Ralph Ellison and the Raft of Hope: A Political Companion to Invisible Man

ISBN 10: 0813123127 / ISBN 13: 9780813123127

Published by University Press of Kentucky, 2004

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Ralph Ellison and the Raft of Hope: A Political Companion to Invisible Man
• Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
• Publication Date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0813123127
• ISBN 13: 9780813123127
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

An important new collection of original essays that examine how Ellison's landmark novel, Invisible Man (1952), addresses the social, cultural, political, economic, and racial contradictions of America. Commenting on the significance of Mark Twain's writings, Ralph Ellison wrote that "a novel could be fashioned as a raft of hope, perception and entertainment that might help keep us afloat as we tried to negotiate the snags and whirlpools that mark our nation's vacillating course toward and away from the democratic ideal." Ellison believed it was the contradiction between America's "noble ideals and the actualities of our conduct" that inspired the most profound literature―"the American novel at its best."

Drawing from the fields of literature, politics, law, and history, the contributors make visible the political and ethical terms of Invisible Man , while also illuminating Ellison's understanding of democracy and art. Ellison hoped that his novel, by providing a tragicomic look at American ideals and mores, would make better citizens of his readers. The contributors also explain Ellison's distinctive views on the political tasks and responsibilities of the novelist, an especially relevant topic as contemporary writers continue to confront the American incongruity between democratic faith and practice. Ralph Ellison and the Raft of Hope uniquely demonstrates why Invisible Man stands as a premier literary meditation on American democracy.

About the Author

Lucas E. Morel, the Class of 1960 Professor of Ethics and Politics at Washington and Lee University, is the author of Lincoln's Sacred Effort: Defining Religion's Role in American Self-Government.