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130 Invisible Man Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is a classic novel that explores themes of identity, race, and society. If you're tasked with writing an essay on this novel, you may be struggling to come up with a topic. To help you out, we've compiled a list of 130 Invisible Man essay topic ideas and examples to inspire your writing.

• The significance of the title "Invisible Man" in the novel.
• How does the protagonist's invisibility shape his identity?
• Analyze the theme of race and racism in Invisible Man.
• Explore the role of women in the novel.
• Discuss the symbolism of blindness in the novel.
• How does the protagonist's journey from the South to the North reflect his personal growth?
• Analyze the role of music in Invisible Man.
• Discuss the theme of betrayal in the novel.
• How does the protagonist's relationship with the Brotherhood change over the course of the novel?
• Explore the theme of individuality vs. conformity in Invisible Man.
• Analyze the use of symbolism in the novel.
• Discuss the theme of isolation in Invisible Man.
• How does the protagonist's relationship with his past shape his present identity?
• Analyze the theme of power and control in the novel.
• Explore the significance of the protagonist's namelessness.
• Discuss the theme of freedom in Invisible Man.
• Analyze the role of education in the novel.
• How does the protagonist's invisibility affect his relationships with others?
• Discuss the theme of invisibility as a metaphor for social marginalization.
• Analyze the role of violence in the novel.
• How does the protagonist's relationship with Ras the Exhorter reflect his own internal struggles?
• Explore the theme of identity and self-discovery in Invisible Man.
• Analyze the role of history in the novel.
• Discuss the theme of betrayal and loyalty in Invisible Man.
• How does the protagonist's relationship with Dr. Bledsoe reflect larger themes in the novel?
• Analyze the use of irony in the novel.
• Discuss the theme of redemption in Invisible Man.
• How does the protagonist's relationship with Sybil reflect his own insecurities?
• Explore the theme of invisibility as a form of resistance.
• Analyze the role of technology in the novel.
• Discuss the theme of manipulation and control in Invisible Man.
• How does the protagonist's relationship with Mary Rambo reflect his own internal conflicts?
• Analyze the role of the narrator in the novel.
• Discuss the theme of social responsibility in Invisible Man.
• How does the protagonist's relationship with Rinehart reflect his own internal struggles?
• Explore the theme of betrayal and forgiveness in Invisible Man.
• Analyze the role of religion in the novel.
• Discuss the theme of ambition and power in Invisible Man.
• How does the protagonist's relationship with the white woman in the paint factory reflect larger themes in the novel?
• Analyze the use of satire in the novel.
• Discuss the theme of the American Dream in Invisible Man.
• How does the protagonist's relationship with Brother Jack reflect his own internal conflicts?
• Explore the theme of ambition and self-destruction in Invisible Man.
• Analyze the role of art and creativity in the novel.
• Discuss the theme of social change in Invisible Man.
• How does the protagonist's relationship with the narrator reflect his own internal struggles?
• Analyze the role of language in the novel.
• Discuss the theme of violence and resistance in Invisible Man.
• How does the protagonist's relationship with the white founders of the Brotherhood reflect larger themes in the novel?
• Explore the theme of invisibility as a form of protest.
• Analyze the role of fear and paranoia in the novel.
• Discuss the theme of power and corruption in Invisible Man.
• How does the protagonist's relationship with the veteran in the barbershop reflect his own internal conflicts?
• Explore the theme of invisibility as a form of survival.
• Analyze the role of tradition and heritage in the novel.
• Discuss the theme of redemption and forgiveness in Invisible Man.
• How does the protagonist's relationship with the black nationalists reflect larger themes in the novel?
• Explore the theme of invisibility as a form of empowerment.
• Analyze the role of violence and resistance in the novel.
• Discuss the theme of identity and belonging in Invisible Man.
• How does the protagonist's relationship with the white woman in the hospital reflect his own internal struggles?
• Explore the theme of invisibility as a metaphor for social invisibility.
• Analyze the role of social class in the novel.
• How does the protagonist's relationship with the veteran in the hospital reflect larger themes in the novel?
• Explore the theme of invisibility as a form of rebellion.
• Analyze the role of politics and power in the novel.
• Discuss the theme of ambition and self-destruction in Invisible Man.
• How does the protagonist's relationship with the black nationalists reflect his own internal conflicts?
• How does the protagonist's relationship with the veteran in the barbershop reflect larger themes in the novel?
• How does the protagonist's relationship

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Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Essay

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Introduction

Plot summary, themes and characters.

Bibliography

In Ralph Ellison’s novel The Invisible Man , the protagonist narrates in the first person about his invisibility. He, as he refers to himself without considering his person a subject while being a real person, is made «of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids». 1 He describes how people around are looking through him. The problem is not with their physical eyes, meaning it is not something that does not allow them to perceive physically. Only a few pages later, readers randomly find out that the narrator is spoken as of being black. The rest who look through him are characterized as white. In this way, the unexpected flow of expressively violent scenes pours light on an exceptionally sophisticated form of racist unification against which the protagonist will act. It is not a fact of physical absence but the social non-existence of an individual. To the question about his invisibility, the narrator replies that the nature of the vision of those who look through him has to be held responsible for this.

This is not a flaw in their physical vision and actual inability to perceive, but it is an internal prejudice that does not allow them to understand it the right way. The duality of the conflict between the main character and the world surrounding him is gradually unfolded with every step of the development of the book. Thus, with the sharp and aggressive sentences of the first-person narration, this prologue opens the story. The script is characterized by several particularly sophisticated forms of discrimination and humiliation against which the protagonist will fight throughout the novel. It takes a form of invisibility, namely, the suppression of the personality, which, obviously, deals not with physical absence, but with non-existence in a social sense. The demonstration of the latter explains why this story has such an importance for American and world culture.

The story begins with the narrator’s reminiscence about his past life. He tells readers how he dreamed of becoming a renowned educator and orator. However, readers are quickly shown how the system is going to treat the narrator’s dreams as the humiliating procedure of receiving a scholarship to a specially designated state college is described in detail. The narrator then experiences a plethora of situations where he is disregarded, disrespected, and mistreated because of the color of his skin. He gets expelled from the college and goes North, where he eventually finds out that what he considered exceptional freedom turns out to be the same he saw in the South.

The author goes as far as putting the narrator through experiencing the consequences of explosion and being subjected to medical experiments by White doctors. This is acknowledged when the narrator gives an introspection of his life as being “based upon the fallacious assumption that I, like other men, was visible”, referring to his past worldview. 2 Further life makes the narrator more and more disenfranchised and disillusioned about the social situation of his race.

However, despite the numerous misfortunes of his life, including being chased into a manhole by a furious mob, the narrator finds a way to ease his hatred and emotional pain. To do so, he uses writing, and as he entrusts paper with the story of his path, he feels that life is still worthy of living. Thus, the man rediscovers the fact that he loves living no matter what. The latter is an example of an excellent new way of perceiving life that is not based on superficial ideas of others, judgment, and prejudice.

The theme of racial injustice is the most vividly expressed theme of the entire book. The author shows how deeply it has rooted in the fabric of society. The perceived social invisibility of the protagonist is representative of the racial practices imposed on the African American community that are described by the author in his novel. 3 The writer pictures the situation brightly and with striking accuracy because he was a witness of it during his lifetime. While it is obvious that social traditions such as segregation, discrimination, and similar are racist and, thus, absolutely unacceptable, the more important theme of the novel is not the description of the racial situation in the United States.

The topic of greater importance for the readers of all times and nations is the theme of one man’s journey to discovering self-identity. The main character serves the purpose of expressing that idea explicitly. In relation to this, the scene of the expulsion of the narrator from college has great importance as it functions as one of the most powerful triggers that move the character to step on a path of realization, which stems from the inability to understand southern mores. 4 The return of the narrator from the White culture to the cultural roots of his folk represents the evolution of his conscientiousness. This is the act of self-liberation of his true identity from the oppressive influence of the dominant racial discourse. As the character sets him free, Ellison here pushes the theme of Black identity in American literature, which strongly influenced future writers in their attempts to resolve this issue. 5

In my opinion, Ellison’s warning to readers about the necessity of moderation, as it is depicted in the scenes of unrest in Harlem, was the most important idea. Despite the injustices, it is always crucial to stay away from violence or resentment and dedicate the efforts to something more productive. The latter I consider to be the second most valuable thought I derived from reading this book as it can be given to a person of any generation. If the piece of literature is capable of being useful through time, then it can be concluded that it is truly an art and is worthy of being a part of humanity’s cultural heritage.

The Invisible Man is one of the most powerful writings on the topics of racial justice ever written by any American writer. Its value is even greater as it provides readers with a valuable lesson on discovering one’s true identity and setting oneself free of the influence of the dominant culture. This idea is essential for modern culture as more and more people suffer from being unable to discover their true selves. Finding and establishing a meaningful connection with the cultural heritage of one’s people is presented by the author to be one of the ways to do so.

Banks, Joy. 2018. “ Invisible Man : Examining the Intersectionality of Disability, Race, and Gender in an Urban Community.” Disability & Society 33, no. 6 (2018): 894-908. doi:10.1080/09687599.2018.1456912.

Ellison, Ralph, and John Callahan. Invisible Man . London: Penguin UK, 2016.

King, Lovalerie, and Linda F Selzer. New Essays on the African American Novel . New York: Springer, 2016.

Wang, Gaixia. “On The Construction of Self Identity in Invisible Man “. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research 87 (2017): 656-660. doi:10.2991/icemeet-16.2017.139.

• Ralph Ellison and John Callahan, Invisible Man , (Penguin UK, 2016), 1.
• Ralph Ellison and John Callahan, Invisible Man , (Penguin UK, 2016), 3.
• Joy Banks, “Invisible Man: Examining the Intersectionality of Disability, Race, and Gender in an Urban Community,” Disability & Society 33, no. 6 (2018): 895.
• Lovalerie King and Linda F Selzer, New Essays on the African American Novel , (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), 171.
• Gaixia Wang, “On the Construction of Self Identity in Invisible Man,” Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research 87 (2017): 659.
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IvyPanda. (2019, December 3). Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. https://ivypanda.com/essays/invisible-man-by-ralph-ellison/

"Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison." IvyPanda , 3 Dec. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/invisible-man-by-ralph-ellison/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison'. 3 December.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison." December 3, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/invisible-man-by-ralph-ellison/.

1. IvyPanda . "Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison." December 3, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/invisible-man-by-ralph-ellison/.

IvyPanda . "Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison." December 3, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/invisible-man-by-ralph-ellison/.

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Invisible Man — Struggle to Visibility in “Invisible Man”

Struggle to Visibility in "Invisible Man"

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Published: Jun 29, 2018

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Invisible Man

By ralph ellison.

• Invisible Man Summary

The novel opens with a Prologue describing the depressed state of the narrator, who remains nameless throughout the novel. He is an invisible man, he proclaims, and has taken to living unknown underground, sucking electricity from the state of New York into his many light bulbs that he has hung in his lair. The novel is to be the story of how he came to be in this position.

As a young boy, the narrator overhears the last words of his dying grandfather, whose message lingers with him through high school. He is struck with this idea when he is asked to give his college oration to the town's most honored white men. At the fancy ballroom where he attends the occasion, he is ushered into the battle royal with the other boys hired for the evening's entertainment. First however the boys are brought into the room where a naked woman dances. The boys are next blindfolded and pitted against each other in a boxing ring. After several fights, only the narrator and the largest boy, Tatlock , remain and they are told they must fight each other for a prize.

The next stage requires the boys to grab for gold coins on a rug which turns out to be electrified. The narrator is finally allowed to give his oration and is awarded a scholarship to a renowned black college. At college, he is first faced with the disillusionment which will overcome him by the end. The memory is painful as he relates the day he was given the honor of driving an old white trustee, Mr. Norton , around the campus. The drive goes smoothly for a while although Mr. Norton's questions surprise the narrator. Norton sees every student at the college as part of his fate. He also welcomes a chance to explore parts of the surrounding town . Mistakenly, the narrator drives Norton into a poor district of black sharecroppers and Norton is intrigued by a disgraced member of the community, Jim Trueblood , who is rumored to have impregnated both his wife and daughter. Trueblood gives a long description of the dream which made him commit the act of incest and resulted in his wife trying to kill him. After this episode, Norton feels faint and the narrator takes him to the Golden Day brothel in order to find whisky to revive him. Mental patients visiting the bar unfortunately rise up against their attendant, trapping the narrator and Norton in the middle of the fight. Falling unconscious, Norton is revived by a former doctor who speaks to him of the narrator's invisibility. Thinking the doctor insane, he and the narrator finally return to the college where the narrator is punished for his treatment of Mr. Norton. The college president, Dr. Bledsoe , relates to the narrator that he should have only showed the trustee what the college would have wanted him to see. The narrator is expelled and sent to New York with seven sealed letters to wealthy employers with the promise that he can return as a paying student in the fall. Though stunned, the narrator decides to take advantage of the opportunity to work for an important person in New York City.

Arriving in Harlem, he is dazed but excited. He rents a room at the Men's House in Harlem and sets out the next morning to start handing out his letters. That process goes smoothly although he is only able to give the letters to secretaries and is told the employers will contact him. After not hearing anything, the narrator becomes suspicious of the secretaries and holds the last letter back, asking first to meet with the employer, Mr. Emerson , upon which he could personally give him the letter. The narrator's efforts are once more interceded, though, as Mr. Emerson's son takes the letter from him at the office and attempts to talk him out of returning to the college or speaking to his father. Finally, the son finally shows the narrator the letter from Dr. Bledsoe which the narrator had been told not to look at. The narrator is horrified to read what is written. Bledsoe writes explicitly to the employers that the narrator will never be allowed back to the school and asks them to see to it in the meantime that he will not be able to return to school as a paying student. Disillusioned, the narrator leaves the office utterly humiliated and terribly angry. He decides to take a job at a paint factory in order to be able to plan out his revenge on Dr. Bledsoe.

The idea of revenge is jumbled during the one long day he spends working at the paint plant. His boss, Mr. Kimbro , is very brusque and demanding, putting the narrator immediately on the job with very few instructions and the order not to ask questions. When the narrator mixes the wrong ingredient into the paint because he is afraid to ask Kimbro, he is fired from that job and handed to another boss, Mr. Brockway , who works as the engineer of sorts. Brockway is paranoid that the narrator is trying to take his job and is thus quite irritable toward him, asking him many questions about his past. They get along agreeably enough until after the narrator returns from retrieving his lunch. In the lockerroom he had run into what he thinks is a union meeting, though we later realize it was a Brotherhood meeting, and it had delayed him. He explains this to Brockway who explodes in anger at his participation in a union and attacks him, refusing to listen to the narrator's explanation. The narrator feels the tension snap inside him and fights off Mr. Brockway. Because of their inattention to the gauges in the room, the tanks burst from the pressure and the narrator is covered in white paint and knocked unconscious.

He swims in and out of consciousness for what seems like days in a plant factory, surrounded by doctors who speak of lobotomies and tests which they would not try on him if he had been a white Harvard student. Desperately clutching consciousness at one point, he is asked his name but is unable to remember it. Finally, the doctors release him from the tubes and machines, saying that he has been saved though he never really knows from what. He is brought to the hospital director before he can leave, where he is told that he can no longer work at the plant but will receive ample compensation. Still foggy, he stumbles back toward the Men's House where he is relieved on his way by a strong, motherly woman named Mary Rambo . The narrator hesitantly agrees to let her take him back to her house where he can rest and revive his spirits. She feeds him and also offers him a place to stay before he returns to the Men's House. Returning to the house after his hospital stay and lowly employment, he feels inferior and realizes he can no longer reside there. After offending a man he first believes is Bledsoe, he is thrown out of the House and takes Mary up on her offer.

Able to pay rent with his compensation money, the narrator lives with Mary for a while in relative quiet. Once the winter comes to New York, the narrator feels restless and takes to wandering streets, still filled with rage toward Bledsoe. After reconnecting with his own identity by eating southern yams sold on the street, he is drawn to an eviction where an old black couple is being thrown out into the cold. A crowd has formed around the defenseless couple who shriek and cry out against the injustice. The scene of dispossession strikes the narrator to the core and he begins to speak to the crowd after the couple is denied the chance to go inside their home and pray. His emotions clashing, he stands in front of the crowd calming them and forming their chaos into an ordered rage. Once the crowd rushes the house, the narrator runs to escape lest the police come after him. Running over rooftops, he is followed by a short man who later approaches him on the street. The man introduces himself as Brother Jack and praises the narrator on his moving oration. He offers him a job with the Brotherhood, taking advantage of his speaking skills. Brushing aside the offer, the narrator later reproaches himself for not getting more details about the job when he is in such debt to Mary. He decides to accept the job in order to pay back Mary, but must stop living with her once he is accepted into the Brotherhood. His first glimpse into the organization is at the party/meeting they bring him to at the Chthonian Hotel. The upscale, mostly white crowd makes him uncomfortable but they all appear friendly and praise his action at the eviction. Brother Jack explains to the narrator that his role will be one of leading the community of Harlem in line with the Brotherhood's teachings, in the manner of Booker T. Washington. Secretly, the narrator vows to follow the example set by the college's founder instead.

The narrator leaves Mary's house the next day. In his room that morning, he finds a piggy bank in his room shaped offensively like a black man with overly exaggerated features. After breaking it by accident, he attempts to get rid of it but cannot. He is then sent to Brother Hambro for training, given a new apartment, and a new name. After completing training, the Brothers call him down to Harlem and he is shown the office where he will work, along with Brother Tarp and Brother Clifton, the handsome youth leader. He quickly becomes accustomed to his new work, relishing the ability to inspire the community around him. He and Clifton meet up with Ras the Exhorter, who competes with them for the community's support and chastises them for being traitors to their African race. The two groups fight until the narrator leads them away. Still the narrator feels secure and powerful in his position until he receives an ominous note warning him to move slowly and carefully. Alarmed, he questions Brother Tarp to see if he has any enemies. Tarp reassures him and opens up to him, relating painful parts of his past and giving to him a broken link he has saved from breaking away from a chain gang after nineteen years. Brother Wrestrum also visits on the day of the mystery note, and incites suspicion with the narrator because he seems meddlesome. His idea for a Brotherhood emblem is overshadowed by his attack on the inherently symbolic message of Tarp's chain link. The narrator agrees to be interviewed by a Harlem publication after trying to get them to speak to Clifton.

Weeks later, the narrator is called by the Brotherhood committee to an urgent meeting where he is charged by Wrestrum for attempting to overshadow and dominate the Brotherhood, naming some unknown plot against the Brotherhood and using the article the narrator was interviewed for as evidence. Until the accusations are cleared, the narrator moves downtown to speak on the Woman Question. Frustrated by the move but willing to try it, he meets a married woman who seduces him. The affair stays with him though he does not see her again, as he is frightened that the Brotherhood will find out and use it against him. Soon he is summoned to another emergency meeting which alerts him to Clifton's disappearance and reinstates him in Harlem. Returning to his old post, he finds that much is changed in the short time he has been gone. Tarp and Brother Maceo are gone as well and the spirit in the district is much subdued, as many of the people feel that the Brotherhood has let them down. Realizing he is now out of the Brotherhood loop, he plans to revive the neighborhood sentiment on his own. By chance, he finds Clifton further uptown where Clifton has become a street seller of a dancing, paper Sambo doll. Disgusted and intrigued, the narrator watches the performance and the police chase which follows, ending in the unnecessary killing of Clifton.

He decides to hold a funeral which can serve to unite the community of Harlem around a fallen hero of sorts. Though successful, the Brotherhood is outraged and meets him back in his office, at which point Jack angrily reveals that he has not been hired to think. They order that he continue in the district and send him to Hambro in order to understand the new, less aggressive program.

Thoroughly changed by Clifton's fate and the recent events, the narrator feels very angry toward the Brotherhood and walks around the neighborhood to think. He notices that the district is much more stirred by Clifton's shooting than he had presumed and he is drawn in by Ras to explain the Brotherhood's limited action following the murder. He defends their position and then moves away to buy a disguise so he will not be harmed by any of Ras's men. Surprisingly, due to dark green glasses and a wide hat, people begin to approach him and refer to him as Rinehart . He is able to go unnoticed by Ras but is constantly noticed by others as Rinehart, by lovers and zoot-suiters. Going back to a bar he normally frequented, he is still mistaken for Rinehart and is almost swept along into a fight with Brother Maceo. Later, on the way to Hambro's, the narrator uncovers a church where Rinehart is a reverend. His many identities and obvious manipulation of people's faith disturbs the narrator greatly and he approaches Hambro even more cynical than the Brotherhood left him. Hambro attempts to indoctrinate him into the new program, describing the scientific logistics, but to no avail. The narrator feels he can finally see how the Brotherhood and so many organizations in his life have swindled and manipulated their constituents. Resolved to attack the Brotherhood from the inside, he plans to "yes" the white men to death, referencing his grandfather, and to find a woman whom he can seduce into giving him inside information.

He chooses Sybil as she is vulnerable and married to an important brother, however she surprises him by wanting him to rape her. He escapes the situation when he is called uptown to Harlem for a crisis, although she attempts to tag along. A riot is in action and the narrator is swept along with it, nearly shot, and aids in the arson of an apartment building. The climax of the riot occurs when Ras rides through on a black horse dressed as a chieftain and wants the narrator hanged. Running from Ras' goons, the narrator falls down a manhole and realizes that he must live underground for awhile. The Epilogue is his resolution to reemerge into the world of social responsibility.

Invisible Man Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Invisible Man is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Who knows about invisibility and who does not know about invisibility?

Everyone learns that the Invisible Man is invisible over the course of the novel..... are you referring to a specific chapter?

Identify the relationship between the narrator and his grandfather?

The character who most fills the narrator's thoughts and fuels his fears throughout the novel is his dead grandfather. Dying with bitter words on his lips, the narrator feels his grandfather has never understood humanity but cannot help but be...

Photos or illustrations in the book

Are you referring to the Invisible man by Ralph Ellison or HG Wells?

Study Guide for Invisible Man

Invisible Man study guide contains a biography of Ralph Ellison, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Invisible Man
• Character List
• Prologue and Chapters 1-2 Summary and Analysis
• Related Links

Essays for Invisible Man

Invisible Man literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Invisible Man.

• The Values of the Invisible Man
• Stereotypes and Exploitation of Women in Invisible Man
• Food for Thought
• What America Would Be Like Without Women: An Analysis of the Trafficking of Women in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
• Illuminating the Darkness

Lesson Plan for Invisible Man

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Invisible Man
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Invisible Man Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for Invisible Man

• Introduction
• Political influences and the Communist Party
• Plot summary

The Invisible Man

35 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-6

Chapters 7-10

Chapters 11-15

Chapters 16-20

Chapter 21-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

What is the historical context of The Invisible Man ? How did the era during which the novel was written influence Wells?

How are the villagers portrayed in comparison with the highly educated Griffin and Dr. Kemp?

How is religion portrayed throughout the novel? What about the relationship between religion and science?

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