Prologue Practice Quiz — Invisible Man
by Ralph Ellison — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Prologue
What is the narrator's opening declaration in the Prologue?
He declares "I am an invisible man," explaining that his invisibility is social, not physical — others refuse to see him as a full human being.
Where does the narrator live during the Prologue?
He lives underground in a sealed-off section of a basement in a building at the border of Harlem that is rented exclusively to white tenants.
How many light bulbs has the narrator installed in his underground home?
Exactly 1,369 light bulbs, all blazing continuously, powered by electricity he steals from Monopolated Light & Power.
What happens during the narrator's encounter with the tall, blond man?
The narrator bumps into the man on a dark street, the man insults him, and the narrator attacks him savagely, nearly killing him before regaining his senses.
How does the newspaper report the narrator's attack on the blond man?
The newspaper reports it as a simple mugging, never identifying the narrator or acknowledging the racial dimension of the encounter.
What song does the narrator listen to on his phonograph?
Louis Armstrong's recording of "What Did I Do to Be So Black and Blue."
What does the narrator experience during his hallucinatory vision?
He hears a sermon on "the Blackness of Blackness," encounters a woman at a slave auction, and speaks with an old woman who poisoned her master who was also the father of her children.
What does the narrator say he is doing at the end of the Prologue?
He says he is in a state of "hibernation" — not death but covert preparation for action — and that the story to follow will explain how he arrived underground.
Why does the narrator describe himself as "invisible"?
Because other people refuse to see him due to their racial prejudice. Their "inner eyes" are incapable of perceiving him as a full human being.
What does the narrator's tone reveal about his character?
His tone oscillates between ironic humor, bitter anger, and philosophical reflection, revealing a man who is both intellectually sophisticated and emotionally volatile.
What does the narrator hint about his past in the Prologue?
He alludes to being a former public speaker and to specific betrayals, but withholds the details, creating suspense for the story to follow.
What does the old woman in the hallucination tell the narrator about freedom?
She tells him that freedom lies in loving and hating simultaneously, and in knowing the difference between the two.
What woman does the narrator encounter at the slave auction in his vision?
He encounters a beautiful woman who simultaneously loves and hates her white master, embodying the ambivalence and emotional complexity of slavery.
What does the metaphor of invisibility represent in the Prologue?
It represents the way racism causes white society to refuse to see Black individuals as fully human — a social and psychological erasure rather than a physical condition.
How does the theme of light and darkness function in the Prologue?
Light symbolizes self-knowledge and defiance against erasure, while darkness represents ignorance and the refusal to see. The 1,369 bulbs are the narrator's assertion of his own reality.
What does the Prologue suggest about violence and moral responsibility?
It suggests that the refusal to see another person is itself a form of aggression, and that both the narrator and his victim share responsibility for the violent encounter.
What role does African American music play as a theme in the Prologue?
Music functions as a vehicle for deeper perception, truth-telling, and survival. Louis Armstrong's art transforms the pain of invisibility into meaningful cultural expression.
What narrative structure does Ellison use in the Prologue?
A frame narrative: the Prologue is set in the narrator's present underground, and the main story will be told in retrospect, creating dramatic irony throughout.
What literary allusion does "Call me Jack-the-Bear" make?
It echoes "Call me Ishmael" from Herman Melville's Moby Dick, situating Invisible Man within the tradition of great American novels about identity and alienation.
How does Ellison use surrealism in the Prologue?
The reefer-induced hallucination — including the sermon, slave auction, and encounter with the old woman — uses surreal imagery to explore layers of consciousness and historical memory.
What does the underground setting allude to in literary tradition?
It alludes to Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground, linking the narrator's existential crisis to a broader tradition of alienated narrators who retreat from society to examine truth.
What does "hibernation" mean as the narrator uses it?
A state of withdrawal that is not death or defeat but a period of covert preparation for future action and reengagement with the world.
What does "Monopolated Light & Power" represent?
A fictionalized utility company whose name suggests monopoly and institutional power. The narrator's theft of its electricity symbolizes subversion of the systems that deny his existence.
What is the significance of the opening line "I am an invisible man"?
It is one of the most famous opening lines in American literature. Its stark simplicity establishes the central metaphor and demands the reader reckon with what it means to exist yet remain unseen.
What does the narrator mean by "the end is in the beginning and lies far ahead"?
This paradox signals the novel's circular structure — the narrator writes from the endpoint of his journey, and the events he will narrate loop back to explain how he arrived underground.