Being in a state of emotional distress is almost like being crazy. To the person in this discomfort he feels deranged and confused and to the viewers it seems like he has escaped from a mental hospital. On the first page of the fifteenth chapter of the novel The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, the main character is in a state of total discomfort and feels as if he is going crazy. From the reader's point of view it seems that he has completely lost control of his body. This portrayal of the narrator serves to express how torn he is between his two selves. He doesn't know how to tell Mary, the woman who saved him and who was like a mother to him, that he's leaving her for a new job, nor does he know if he wants to. His conflicting thoughts make him feel and seem a little crazy. The author intentionally uses the narrator's divergent feelings to make him portray as someone uncomfortable in his own skin. This tone is portrayed using intense diction, syntax, and extended metaphors. The powerful diction used in the passage expresses the true internal struggle the narrator is facing. The reader is able to grasp the physical and emotional pain the narrator is going through as a result of this struggle because of the author's use of vivid adjectives, such as "unnerving," "violently," "digging," and "ringing" convey the intensity of the narrator's emotional state. In context these adjectives can convince the reader that this passage is about the narrator going mad. He is having major reactions to minor details such as ringing sounds and itchy skin. He hears sounds that vibrate his nerves, he scratches violently and digs his nails into his skin, making himself bleed. Many of the descriptions in the passage to... middle of the paper... are golden; even though it seems like it's the best offer he could have asked for, something is missing and if he can chip away at their shiny exterior he might be able to discover what their true goal is. Emotional distress can sometimes be perceived as mental instability. A person may look, act, or feel crazy, when in reality they are simply very uncomfortable in their own skin. The narrator has to make a really difficult decision, well outside his comfort zone. He's choosing between a woman who has been like a mother to him and a much-needed job that he feels he might enjoy. This choice is tearing him apart from the inside. From the ringing noises interrupting his every thought to the skin he's scratching off. The author uses extended diction, syntax, and metaphors to express the narrator's complete and utter distress, both physically and emotionally.