Haile (Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA) 82(092)

Keywords: Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, theatrical/secular magic, Existentialism, Ritual, Masking, Race In this sense of the 'joke,' of the play between appearance and reality in the presence of the mask and its theatricality, Invisible Man is a novel that at its heart is concerned with magic. The novel is, in short, an examination of 'what was really happening when your eyes were looking through'. And, by direct indirection, Ellison is telling us something about the manner, method, mode and articulation/disarticulation-that is, deployment-of the 'joke' in the 'theater of appearances' that is America. Ostensibly, it has these elements, but they are all mere ruses for something else, for the 'joke' of these. In other words, Invisible Man is not so much about 'race,' 'racial authenticity,' 'democratic equality,' 'marginalization,' or the existential claims to the lived experience of being black. Specifically, Invisible Man is a novel about what becomes possible when the line between appearance and reality becomes blurred, and all that is left is the 'mask' of reality, codified by ritualistic acts of concealing and revealing the 'joke' of the present. An experience, Ellison instructs, 'in which the possibilities are many'.

Invisible Man is an American novel, about the American experience. MAGIC AND THE PRESTIGE IN RALPH ELLISON'S INVISIBLE MANĪbstract: Invisible Man is a theatrical novel. In this sense of the “joke,” of the play between appearance and reality in the presence of the mask and its theatricality, Invisible Man is a novel that at its heart is concerned with magic. The novel is, in short, an examination of “what was really happening when your eyes were looking through”. And, by direct indirection, Ellison is telling us something about the manner, method, mode and articulation/disarticulation-that is, deployment-of the “joke” in the “theater of appearances” that is America. Ostensibly, it has these elements, but they are all mere ruses for something else, for the “joke” of these. In other words, Invisible Man is not so much about “ race,” “racial authenticity,” “democratic equality,” “marginalization,” or the existential claims to the lived experience of being black. Specifically, Invisible Man is a novel about what becomes possible when the line between appearance and reality becomes blurred, and all that is left is the “mask” of reality, codified by ritualistic acts of concealing and revealing the “joke” of the present. An experience, Ellison instructs, “in which the possibilities are many”.

Invisible man ralph ellison movie