Synopses & Reviews
Schor traces the development of Ralph Ellison's fiction from the earliest experiments to the major accomplishment of his novel
Invisible Man, the mature prose of the
Hickman stories and other published portions of his novel-in-progress. The study considers the two-fold obligation Ellison felt in committing himself to literature: to contribute at once to the growth of literature and also to the shaping of the culture as he would like it to be. His stories, read sequentially, reflect his struggle to encompass this aim in his writing. In describing that fragment of American experience he knew best, he learned to use the rich resources of his African-American heritage; from his passionate involvement with his craft came the discovery that, in literature, values turn in their own way, not in the service of politics or ideology.
The early stories mark Ellison's maze-like route that developed the skill, talent, and imagination and personal vision needed to transform experience into art. The novel demonstrates the flowering of his talent, and the Hickman stories add a fine patina. In her discussion of Ellison's work, Professor Schor uses his essays and interviews as well as the insights of other critics to comment directly on his fiction. The study concludes with a bibliography of Ellison's fiction and nonfiction and a selective bibliography of criticism and related sources.
Review
Competently written and accurate in its presentation of well-known information.Choice
Synopsis
Schor traces the development of Ralph Ellison's writings from the earliest experiments to the major accomplishment of his novel Invisible Man, the mature prose of the Hickman Stories, and the other published portions of his novel-in-progress. The study considers the two-fold obligation Ellison felt in committing himself to literature: a commitment to the craft of fiction and to the shaping of a culture. The early stories mark Ellison's "mazelike" route that developed the skill, talent, and imagination and personal vision to transform experience into art. In Schor's discussion of Ellison's work, essays and interviews are used to comment directly on the fiction, as are insights by other critics. The study concludes with a bibliography of Ellison's fiction and nonfiction and a selected secondary bibliography.
Synopsis
Analysis of the literary development of the author of the African-American classic novel Invisible Man.
About the Author
EDITH SCHOR is Professor of English at the City University of New York, Bronx Community Campus.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Short Stories: Early Explorations
Short Stories: The Big Three
The Novel: Accommodation
The Novel: Revolt and After
Later Fiction
Bibliography
Index