Ralph-Ellison-拉尔夫.埃里森

RalphEllison拉尔夫·埃里森1914--1994RalphEllison•NamedafterRalphWaldoEmersoninthehopethathewouldturnouttobeagreatwriter,RalphWaldoEllisonwasbornandraisedinOklahoma（美国俄克拉荷马州）•Hisfatherwasabusinessmanandconstructionforeman.•Hisfatherdiedwhenhewas3yearsold.•Hismotherwasadomesticmaid.•Thoughpoverty-stricken,themothertriedherbesttokeephersoninschool.Ralphwassoexcellentinschoolthathewonastatescholarshipin1933tothewell-knownTuskegeeInstitute(nowTuskegeeUniversity)塔斯克基大学tostudymusic.•In1936,EllisonmetthewriterRichardWright,whoencouragedhimtobeawriterratherthanamusician.WithWright’sencouragement,Ellisionbeganwritingreviewsandshortstories.•From1970to1979,EllisonwasaprofessoratNewYorkUniversity.•In1985,hebecameoneofthefirstrecipientsoftheNationalMedalofArts.•EllisondiedonApril16,1994,ofpancreaticcancer,buthisworkscontinuetobepublished.In1996,FlyingHomeandotherstorieswaspublishedafterbeingdiscoveredinhishome.•Ellisonisoftencriticizedfornotusinghiswritingasapropagandatooltoelevatetheblackmaninsociety.MainWorksShadowandAct《影子与行动》1964GoingtotheTerritory《走向领域》1986MainWorksInvisibleMan《看不见的人》1952Juneteenth《六月庆典》1999InvisibleMan《看不见的人》AbouttheBook•Startingfrom1945,Ellisonhadbeenworkingonit,whichdidnotappearinprintuntil1952.•Thebookisaboutanamelessblackman’ssearchforhisidentityandplaceinsociety.•ThebookwontheNationalBookAward（美国国家图书奖）in1953andmanyotherprizes.Theme•Racism(种族主义)•Lossofself-identity(自我身份的丧失)•Thelimitationofideology(意识形态的限制)•Seekingindividualidentity(自我身份的寻求)Feature•SymbolismisatoolEllisonusesofteninhiswriting.Forexample,inInvisibleMan,theblindfoldsymbolizesman'sinabilitytoseewhoheiswithinsocietyandtherealityofsociety.Anotherexamplecouldbethecontrastbetweenlightanddark.Lightcansymbolizeunderstandingaswellasthegoodofsociety,whereasdarkcansymbolizeconfusionandthelowerscaleofsociety.