Model Sentences from Ralph Ellison

Sentences to study and imitate from the author of Invisible Man and Juneteenth, quotes about the blues and a writer’s identity, and a documentary about the enigmatic Ralph Ellison.

Feb 17, 2025

Photograph by David Attie

Ralph Ellison is a writer I know of but know very little about. I read Invisible Man in college and loved it. But since that decades old reading I haven’t touched the book or Ellison’s other writings. As I thought about this Model Sentences project I wanted to push myself into reading and researching writers who are recognizable in name but don’t get enough honest attention from the general reading public. But what I found (or was reminded of) when prepping this issue, is that Ralph Ellison is a MASTER of the written word. A true genius more people should study.

Three Questions to Ask When Studying Sentences

Use these three guiding questions to help you study the model sentences below and to write your own:

How is the sentence structured, and why does that structure work?
What literary or rhetorical devices are being used, and how do they enhance the sentence?
How does the sentence create emotion, and what techniques contribute to that effect?

Three Sentences by Ralph Ellison to Study and Imitate

Sentence #1

Man's hope can paint a purple picture, can transform a soaring vulture into a noble eagle or moaning dove.

from Invisible Man

Practice: Try this sentence frame using a topic from your writing.

(Pronoun) _____ can _____ a _____, can _____ a _____ into a _____ or ____.

Here’s an example I came up with.

Man’s selfishness can evaporate an ocean of potential, can erode a mountain of hope into a mound of misery or canyon of despair.

Sentence #2

Live with your head in the lion’s mouth.

from Invisible Man

Practice: Try this sentence frame using a topic from your writing.

Live with _____ on/in the _____.

Here’s an example I came up with.

Live with your dreams and desires on the poker table.

Sentence #3

Meaning grows in the mind, but the shape and form of the act remains.

from Juneteenth

Practice: Try this sentence frame using a topic from your writing.

_____ grows in the ____, but the _____ and _____ remains.

Here’s an example I came up with.

Jealousy grows in the ego, but the stench and bitterness remains.

Your Turn: Use the model sentences and frames to craft your own sentences and post them in the comments below.

Two Quotes by Ralph Ellison on the blues and a writer’s identity

Quote #1

“The blues is an impulse to keep the painful details and episodes of a brutal experience alive in one's aching consciousness, to finger its jagged grain, and to transcend it, not by the consolation of philosophy but by squeezing from it a near-tragic, near-comic lyricism. As a form, the blues is an autobiographical chronicle of personal catastrophe expressed lyrically.”

Journal Prompt:How would you describe your favorite genre of music? How does the sound and tone express and explore the human experience?

Quote #2

“By and large, the critics and readers gave me an affirmed sense of my identity as a writer. You might know this within yourself, but to have it affirmed by others is of utmost importance. Writing is, after all, a form of communication.”

Journal Prompt:What is your identity as a writer?Who or what affirms your identity as a writer? To what extent is your identity as a writer formed by the perceptions of others?

One Cool Thing - Ralph Ellison Documentary

Ellison is a bit of an enigma in literature. Sure, Invisible Man is a recognizable and lauded novel. But the man behind the book is rarely discussed. Ask anyone who Ralph Ellison is and they will probably say, “He’s the writer of Invisible Man.” And, sadly, that’s it. The long but fantastically produced documentary illuminates the polyglot who is Ralph Ellison.