Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man in the Light of Homi K. Bhabha's Concept of Third Place
Abstract
Ralph Ellison's powerful work Invisible Man reflects the position of African Americans in American society at the beginning of the twentieth century. Their difficulties and struggles are clearly portrayed through the life journey of Invisible, the narrator, who is also in continuous search of his own identity. Taking this into consideration, this paper will attempt to analyze Ellison's novel in the light of Homi K. Bhabha's concept of Third Place. It will seek to demonstrate how the concepts of non-belonging, in-betweenness, homeliness, and mimicry developed by Bhabha within the postcolonial theory clarify the narrator's positioning, his individual and communal identity, as well as his 'quest' for the self, considering how Invisible has to face and endure the complex situation of being defined by society as a "strange" being, prone to marginalization and rejection. In other words, it will show how the society in which the narrator lives try and, somehow, succeeds in shaping his identity, by defining his position in society primarily in the light of the white people's behavior towards him, as it is the case of their blinded approach towards any individual of color. The paper will also demonstrate that the challenges the narrator - as an exemplification of colored people - faces, are rooted in a changing and evolving society that exists in a Third Space and imposes a hybrid identity for the narrator and not only.
Keywords
Invisible Man, Third Space, identity, non-belonging, homeliness.
Authors
Edona Llukaçaj, Markeljada Ahmetlli
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