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What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Ellison’s opening lines are a clear reference to Notes From Underground, in which the Underground Man begins with “I am a spiteful man” and continues with similar statements. The Underground Man is removed from society and highly critical, so Ellison uses the allusion to recall this in his protagonist.
—Herman Melville, Ralph Ellison – Invisible Man (Epigraph + Prologue)
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
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Ellison begins his novel with an excerpt from Benito Cereno, a Melville short story in which slaves take control of a ship and then prop up a fake white captain to fool others. Captain Delano boards this ship and slowly begins to realize what has happened. The racial commentary in the text is pervasive, prompting Ellison’s decision to include it.
Stage adaptation of Benito Cereno
Cuz when I'm sober right
I think I can make through the, red light
Go, go, go, I hope I'm not dead right
But when I'm drunk, I know I can't
So I ain't, I drive like a saint Afroman – Drive Better Drunk
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
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