When Invisible Man was first published, its author, Ralph Waldo Ellison, was all but unknown to the world. The book received enthusiastic praise from critics, and Ellison became recognized as one of the greatest black American writers of the twentieth century. Comparisons were made to other noteworthy black authors such as Richard Wright, as well as famous white writers Mark Twain and Ernest Hemingway. In 1953, Ellison won the National Book Award for Fiction and in 1965 a collection of 200 critics, authors, and editors named Invisible Man the most distinguished American novel of the preceding twenty years. To this day, the novel remains highly regarded by literary experts.
On March 1, 1914, in Oklahoma City, Ralph Waldo Ellison was born the son of Ida Milsap Ellison and Lewis Ellison. Although poor, the proud parents made sure their children received a good education. Lewis, an avid reader, chose the name Ralph Waldo to honor the influential writer Emerson, whose topics included self-reliance and individualism. Ida also made sure her son was exercising his mind. She would bring back books, newspapers, and magazines from the homes of the white people for whom she worked.
As a young man, Ralph Waldo Ellison loved music. In school he studied music theory and mastered the trumpet. He became friends with major jazz musicians, and upon entering Tuskegee Institute in Alabama on a scholarship, Ellison could both play and write jazz and classical music. Tuskegee Institute, certainly the model for the college in Invisible Man, became his home for three years. He underwent important intellectual development at Tuskegee, despite a conservative environment that surprised him. During this time period, Ellison began studying the major works of the Harlem Renaissance and hoped to become part of its movement.
Much like the character in his novel, Ellison left college during his junior year to head for New York. However, Ellison was not forced out; he simply did not have enough money to pay for his senior year. Ellison quickly became friends with Richard Wright who became somewhat of a mentor to him. Wright encouraged Ellison to incorporate communist ideals in his writing, but Ellison was never a communist nor did he believe in communism. He disagreed with the limits communism placed on individual expression. In Invisible Man, Ellison tried to show how the communist party was only using blacks for its own advantage.
Ralph Waldo Ellison joined the U.S. Merchant Marine to contribute to the war effort in 1943. He also started writing with more passion. He wrote several short stories which were published in 1944 and a year later he began Invisible Man. The novel took seven years to complete after starting as the words, "I am an invisible man" scrawled on a piece of paper at a friend’s house. The novel definitely uses aspects of the author’s life but it is by no means purely autobiographical. Invisible Man became unusually popular with whites and blacks. It was rare for an author to create a character with whom an audience of diverse backgrounds could identify. The book's popularity among blacks decreased during the 1960ss when the more radical ideas of leaders such as Malcolm X prevailed. Some blacks thought of Ellison as an "Uncle Tom," a black person who did what the white man wanted him to do. Ellison rejected ideas that black people should accept only the black race. To him it was important that everything be an integration of both black and white.
Although Ellison never completed another novel, he continued to be an important literary presence. He taught at several colleges and served as a trustee at Bennington College. He did manage to publish a second book, Shadow and Act, a collection of essays. When he died in 1994, he left behind an unfinished novel about a black evangelist and a white orphan whom he adopted. Ellison was able to live up to his namesake and become one of the most admired writers of his time.
Byers, Paula K., ed. "Ralph Waldo Ellison." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Vol. 5. Detroit: Gale, 1998. 274-275.