Ralph Ellison

"Perhaps invisibility is a gift in the circumstances."

"I could make myself invisible by refusing to participate."

"Memory is the only form of immortality."

"Work gives us dignity; work gives us purpose."

"Man's fate is in the hands of the Creator."

"I never accept defeat in the presence of my enemies."

"Being human requires understanding and compassion."

"The form of American society is still being determined."

"To evade responsibility is to evade living."

"You can't take away something that belongs to someone."

"The highest achievement is character."

"Democracy requires participation from all."

"In the beginning was not only the Word, but Black consciousness too."

"A society that fails to educate its people betrays itself."

"I came to understand that in fiction we often discover truths denied us in life."

"The artist must take sides, must choose between beauty and truth."

"Each day I seemed to discover some new aspect of my invisibility."

"Progress requires the courage to imagine alternatives."

"The meaning of life lies in work and struggle."

"I would not trade places with anyone."

"Silence is golden only when one has something to say."

"Your past is not your potential."

"The cost of leadership is personal sacrifice."

"All significant change in American life comes from below."

"I am what I choose to be."

"Sometimes the most eloquent thing one can do is remain silent."

"A man must make his own truth."

"Forgetting is a form of death."

"The artist's duty is to illuminate the human condition."

"I refuse to accept despair as the final response."