Racism and Identity Quest in The Great Gatsby and Invisible Man

Abstract

This research work studies Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. These novels trace the issue of identity quest in American society. The Great Gatsby reflects the greediness of the middle class American people to adopt an aristocratic life. Invisible Man explores the dreams of the African Americans to be assimilated into the dominant white community. Through the lens of New Historicism, I have demonstrated that the two literary works mirrored the world of their authors. Furthermore, following Michel Foucault’s theory of discourse and power, I have endeavored to disclose the prevailing discourses that power produces and show how language can be used as an instrument to reinforce, promote and contest power. In fact, both novels advance the discourse of racism to regulate and suppress other discourses. Social evils, as social class disparities and racism that subdued American people, were the major reasons behind the emergence of identity issues. This work demonstrates that Americans’ quest for identity in the 1920s culminated in demise