There are several different themes in Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison. Here I will go into depth on those. The three main themes in the story are self discovery, racism, and acknowledgement.

The main theme in Invisible Man is self discovery. The narrator doesn't know it when it happens, but the entire ordeal in New York is a self discovery 'field trip'. Bledsoe sends him there appearantly to get a job from the school's white beneficiaries there, but when all job opportunities fail, he is forced to scrounge for work. This provides a little insight into himself, as people always learn more about themselves when under pressure (no quote for this, just personal experience). He also learns more about himself when he delivers the speech; he is a little taken aback by his own actions. "'No, no,' I heard myself yelling... talking rapidly without thought..." (P.275).

One of the underlying themes in the book is racism. This is established early on in the book, during the fighting. All of the audience members are rich white folk, leaders of the community. They then cheer on prize fighting between black boys, yelling remarks out as they give each other black eyes and bloody noses. Then they laugh when the group of boys electrocute themselves when trying to get the gold pieces on the electrified rug. When he moves to New York, he expects racism from the whites there. He is surprised to see whites and blacks living in harmony with each other, without the hatred and fear between the two groups that he is used to seeing back home. He is also surprised by the Northern black's usage of the term 'brother' when addressing him; down in the South, blacks didn't call each other 'brother' the way they do in the North. He is also surprised when, on the subway, he is forced to press up against a large white woman, and she doesn't scream in terror. "I kept expecting her to scream..." (P.158).

Another of the main themes in the book is, in my opinion, acknowledgement. In the beginning of the book, the narrator says that he is invisible. "I am invisible, understand, because people simply refuse to see me." (P.3) "I remember that I am invisible and walk softly so as not to awaken the sleeping ones." (P.5). All through the book, the narrator is trying to get acknowledgement. The event where the black boys fight is a good example. He was invited there to deliver a speech that he had written; he was going to get acknowledgement for his speech writing skills. When he has the letters, he wants and expects acknowledgement from the people they are addressed to; he expects that they will offer him a job, as he thinks that the letters are full of praise for him. When he starts doing speeches for Brother Jack's group, he receives acknowledgment for his speech writing abilities there, too. He tries to fight to be recognized in a world where all black people are put into one big category, and he doesn't realize that his fight is an uphill battle.

There are several different themes running together in the book. However, I felt that these three were the most important.