Brother Jack. What is his purpose in the novel's overall message?

Trueblood to Bledsoe and beyond

This novel displays many different types of black men, some helpful to the young narrator's cause, some not so much. Whether names or unnamed, these men have been purposely included to represent something about Civil Rights. Discuss a few of these names/men and what he might represent.

The novel Invisible Man travels from one dramatic incident in the life of the narrator to another, and each adds to the overall meaning of the piece. Describe four dramatic incidences that have occurred in the novel and explain the message of each, as well as how each adds to the meaning of the last.

In literary works, cruelty often functions as a crucial motivation or a major social or political factor. Invisible Man begins and ends with acts of cruelty, and displays many in between. Analyzing how cruelty functions in the work as a whole and what the cruelty reveals about the perpetrator and/or victim.

Tokens

Explore the significance of the tokens the narrator collects throughout the novel (the diploma, the Brotherhood membership, the anonymous letter, the broken bank, and the paper doll puppet). Trace the growth of the narrator using these mementos.

Grandfather

How does the Grandfather’s philosophy as it was told to the narrator in his childhood affect his beliefs by the end of the novel? What does it take, and when does the narrator begin to espouse this view himself? How does that evolve further?

Ras the...

Look at the named (and unnamed) characters in the novel. What is the purpose of each name? For example, why does Ras’s change?