Invisible-Man

InvisibleManRalphEllisonGroup3African-AmericanLiterature•ThehistoryofAfrican-AmericanLiteratureisasoldandvariedastheUnitedStatesitself,butthereareseveralcurrentthemes:combatingracism,searchingforablackidentity,andmaintainingauniquequalityoflife.•OneofthefirstpublishedAfricanAmericanswasPhillisWeatley,whosecollectionofpoetrypreceedstheU.S.RevolutionaryWarbythreeyears(1773).•African-Americanliteratureofthe1800swasdominatedbyautobiographicalworksculminatinginBookerT.Washington’sUpFromSlaveryattheturnofthecentury.•Theearly20thcenturyproducedmanyinfluentialAfrican-Americanwriters,amongthemLangstonHughesandRalphEllison.•ContemporaryauthorssuchasAliceWalker,TonyMorrisonandMayaAngeloucontinuetoexpandthecanon(标准)ofAfrican-Americanliterature.Blackwriters•Sincethe1930sblackwritershavegotinvolvedinmainstreamofAmericanliterature.RichardWright’s(1908-1960)NativeSon(1940)andRalphEllison’s(1914-1994)InvisibleMan(1952)capturethewideattentionofthewhitereaderswithtruthful,openandshockingdescriptionofthelifeofblackpeopleastheyknowitfromtheirownexperience.Abouttheauthor•African-American•BorninOklahomaCity,Oklahoma俄克拉荷马,namedbyhisfatherafterRalphWaldoEmerson.•他的名字取自美国19世纪著名作家、诗人拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生（RalphWaldoEmerson），父亲希望他也能成为一个诗人。RalphEllison(1914-1994)Abouttheauthor•In1933,EllisonenteredtheTuskegeeInstitute(塔斯克基学院)onascholarshiptostudymusic.•In1936,hewenttoNewYorkandtheremettheblackwritersLangstonhughesandRichardWright.Fictions•InvisibleMan(RandomHouse,1952).•FlyingHomeandOtherStories(RandomHouse,1996).(includestheshortstoryAPartyDownattheSquare)•Juneteenth《六月庆典》(RandomHouse,1999).Essays•ShadowandAct《影子与行动》(RandomHouse,1964).•GoingtotheTerritory《走向领地》(RandomHouse,1986).•TheCollectedEssaysofRalphEllison(ModernLibrary,1995).•LivingwithMusic:RalphEllison'sJazzWritings(ModernLibrary,2002)InvisibleMan•Publishedin1952,InvisibleManexploresthethemeofman'ssearchforhisidentityandplaceinsociety,asseenfromtheperspectiveofanunnamedblackmanintheNewYorkCityofthe1930s.IncontrasttohiscontemporariessuchasRichardWrightandJamesBaldwin,Ellisoncreatedcharactersthataredispassionate,educated,articulate,andself-aware.AchievementofInvisibleMan•1953-NationalBookAward美国国家图书奖•1992-Anisfield-WolfBookAwardsSpecialAchievementAward•In1998,theModernLibraryrankedInvisibleMannineteenthonitslistofthe100bestEnglish-languagenovelsofthe20thcentury.•TimemagazineincludedthenovelinitsTIME100BestEnglish-languageNovelsfrom1923to2005.Background•Inhisspeechacceptingthe1953NationalBookAward,Ellisonsaidthatheconsideredthenovel’schiefsignificancetobeitsexperimentalattitude.(实验态度)•Rejectingtheideaofsocialprotest(社会抗议)—asEllisonwouldlaterputit—hedidnotwanttowriteanotherprotestnovel,andalsoseeingthehighlyregardedstylesofNaturalismandRealismtoolimitingtospeaktothebroaderissuesofraceandAmerica,Ellisoncreatedanopenstyle,onethatdidnotrestricthisideastoamovementbutwasmorefree-flowinginitsdelivery.•埃里森因主张种族融合、文化多元、没有直接参与二十世纪六十年代民权运动及在小说中没有像赖特那样创作抗议小说（protestnovel）而备受指责。在美学上，他的主要观点是“小说家应该对民主承担道德责任”。他的小说致力于改变传统的黑人公式化形象、重塑黑人人性。Writingbackground•BothWrightandEllisonlosttheirfaithintheCommunistPartyduringWorldWarII,whentheyfeltthepartyhadbetrayedAfricanAmericansandreplacedMarxistclasspoliticswithsocialreformism.InalettertoWright,datedAugust18,1945,Ellisonpouredouthisangerwithpartyleaders:Iftheywanttoplayballwiththebourgeoisietheyneedn'tthinktheycangetawaywithit....Maybewecan'tsmashtheatom,butwecan,withafewwellchosen,wellwrittenwords,smashallthatcrummyfilthtohell.Inthewakeofthisdisillusion,EllisonbeganwritingInvisibleMan,anovelthatwas,inpart,hisresponsetotheparty'sbetrayal.Writingbackground•ThebooktookfiveyearstocompletewithoneyearoffforwhatEllisontermedanill-conceivedshortnovel.“InvisibleManwaspublishedasawholein1952.Ellisonhadpublishedasectionofthebookin1947,thefamousBattleRoyalscene,whichhadbeenshowntoCyrilConnolly,theeditorofHorizonmagazinebyFrankTaylor,oneofEllison'searlysupporters.Majorthemes•ItaddressesmanyofthesocialandintellectualissuesfacingAfrican-Americansearlyinthetwentiethcentury,includingblacknationalism,therelationshipbetweenblackidentityandMarxism,andthereformistracialpoliciesofBookerT.Washington,aswellasissuesofindividualityandpersonalidentity.•作者写这篇小说，与其说是在为生活在社会底层的黑人鸣不平，不如说是在借黑人的逆境来有力地揭示“人”的命运。这一作品既深刻地揭示了黑人的内心世界，也表现了西方世界人们追求“自我”而又不可得的普遍痛苦。ThemostimpressivepartofInvisibleMan1.InvisibleManisnarratedinthefirstpersonbytheprotagonist,anunnamedAfricanAmericanmanwhoconsidershimselfsociallyinvisible.EllisonconceivedhisnarratorasaspokesmanforblackAmericansofthetime:–SomytaskwasoneofrevealingthehumanuniversalshiddenwithintheplightofonewhowasbothblackandAmericanThemostimpressivepart2.InthePrologue,Ellison'snarratortellsreaders,Iliverent-freeinabuildingrentedstrictlytowhites,inasectionofthebasementthatwasshutoffandforgottenduringthenineteenthcentury.Inthissecretplace,thenarratorcreatessurroundingsthataresymbolicallyilluminated(被照明的)with1,369lightsfromtheelectriccompanyMonopolatedLight&Power.Hesays,Myholeiswarmandfulloflight.Yes,fulloflight.IdoubtifthereisabrighterspotinallNewYorkthanthishole