Random House 1952
"In a letter to (Richard) Wright August 18, 1945, Ellison poured out his anger toward (Communist) party leaders for betraying African American and Marxist class politics during the war years. "If they want to play ball with the bourgeoisie they needn't think they can get away with it.... Maybe we can't smash the atom, but we can, with a few well chosen, well written words, smash all that crummy filth to hell." In the wake of this disillusion, Ellison began writing Invisible Man, a novel that was, in part, his response to the party's betrayal." -straight from Wikipedia
References to truth vs blindness, light vs dark, success vs insanity as well as South vs North abound in this novel where the main character’s color makes him invisible and the truth is spoken by the insane.
The character Bledsoe uses the truth to gain power, in contrast to The Vet, who has learned the truth and become crazy.
There is a Biblical sound & feel to this novel which asks the question, “What if men outside history, were the saviors, the bearers of something precious? “
