This document provides information about an upcoming essay assignment, dates for an English literature class, and summaries of readings from Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. It discusses the novel's themes of social Darwinism and the corrupting influence of rewards. It also summarizes the "Battle Royal" chapter, focusing on the grandfather's advice and the humiliating boxing match the narrator experiences. Finally, it introduces the author Arthur Miller and provides biographical details about his background and influence on Death of a Salesman.

1. ELIT 48C Class 30ELIT 48C Class 30
Important Dates!
Week 8 Friday at noon : Essay #1 Due
 500-750 words
Important Dates!
Week 8 Friday at noon : Essay #1 Due
 500-750 words

2. Chair Poet?
Poetry is an
imaginative awareness
of experience
expressed through
meaning, sound, and
rhythmic language
choices so as to evoke
an emotional response.
About.com
Poetry is an
imaginative awareness
of experience
expressed through
meaning, sound, and
rhythmic language
choices so as to evoke
an emotional response.
About.com

3. AGENDA
Invisible Man
Themes
“Prologue”
“Battle Royal”
Author Introduction:
Arthur Miller
Invisible Man
Themes
“Prologue”
“Battle Royal”
Author Introduction:
Arthur Miller

4. Selections from Invisible Man

5. ProloguePrologue
1. What does the narrator tell us about himself in the very beginning of the
prologue?
2. To what does the narrator attribute his invisibility?
3. Why does the narrator attack a man in the street?
4. What is the name of the company with which the narrator claims to be
“having a fight”?
5. What reason does the narrator give for his fight with this company?
6. Whose music does the narrator enjoy?
7. What is described in the first part of the narrator’s fantasy?
8. When the narrator talks to the old woman in his fantasy, what reason does
she give for loving her old master?
9. Why does one of the old woman’s sons attack the narrator in the fantasy?
10. What has the narrator done to make his dwelling-place more livable?

6. The Prologue
• What does the reader
know about the
narrator solely on the
basis of the Prologue?
Explain both what he
reveals about himself
explicitly and what
inferences can be
drawn, justifying your
findings as you go
along.
Invisible Man 1952
By Ralph Ellison

7. QHQ: PrologueQHQ: Prologue
1. Q: What is the invisible man? What could he represent?
2. Q: Why is the ‘invisibility’ of the narrator the most
emphasized, as if the narrator isn’t a particular person?
3. Q: Could Ellison’s “Invisible Man” serve as a third-eye
view to the injustice that blacks went through at the time
it was written?
4. Q: What does it mean when the narrator’s grandfather
says “Live with your head in the lion’s mouth. I want you
to overcome’em with yeses, undermine’em with grins,
agree’em to death and destruction”?
1. Q: What is the invisible man? What could he represent?
2. Q: Why is the ‘invisibility’ of the narrator the most
emphasized, as if the narrator isn’t a particular person?
3. Q: Could Ellison’s “Invisible Man” serve as a third-eye
view to the injustice that blacks went through at the time
it was written?
4. Q: What does it mean when the narrator’s grandfather
says “Live with your head in the lion’s mouth. I want you
to overcome’em with yeses, undermine’em with grins,
agree’em to death and destruction”?

8. Themes and MeaningsThemes and Meanings
The battle royal episode introduces many of the themes of the
novel: Social Darwinism, which metaphorically encourages
individuals to fight to the finish in order to receive rewards; the
ways in which the black community's strongest and wiliest
members take advantage of their fellows, refusing to cooperate
against the common white enemy just as Tatlock refuses to fake
defeat; the corrupting influence of prizes and praise on the
narrator himself; and the need for the white establishment to
maintain symbolic as well as literal power over the black
community. “Battle Royal” provides insight into thematic crux
of the larger work: how to respond to the cruelty of racism
while retaining one's decency and humanity.

9. “Battle Royal”“Battle Royal”
“Battle Royal” was first published as a short story in Horizon in
1947 under the title “Invisible Man.” It later became the first
chapter of Ralph Ellison's only novel, Invisible Man (1952). “Battle
Royal” provides a fascinating window into the creative forces that
produced Invisible Man.
Grandfather episodes provide the thematic motor that drives much
of the novel: a study of a naïve young man who is wounded by
racism but unsure how to respond. He wants to be a good
member of his family and community but fails to understand the
poisonous effect that southern race relations have on even such
simple acts as delivering a harmless graduation speech. The story
makes clear just what the narrator will face in his maturity.

10. Battle Royal
1. How do the adults respond to the grandfather’s deathbed speech?
2. Where does the battle royal take place?
3. What kinds of men does the narrator see in the audience?
4. What does the blond woman have tattooed on her belly?
5. How is the boxing match made more entertaining for the audience?
6. How does the narrator try to appease Tatlock when the two are
boxing?
7. How do the whites first try to pay the young men for their boxing?
8. Are the coins real?
9. What happens when the narrator accepts the briefcase presented to
him?
10. Who is in the dream the narrator has at the end of the chapter?

11. Why would the audience listening to the
narrator’s speech have reacted so strongly to
the narrator’s mistake? Discuss the
implications of his slip of the tongue.
“Battle Royal”

12. QHQ: “Battle Royal”QHQ: “Battle Royal”
1. Q: What was the meaning of the whole scene
that took place at the “Battle Royal?”
2. Q: What does the naked woman represent?
3. Q: Why is the narrator attracted to the naked
woman, but simultaneously repulsed and driven
to violent thoughts by her?
1. Q: What was the meaning of the whole scene
that took place at the “Battle Royal?”
2. Q: What does the naked woman represent?
3. Q: Why is the narrator attracted to the naked
woman, but simultaneously repulsed and driven
to violent thoughts by her?

13. QHQ: GeneralQHQ: General
1.Would Ellison’s idea of invisibility be
accepted by a modernist minority critic?
2.Can the metaphor of being “invisible” be
attached to more than just African
Americans?
1.Would Ellison’s idea of invisibility be
accepted by a modernist minority critic?
2.Can the metaphor of being “invisible” be
attached to more than just African
Americans?

14. Arthur Miller
Author Introduction

15. Miller was born in Manhattan, New York, on October 17, 1915. His
parents were Jewish immigrants who had come to America in
search of prosperity. His father, Isadore, ran a successful garment
business for a number of years, while his mother, Augusta, was a
schoolteacher. Following the failure of his father's business in
1928, Miller's family moved to Brooklyn, which would serve as the
setting for a number of his plays, including Death of a Salesman
(1949). His father's failure and subsequent withdrawal from the
world of business had a profound effect on the young Miller, one
that has direct roots in the character of Willy Loman. By the time
Miller reached young adulthood, America was in the midst of the
Great Depression. He saw firsthand how once-wealthy neighbors
were reduced to poverty and the humiliation of menial labor or
outright panhandling. Much of the playwright's cynicism regarding
wealth and conspicuous consumption can be attributed to his
experiences during these years.

16. HOMEWORK
Read Arthur Miller: Death of a Salesman Act 1: 238-303
Post #30: Choose 1
Discuss how Miller communicates Willy’s outlook and
emotions to the reader. Note Willy’s words, his appearance,
Linda’s reactions, the set design, and other means.
Examine how Biff and Hap’s adult lives show the influence of
their childhood as seen in the flashback.
Describe how Willy has taken Ben’s life and his philosophy of
the “jungle” as models for success. How has Willy shaped that
philosophy to encompass life as a salesman?
Linda says that “attention must be paid” to Willy despite his
faults. Do you support Linda’s claim or disagree with it? If Willy
is a “fake,” as Biff calls him, then does he deserve respect?
QHQ