In 1952 Ralph Ellison published the only novel of his career: The Invisible Man; telling the story of an unnamed “invisible” narrator. Early on, the narrator outlines his invisibility to "the people who refuse to see him"; society neglects to see him as a result of his black ancestry (Ellison 3). Ellison incorporates several objects, which appear and reappear frequently throughout the novel, to expose the social and intellectual issues imposed on the black community. Amid the “procession of tangible, material objects” that move “in and out of the text” is the dancing Sambo doll whose purpose is to symbolically represent cruel stereotypes and the destructive power of the injustice of which blacks are victims ( Lucas 172). Ellison's rendering of the small paper dolls, representing obedient black slaves, "unveils a striking correspondence between past and present" and functions as a force for the narrator's more essential awareness of his environment and identity (Lucas 173). Sambo, whose sole purpose was to entertain the white community, also has the function of symbolizing, through its stereotype, the power that whites have in controlling the movements of African Americans. Ellison immediately introduces readers to the Sambo stereotype at the beginning of the novel when the invisible man becomes the source of entertainment for the white man during the actual battle, engaging in a combat match with other black men. Out of sheer desperation to be accepted by these men, the narrator; like the obedient Sambo, he moves according to what he hears from the crowd instructing him to do because "only these men [can] judge [his] ability" (Ellison 22). To further validate the narrator's Sambo-like behavior, after the encounter, a blond man winks at the narrator... in the center of the paper... pulls the strings. For the narrator and the black community, the Sambo dolls are a constant reminder that they are capable of neither forming their own identity nor controlling their own movements. Ellison's incorporation of the Sambo dolls teaches us an important life lesson, that it is important to be ourselves and choreograph our choices and movements in life. We must not allow others to control our strings and guide us in the direction they think is right. “Life is to be lived, not controlled”; our full potential in life lies in our ability to control our movements and decisions in life (Ellison 577). Works Cited Ellison, Ralph. The invisible man. New York: Vintage International, 1995. Ebook Reader.Morel, Lucas E. Ralph Ellison and the Raft of Hope: A Political Companion to the Invisible Man. Lexington: University of Kentucky, 2004. Print.