen the narrator follow over the course of the novel? How is he saying that he has changed here?
  • p. 574: How did the author originally interpret his grandfather's words? How is he now interpreting them?
  • p. 576: The narrator went into "hibernation" in his hole after discovering his invisibility. He says the goal was to better understand himself. In these last pages, track what the narrator seems to have learned about himself and about the world.
  • p. 581: "There's a possibility that even an invisible man has a socially responsible role to play." What is the narrator's message here? How has his attitude toward his own invisibility changed from the beginning to the end of the novel?
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Lesson 34

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Lesson 36

Lesson Map

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