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Ralph EllisonA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Introduction-Chapter 1
Reading Check
1. Approximately seven years (1945-1952)
2. Light and lightbulbs (Prologue)
3. Twenty years before the Prologue (Prologue-Chapter 1)
4. A scholarship to an African American college (Chapter 1)
Short Answer
1. He doesn’t have a name, which is significant because it reinforces his invisibility. (Prologue)
2. He regrets his complicity in white oppression, which makes him feel like he is a traitor to his people. (Chapter 1)
3. He struggles to give his speech because his mouth is bloodied and dry from fighting. The White audience members also hassle and taunt him. (Chapter 1)
Chapters 2-6
Reading Check
1. To give him a tour while he visits campus (Chapter 2)
2. Mr. Trueblood (Chapter 2)
3. Dr. Bledsoe (Chapter 4)
4. Sealed letters of recommendation (Chapter 6)
Short Answer
1. He is worried that he will be get in trouble for the raucous nature of the bar. (Chapters 3-4)
2. He discusses how the university’s founder went around the country advocated for African American education. (Chapter 5)
3. He uses his conciliatory and seemingly meek manner to control white people and manipulate their perception of African Americans and the school.
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By Ralph Ellison