Analysis of the “Hole” in Invisible Man based on Plato’s Cave Allegory

Jiajie Weng

doi:10.62051/qs1qmr39

Authors

Jiajie Weng

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62051/qs1qmr39

Keywords:

Plato’s Cave Allegory; The Hole; Invisible Man; Ralph Waldo Ellison.

Abstract

Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man mentions a “hole” the nameless black young man lives in. Telling the story of himself, the invisible man showed readers his transition from hibernating in the “hole” to walking out of the “hole”, which reflects his journey of seeking an effective solution for black people to fit into society. Based on Plato’s Cave Allegory, this paper analyzes how four phases in the invisible man’s journey of seeking the “truth” correspond to the phases in the Cave Allegory. Meanwhile, this paper attempts to analyze the “hole” metaphor, the “truth” that repeatedly appears, and different characters in this book to appreciate the author’s unique intention in using the “hole” metaphor.

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References

Ralph Ellison. Invisible Man [M]. New York: Random House, 1952: 27.

Ralph Ellison. Invisible Man [M]. New York: Random House, 1952: 80.

Ralph Ellison. Invisible Man [M]. New York: Random House, 1952: 139.

Ralph Ellison. Invisible Man [M]. New York: Random House, 1952.

Plato, translated by Tom Griffith. The Republic [M]. Cambridge, United Kingdom. Cambridge University Press, 2000: 220.

Wang Jiaxiang. The Black Flame: A History of the Twentieth Century African-American Novels [M]. Hangzhou: Zhejiang Literature & Art Publishing House, 2017: 174.