Invisible Man: Chapters 3-5

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

• Could you guess that the picture above was of the famous Tuskegee Institute — now known as Tuskegee University — which Ralph Ellison attended in the 1920s?

• What other history do you know about Tuskegee?

Jot down anything you know about this college in the notebook or journal you keep for this series.

Then, read about the History of Tuskegee University, on which Ellison based the unnamed college in his novel Invisible Man.

After reading, answer these questions in your notebook or journal.

• Who was the first teacher at Tuskegee?
• How did Lewis Adams secure funding for the founding of the school?
• For how long was Dr. Washington president of the school?
• What were two accomplishments of Dr. Patterson during his tenure as school president?
• When did Tuskegee become a university?
• What is the name of the Booker T. Washington monument on campus?

After recording your answers, check them against the ones below.

Tuskegee Institute is one of the historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States that were founded after the end of slavery.

Read The History of HBCUs in America to learn more about this system, and answer the questions below in your notebook or journal.

• What was the original purpose of most HBCUs?
• What three professions did HBCUs initially encourage?
• In what field do HBCUs produce the majority of Black graduates?
• Why are some HBCUs struggling to stay open today?

After answering, click below to check your work.

The narrator in Invisible Man attends an unnamed HBCU in the South in the 1920s before other colleges regularly accept non-White students.

Like many HBCUs, the narrator's college was founded with money from White donors. You already met Mr. Norton, one of the northern White founders in Chapter 2.

Now, read Chapters 3-5 to find out how Mr. Norton's visit to the college concludes. As you read, note how the college operates, how the administrators treat students and donors, how the narrator feels about the college, and what students' expectations are.

You can use these notes later in the lesson to help with Go! activity.

Continue using the copy of the novel in the format you chose to complete this series of Related Lessons (right-hand sidebar). If you cannot access the book, you may download Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison from the Internet Archive.

When you have finished reading, move to the Got It? section to explore the events of these chapters in more detail.