Personal Identity in The Invisible Man In the novel, The Invisible Man, the main character carries a briefcase with him throughout the story. All the items he carries in that briefcase are mementos of learning experiences. Throughout the novel, the Invisible Man is searching for his identity and later discovers that his identity is in those objects. As the narrator leaves Mary's house for the Brotherhood, he sees a bank of black dolls in her room. He is angry because the doll is holding a sign that says, "Feed me." or whatever, that allowed Mary to keep such a self-deprecating image around" (Ellison 319). The narrator's breaking of the bank symbolizes that he is rejecting the opinions of the "old nigger" and making his own opinions on the Part of his views is the belief that people of color do not need to rely on white people for their survival. Often you don't know your own point of view on a topic until you can reject another item stored in his briefcase is the broken chain link that Brother Tarp gave him "I didn't want it or know what to do with it; though there was no question of keeping it if only because I felt that Brother Tarp's gesture in offering it had a deeply felt meaning which I was forced to respect" (Ellison 389). Although the narrator does not want to maintain the bond, he feels forced to do so because the chain gang is part of his legacy . You often feel like you can't ignore your past, like the Invisible Man does. Even at the end of the novel, when he's... halfway through the paper ... part of his true identity. Works Cited Bone, Robert. "Ralph Ellison and the Uses of the Imagination." Inc., 1971. 45-63.Brennan, Timothy. “Ellison and Ellison: The Invisible Man Solipsism.” The Modern Library, 1994. Holland, Laurence B. “Ellison in Black and White: Confession, Violence and Klein, Marcus.” After Alienation: American Novels in Mid-Century. Cleveland: World Pub., 1964 71-146. Langman, F.H. "Reconsidering the Invisible Man".. 1972: 86-100.