Chris Shea
ENG 398 – Topic Proposal
Professor Aimee Pozorski
11/30/15
Topic Proposal for “Sybil, This is Not who we Are”
Generally, when critics read chapter 24 of Ralph Ellison’s 1952 novel Invisible Man, they see Sybil as being a representation of how white women viewed black men in the 1930s. This is as according to Lena M. Hill’s work The Visual Art of Invisible Man: Ellison’s Portrait of Blackness. And while it could be for different reasons, I tend to agree with this for the most part. However, I also believe this scene could also be representative of how the whole white population sees black men at the time, not just women.
The main reason why I believe this is because while Invisible Man continues to deny what Sybil says about him, she continues to be persistent about it enough that Invisible Man caves in …show more content…
In a way, African-American to African-American relationships can be applied to this research essay as well, especially when relating Sybil’s thoughts and beliefs to the thoughts and actions of those in the Brotherhood.
And the significance and relevance that my argument has in comparison to others is that while my argument will touch on white women’s thoughts on black men, my argument will mainly focus on using Invisible Man’s sexual encounter with Sybil as a representation of how European-Americans as a whole see African-Americans in the 1930s. So my argument may be seen as more broad and more general than one which would be more gender-specific.
Works Cited:
Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. New York: Vintage International, 1995. Print.
Hill, Lena M. The Visual Art of Invisible Man: Ellison’s Portrait of Blackness. American Literature; December 2009 Vol. 81 Issue 4, p775-803, 29p. Document Type: article; Database: EBSCO Publishing Citations.
ENG 398 – Topic Proposal
Professor Aimee Pozorski
11/30/15
Topic Proposal for “Sybil, This is Not who we Are”
Generally, when critics read chapter 24 of Ralph Ellison’s 1952 novel Invisible Man, they see Sybil as being a representation of how white women viewed black men in the 1930s. This is as according to Lena M. Hill’s work The Visual Art of Invisible Man: Ellison’s Portrait of Blackness. And while it could be for different reasons, I tend to agree with this for the most part. However, I also believe this scene could also be representative of how the whole white population sees black men at the time, not just women.
The main reason why I believe this is because while Invisible Man continues to deny what Sybil says about him, she continues to be persistent about it enough that Invisible Man caves in …show more content…
In a way, African-American to African-American relationships can be applied to this research essay as well, especially when relating Sybil’s thoughts and beliefs to the thoughts and actions of those in the Brotherhood.
And the significance and relevance that my argument has in comparison to others is that while my argument will touch on white women’s thoughts on black men, my argument will mainly focus on using Invisible Man’s sexual encounter with Sybil as a representation of how European-Americans as a whole see African-Americans in the 1930s. So my argument may be seen as more broad and more general than one which would be more gender-specific.
Works Cited:
Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. New York: Vintage International, 1995. Print.
Hill, Lena M. The Visual Art of Invisible Man: Ellison’s Portrait of Blackness. American Literature; December 2009 Vol. 81 Issue 4, p775-803, 29p. Document Type: article; Database: EBSCO Publishing Citations.