Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison help!?

Question

I need help with finding archetypes in the novel, i would really like it if u could help me out with this!

Thank you very much

Answer 1

Archetypes are universal symbols in literature. Go to this site to understand all the different kinds of archetype:

www.taliessin.org/Archetypes.doc

The archetypes that I can think of in terms of characters is the main character as the naive and inexperienced protagonist and the nuturing/mother figure lady who took care of the main character. Also there is the archetype of dark vs. light. Some example would be when the main character is working in the paint factory and he observes that adding in black liquids to the paint will only make it whiter. It sort of is talking about how the african american identity of the narrator is consumed by the ideology of the white society surrounding him. Also the talk about invisibility and the lights that he uses in his underground home ties into the dark vs light theme.