Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man

Michael D. Hill is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Iowa. He was previously Assistant Professor of English at Wake Forest University.Lena M. Hill is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Iowa. She was previously a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the University Writing Program at Duke University.

Unlike other reference guides that mainly deal with plot and character development, this book . . . gives an in-depth and focused overview of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. For both educator and student, high school and up, this guide will prove invaluable as it discusses more traditional forms of rhetoric employed by Ellison and engages with contemporary theoretical arguments as well. Biographical information is included along with quotes from the author revealing his philosophy of writing-which encompasses the author's responsibility to raise social consciousness and create more than a work of art. Because Ellison alludes to race issues that stretch prior to and, in many ways, beyond his own time, historical information is presented to provide contextual awareness of past and present experiences of Black Americans. Each chapter is followed by a works cited, and a bibliography and an index ends the book.