Monica QuizhpiProfessor Michael CrourlerEnglish 1502 May 2014Research paperCrisis of individuality of African AmericansIdentity is the conception and expression of one's individuality. It's who he or she is. It consists roughly of what makes it different from the others. One's identity is built on the basis of one's experiences and external influences. Ralph Ellison in his novel titled Invisible Man discusses the difficulties an African American man faces in his identity due to the racial prejudice he is subjected to in American society. In fact the novel was published in 1952, a time when African Americans possessed few rights. Because of the few rights that African Americans possessed in American society, they were an easy target for the white community to denigrate and discriminate against. The white community humiliated, humiliated and physically abused African Americans, leading the black community to pass through society as “unknowns.” In Invisible Man, Ellison describes racial labels as a barrier to an individual's identity. Ellison states that racism is a tool of oppression used by individuals to diminish or denigrate a group of people in society. A group of people can be discriminated against based on sex, color, religion, ethnicity and beliefs. In Sandler's study it is stated that 88% of African Americans in the United States are discriminated against socially and economically (Sandler). In the United States of America, African Americans are considered a minority due to their low social status in society. The protagonist of The Invisible Man faces many difficulties in his identity due to racial prejudice. He is an African American who relies on other people to tell him what he should do, instead of creating it himself...... middle of paper....... Those who objected to those scandalous classifications were labeled ignorant . Society gave African Americans no alternative but to accept the social observations imposed on them, otherwise they were classified as crazy. Andrew Heberek discusses the psychological and emotional problems that African Americans have faced in society due to social observations. Some of the problems Heberek discusses are the lack of individualism of African Americans. Mozora Sandler and David Briggs in their study incorporated the percentage of African Americans discriminated against in American society. Marjorie Pryse and Michael Hardin both incorporate the internal struggles that African Americans were facing in society and how their identity was being interfered with. Overall, the social observation that American society has imposed on the minority has led to the majority of African Americans being invisible.