When and how in your life have you felt invisible? Encourage them to explore why they felt that way, and what strategies they used to handle the situation. They can refer to their learning journals to refresh their memories.Īssign students to write an essay on the following topic. Upon completion of the novel, return to the quote about invisibility. Hold a discussion in which the students sum up the ways in which the main character is seen and not seen. How does the character see or not see the protagonist? How does the protagonist see himself in these situations? How does his “invisibility” affect this character? What are some of the strategies he uses to deal with it? When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination - indeed, everything and anything except me.” (Ralph Ellison)Īs you go through the novel, discuss each major character and how he or she interacts with the protagonist. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass.

I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. I am a man of substance, flesh and bone, fiber and liquids - and I might even be said to possess a mind. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allen Poe nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. Students could also be asked to keep a learning journal for the duration of the book & subsequent lesson.Start the first discussion with the following quote from the novel: Have students read the book in several sections, and conduct classroom discussion after each section. Provide students with a copy of Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison. Review the book yourself before embarking on the lesson plan so you can prepare appropriately. Note that the novel contains some challenging subject matter, as well as scenes that some may find offensive. In this lesson plan, students will use similar tools to explore the theme of invisibility in the book, in their own lives, and in their communities. Ellison related this personal experience to a greater societal structure, using characters and imagery to do so. Being an outsider, being outcast, being ignored – all are feelings most people can relate to. This novel was included in the 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century, in the top 20. In Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison wrote about the experience of being ignored, bringing to light a powerful meditation on race and social structure. Connect personal experience to an understanding of larger societal structures.

Examine their own communities to bring to light groups that might be considered “invisible”.

Write an essay on the theme of the personal experience of invisibility.

Read and discuss the novel “Invisible Man”.

Two weeks to read the text and two 45-minute class periods.

Emerson invisible man