Invisible Man: How does familial conflict reveal the protagonist's character?

Family is a sparse topic in Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, so familial conflict is not exactly a meaty subject of conversation, much less analysis. However, one of the most poignant characters in the novel is the narrator's grandfather, whose only dialogue takes half a page but continues to influence his grandson heavily throughout his life. The narrator begins the story of his grandfather by stating, "I am not ashamed of my grandparents for having been slaves. I am only ashamed of myself for having at one time been ashamed." Here the reader can view the connection between the narrator and his grandparents; he even remarks "I was in the cards," meaning that the oppression of his ancestors has continued through the years to the oppression he feels now. The narrator also says that his grandfather was "an odd old guy," and adds "I am told I take after him." Ellison's use of common social constructs like familial resemblance helps the reader identify with the narrator's relationship with his grandfather, and also foreshadows the rest of the novel. Often, a child is told they look like or take after a relative and begin to favor that relative due to it-- Ellison adopts this typical phrase and uses it to create a key connection between grandfather and grandson. Other than the narrator's grandfather, we don't get much more family from the novel. This creates an interesting dynamic, as most of the narrator's life is spent in a hostile environment with no one compelled to support him. Sometimes, man can only turn to his family for love and comfort, or even to find a sense of identity; in Invisible Man, we can observe the disparity between our own familial experiences and the narrators.