Existentialism In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man

Existentialism is thought defined as a “philosophical theory or approach of the individual as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts and will”. Existentialism is evident throughout the novel of the Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. Many scholars have debated whether Invisible Man shows existentialism throughout the novel. Upon closer inspection the ideals of existentialism are evident throughout the narrator’s journey of oppression and social confinement. The novel, Invisible Man is about an unnamed man who sees himself being invisible to the rest of the world. Throughout the novel, the narrator slowly acknowledge why he is invisible and what that means to the world around him. A scholar states, “the narrator …show more content…
Consequently, the principal kicks him out of the university due to the narrator leading one of the professor, Dr. Norton to the old slave quarters. The principal gives him a series of letters to lead him to a job in New York. Once he has found a job, he is promised to come back to the college. Later, the narrator finds out those letters are a hoax that states under no circumstances, he should return to college. Once again, the narrator’s choices are not affected by other people rather than his own. Incidentally, these events take a turn. After countless days searching for a job, the narrator finds a job at a paint company called Liberty Paint Company. One of the co-worker suspection the narrator being involved with a union and causes an explosion in the factory. The narrator finds himself in a “cold white rigid chair.” and a “man looking at me out of a bright third eye” (Ellison 231). The situation seems almost dream like. The setting is not really clear to narrator as he describes a man with a bright eye, referencing to a stereoscope. The narrator does not remember how he got there. He states “I tried to remember how I’d gotten here, but nothing came” (Ellison 233). Just like a dream, the narrator is unaware of what to come to next.The next thing to come is a machine performing a lobotomy on the narrator. The operator of the machine states, “The machine will produce the results of a prefrontal lobotomy without the negative effects of the knife” (Ellison 236). Lobotomy is typically performed when no other surgical procedures do not work. Many scholars believe that the lobotomy symbolizes a reincarnation of the narrator. The narrator struggles to find his name and other things about him. This acts an awakening. When the doctor asks him who was Buckeye the Rabbit? The narrator states “I laughed, deep, deep inside me, giddy with the delight of