ethnicity, invisibility and self-creation in the invisible manA community can be said to possess an authentic ethnic culture when it adheres to and closely observes a tradition rich in its own folklore , their own music and their own language. In Ellison's Invisible Man, the concern with ethnic identity is strong and becomes increasingly urgent in the face of a dominant "foreign" culture. Ethnicity, as a means of self-affirmation, is a possible resistance to eclipse, to invisibility. Ellison convincingly describes the persistence of a vibrant African-American tradition. But the fight against the blackout leads to a greater triumph. His characters achieve a sense of completeness, as ethnic life is seen as complementary to national culture. Through the idea of ​​cultural diversity and unity, Ellison proposes an expanding vision of identity and relationship. The threat of eclipse is replaced by the possibilities of self-creation and integration. With the publication of Invisible Man in 1952, Ralph Ellison gave the African-American novel a stature and dignity never before achieved. For the first time, an African American writer, with creative verve and freedom, has managed to overcome the self-consciousness of a minority culture, to realize the opportunities for greater awareness and fulfillment that are latent in a border existence. Ellison convincingly describes the richness and beauty of African American culture and tradition in the United States and clearly shows the inadequacy of neo-African nationalism. Even more significantly, it establishes the essential place of African American culture in American society and demonstrates the immense prospects that accompany marginal life in a modern world. Alienation becomes a condition of vision. Invisib...... middle of paper __________."Ralph Ellison and the uses of the Imagination." Ralph Ellison: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. John Hersey. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1974.Brodhead, Richard H. The Hawthorne School. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1986. Ellison, Ralph. The invisible man. 1952. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1987. Fernando, Lloyd. Scorpion orchid. Kuala Lumpur: Heinemann Asia, 1976.Gates, Henry L., Jr. ed. Black literature and literary theory. New York: Methuen, 1984. Hersey, John, ed. Ralph Ellison: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1974. Kartiganer, Donald M., and Malcolm Griffith. Theories of American literature. New York: Macmillan, 1972. Smith, Anthony D. The Ethnic Awakening. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1981.Thumboo, Edwin (ed.). The second language. Singapore: Heinemann Educational Books (Asia) Ltd., 197