To what extent is the protagonist’s identity in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man shaped by historical, cultural and political climates in mid 20th century US, and what are the implications of those external forces on the concept of individuality?

This extended essay is an investigation of the extent to which the nameless narrator’s identity in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man is shaped by historical, political and cultural climates as well as the implications of those external forces on the concept of individuality. It explores the individuality and the identity of the narrator in terms of his background, his relationships and certain figures of power in his life and their affects on him by conducting a close reading of the novel and integrating relevant secondary resources such as Rika Anzawa’s “Narrative, Power Politics, and the Emergence of the Black Mass Sphere in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man” and Alan Bourassa’s “Affect, History, and Race and Ellison's Invisible Man” which were key elements of the investigation. \nIn a society where certain constraints are lifted, there is a period of adjustment, and the narrator struggles to create his identity within this period as a black man. This essay investigates the nature of the formation of his identity and various setbacks due to the societal structure in 20th century US. In addition to a traditional literary analysis, an inquiry into the philosophical nature of human identity and the process in which it is formed including race in a racially divided society were the two main driving factors of the research. \nDespite his efforts, Ellison’s nameless narrator fails to attain a respected place in society for himself, thus accepting his invisibility as his identity. He secludes himself, which Ellison seems to suggest represents a failure of a race to establish their equality in a social and political sense. The essay consists of the steps leading to this failure, a black man’s relentless struggle to find a place for himself in a white man’s world.