Ellison said he was born March 1, 1914. (Note: his biographer suggests evidence that it was a year earlier, 1913, despite Ellison suggesting 1914)
My edition of the book said it was published in 1952. That meant he was around 38 years old at publication. Close enough to keep digging. When did he finished writing it? From his biography it looks like the writing was completed late in 1951, probably October. From Ellison's accounting that would make him 37 years old.
So I went back and found a few clues to the narrator's age. Chapter 1 begins, "It goes a long way back, some twenty years..." This chapter is set when he's finishing high school and about to deliver his graduation speech. So assume he's 17 when delivering these lines, add the 20 years mentioned above, and you get 37.
What's the connection between the narrator in his hole and the Ellison the writer? Did Ellison the writer free the narrator by writing his story? Did the narrator free Ellison by telling his tale of how he became so black and blue?
So if there were two selves working here, they are both are sort of acting as narrators and authors. They're both 37, or 37 squared. But then I thought, "wait, did the narrator ever actually write anything in the novel?"
Clue 4
My edition of the book said it was published in 1952. That meant he was around 38 years old at publication. Close enough to keep digging. When did he finished writing it? From his biography it looks like the writing was completed late in 1951, probably October. From Ellison's accounting that would make him 37 years old.
So I went back and found a few clues to the narrator's age. Chapter 1 begins, "It goes a long way back, some twenty years..." This chapter is set when he's finishing high school and about to deliver his graduation speech. So assume he's 17 when delivering these lines, add the 20 years mentioned above, and you get 37.
In this chapter he also mentions, "about 85 years ago they were told they were free" likely referencing the end of the Civil War. Placing that at 1865 puts the narration date at 1950. Again, within a year the novel's completion.
So if there were two selves working here, they are both are sort of acting as narrators and authors. They're both 37, or 37 squared. But then I thought, "wait, did the narrator ever actually write anything in the novel?"
Clue 4
