The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison - Essay Example He is like the newborn child with total loss of memory, forgets his name, powerless to comprehend speech, and a formless identity. This birth involves no parents and he interacts with the doctors lonely. The narrator is rather ambushed by the arrogance of the medical science, and the doctors advise him to establish his own new identity, as he has no past now. The identity imposed on him in societal terms has ceased to exist. It is a new act in the drama of his life, which has no connections to the earlier acts. He is without any support and has lost connectivity. His suffering related to his identity has not ended and he is undergoing a new type of suffering, in view of the imposed inferiority complex. Since the narrator has lost the ability to speak, the doctors are unable to extract any information about his identity. In the absence of any documentary proof about the antecedents of the patient, the doctors arrive to their own conclusions based on their knowledge of racial history a nd racial stereotypes. As the narrator suffers the seizures of electric shock treatment, the doctors note sarcastically that black people have excellent rhythm. This derogatory comment is the barometer for the thinking level of the white doctors and how racist beliefs are ingrained in them. Lobotomy episode is significant as it creates two different personalities out of one individual. The narrator has lost forever his black identity established through the historical processes of several centuries. 2. Mary Rambo is a unique character and the narrator is fascinated by her neutral but unique societal disposition. In the dingy societal reactions that confronted him often, Mary Lambo is an exception. She treats him with utmost affections and provides him with food and shelter. Her humane quality of willing acceptance without any reservations fills hopes in the life of the narrator. Mary does