【正文】 y, the conventional American Dream was degenerated into a Dream of Gold which led to moral corruption, spiritual collapses, and individual loss. The traditional American culture became either decaying or dubious. The Americans were confronting a critical culture and spiritual crisis. American Dream has caused great concern of the American writer and is reflected in the literature works. Such as Fitzgerald’s Great Getsby, Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie,and Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rise, which explore the negative influence of American Dream upon the American people. In Visible Man, under the great impact of American white culture, the ambitions narrator longs desperately to achieve a personal , in this racial discrimination country, the door of opportunity is close to the narrator. The influence of the narrator himself Anyone even the anonymous blond man on the street can force him to confront or assume an alien identity, simply by uttering a racial insult. Although the narrator has a strong sense of individuality, others still 美國(guó)“黑人文學(xué)”對(duì)自我身份的探尋 —— 以拉爾夫埃利森《看不見(jiàn)的人》為例 manage to define his identity according to their own prejudices. So now his problem is who he is. The episode with the blood man and its subsequent treatment in the newspaper show even living underground, the narrator cannot escape racial prejudice. The narrator continues to say being invisible makes him doubt whether he really exists in the real world. He describe his anguished, aching need to make others recognize him, and says he has found that such attempts rarely succeed. It is these unsuccessful attempts that make him very upset. The narrator realizes that even in hibernation, his mind will not let him rest. In the Epilogue the narrator begins to sort out all conflicting evidence. In his hibernation his mind revolves again and again back to his grandfather. He feels maybe his grandfather hides his meaning deeper than he thinks. Thenarrator then lists three possible interpretations of his grandfather’s words. Each interpretation is posed as a question, but the question is not answered。不僅使讀者對(duì)這部作品有更深刻的了解，并對(duì)自我身份的探尋有更多的認(rèn)識(shí)與思考。并論述如何探尋自我身份和探尋自我身份的深遠(yuǎn)意義。 each question probes deeper beneath the surface to explore the nuances and subtleties latent in the riddle。 《看不見(jiàn)的人》 是一部黑人小說(shuō)，同時(shí)也是一部典型的以身份危機(jī)作為主題的小說(shuō)。 Seeking CONTENTS 美國(guó)“黑人文學(xué)”對(duì)自我身份的探尋 —— 以拉爾夫埃利森《看不見(jiàn)的人》為例 摘要 ABSTRACT CONTENTS Introduction 1. About Ralph Waldo Ellison and Invisible Man Ralph Waldo Ellison Invisible Man 2. The Lost of the Narrator’s Identity The Confusion of the Society The Confusion of the Narrator himself 3. The Reasons of the Lost of the Narrator’s Identity Racism The Impact of American Culture The Influence of the Narrator Himself 4. Search for Identity His Awakening His Freedom His Responsibility Conclusion Bibliography Acknowledgements 1. Introduction Ralph Waldo Ellison Ralph Waldo Ellison (March 1, 1914 – April 16, 1994) was an American novelist, literary critic, scholar and writer. He was born in Oklahoma City, after his 美國(guó)“黑人文學(xué)”對(duì)自我身份的探尋 —— 以拉爾夫埃利森《看不見(jiàn)的人》為例 third year, Ellison moved to New York City to study the visual arts. He made acquaintance with the author Richard Wright, with whom he would have a long and plicated relationship. After Ellison wrote a book review for Wright, Wright encouraged Ellison to pursue a career in writing, specifically fiction. The first published story written by Ellison was a short story entitled Hymie39。 the following year, he was made a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France and became a permanent member of the faculty at New York University as the Albert Schweitzer Professor of Humanities, serving from 1970 to 1980. In 1975, Ellison was elected to The American Academy of Arts and Letters and his hometown of Oklahoma City honored him with the dedication of the Ralph Waldo Ellison Library. Continuing to teach, Ellison published mostly essays, and in 1984, he received the New York City College39。一些主要的書(shū)評(píng)報(bào)刊，如《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》、《時(shí)代》、《星期六評(píng)論》都高度贊揚(yáng)了這部小說(shuō)，一致認(rèn)為它具有重要的文學(xué)價(jià)值， 是美國(guó)黑人文學(xué)史上具有里程碑意義的小說(shuō)，被譽(yù)為“劃時(shí)代的小說(shuō)，可以說(shuō)是現(xiàn)代美國(guó)黑人生活的詩(shī)史”。 consequently, one of the unattended tanks explodes, and the narrator is knocked unconscious. The confusion of the narrator himself The narrator wakes in the paint factory’s hospital, having temporarily lost his memory and ability to speak. The white doctors seize the arrival of their unidentified black patient as an opportunity to conduct electric shock experiments. After the narrator recovers his memory and leaves the hospital, he collapses on the street. Some black munity members take him to the home of Mary, a kind woman who lets him live with her for free in Harlem and nurtures his sense of black heritage. One day, the narrator witnesses the eviction of an elderly black couple from their Harlem apartment. Standing before the crowd of people gathered before the apartment, he gives an impassioned speech against the eviction. Brother Jack overhears his speech and offers him a position as a spokesman for the Brotherhood, a political anization that allegedly works to help the socially oppressed. After initially rejecting the offer, the narrator takes the job in order to pay Mary back for her hospitality. But the Brotherhood demands that the narrator take a new name, break with his past, and move to a new apartment. The narrator is inducted into the Brotherhood at a party at the Chthonian Hotel and is placed in charge of advancing the group’s goals in Harlem. After being trained in rhetoric by a white member of the group named BrotherHambro, the narrator goes to his assigned branch in Harlem, where he meets the handsome, intelligent black youth leader Tod Clifton. He also bees familiar with the Black Nationalist leader Ras the Exhorter,