Passive resistance in post-WWII African-American literature in Ralph Ellison's invisible man (1952)‎

Abstract EN

This article examines the effectiveness of passive resistance during post-WWII in creating black identity-a special reference to Ralph Ellison’s invisible man (1952).black Africans used power to obtain their rights ; however, their method did not help them to achieve their goals.

by the early fifties, they started using nonviolent methods which was the cornerstone of the civil rights movement against social inequality.

through Ralph Ellison’s invisible man (1952), I shall try to focus on the literary representation of passive resistance through fictional characters and real settings.

the question I want to raise is : to what extent was passive resistance effective and how important was its role in identifying the identity of African Americans ? my emphasis will be laid on the historical and socio-cultural background of African Americans during post-WWII.

in my analysis, I will dwell upon the theory of new-historicism which tends to link each event to its historical context.

the results of Ralph Ellison’s invisible man analysis indicate that the structure of the novel reflects how passive resistance functioned as a means of pressure against white’s racism and discrimination.