Invisible Man

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What impact does a protagonist’s name have on a character in a story? What challenges do you imagine might arise while reading a story with an unnamed character?

Teaching Suggestion: Encourage students to think about “invisibility” as a concept; you might consider describing some famous works of literature and posing the question, “How might ___ be different if the protagonist was unnamed?” to have students explore how character names may influence other elements of a story. It might be helpful to assign some journal prompts on these topics to acclimate to the concept of not knowing a protagonist’s name.

• The Guardian compiled a list of classic novels with nameless protagonists.
• Electric Literature lists out contemporary novels with protagonists who don’t have a name.

2. What do you know about the Jim Crow era? What are Jim Crow laws?

Teaching Suggestion: Talking about Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era can help students to understand the historical context in which Invisible Man is set. If students have minimal background knowledge on the topic, you may want to consider using outside resources such as these or activities to spur some research into this question.

• Ferris State University has put together a timeline of the Jim Crow era.
• Howard University’s School of Law has a page dedicated to the legal context of Jim Crow and notable court cases surrounding civil rights in this time.

Short Activity

Take turns telling a funny story. However, you can’t use names as you tell this story.

After everyone has a turn, think about the following questions:

• Was it easier or more difficult to tell a story without names?
• How did the lack of names positively or negatively impact the characters or overall story?

Teaching Suggestion: In conjunction with this activity, you may want to introduce the novel’s protagonist and the fact that he doesn’t have a name. It might be helpful to allow students to reflect on the activity and historical context, then make inferences about how and why Ellison might have decided to leave his character unnamed.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who might be less inclined to present a story aloud spontaneously  or whose first language is not English, it might be beneficial to allow them to write their story down first. Students can also write a first draft that includes names to be crossed out or replaced before reading.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection before reading the novel.

What advantages and/or disadvantages might come with the power of invisibility?

Teaching Suggestion: Encouraging students to think about invisibility can introduce them to the theme of the Journey Toward Self-Understanding and Adult Identity. Consider encouraging students to share their responses aloud to make these connections in a class discussion.