Chapter 17:
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| Harlem headquarters of the Communist Party |
Harlem District of the Brotherhood
After four months of training, see 356, the Invisible Man is made the "'chief spokesman of the Harlem District'" (359). He has "seen very little of Brother Jack" since he began his studies with Brother Hambro and his life became "too tightly organized" (357). The Invisible Man likes Hambro -- "[a] tall, friendly man, a lawyer and the Brotherhood's chief theoretician" -- but calls him a "hard taskmaster."
"Between daily discussions with him (Hambro) and a rigid schedule of reading, I had been working harder than I'd ever found necessary at college. Even my nights were organized; every evening found me at some rally or meeting in one of the many districts (though this was my first trip to Harlem since my speech) where I'd sit on the platform with the speakers, making notes to be discussed with him (Hambro) the next day. Every occasion became a study situation, even the parties that sometimes followed the meetings. During these I had to make mental notes on the ideological attitudes revealed in the guests' conversations. But I had soon learned the method in it: Not only had I been learning many aspects of the Brotherhood's policy and its approach to various social groupings, but the city-wide membership had grown familiar with me. My part in the eviction was kept very much alive, and although I was under orders to make no speeches, I had grown accustomed to being introduced as a kind of hero.
"Yet it had been mainly a time for listening and, being a talker, I had grown impatient. Now I knew most of the Brotherhood arguments so well -- those I doubted as well as those I believed -- that I could repeat them in my sleep" (357-58).The Invisible Man says as much (excepting the part about his doubts) to Brother Jack: "'I've worked pretty hard trying to master the ideology'" (359), to which Jack responds:
"'Master it...but don't overdo it. Don't let it master you. There is nothing to put the people to sleep like dry ideology. The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration. Say what the people want to hear, but say it in a way that they'll do what we wish...Remember too, that theory always comes after practice. Act first, theorize later; that's also a formula, a devastatingly effective one!'"
"He looked at me as though he did not see me and I could not tell whether he was laughing at or with me. I was sure only that he was laughing"
"'Yes...I'll try to master all that is required'"
"'You can...And now you don't have to worry about the brothers' criticism. Just throw some ideology back at them and they'll leave you alone -- provided, of course, that you have the right backing and produce the required results'" (359).Recall the Invisible Man's earlier recollections of "Master, the bulldog" and his resemblance to both the crowd and Jack back in Chapter 15:
"My mind flowed. There was a child standing in rompers outside a chicken-wire fence, looking in upon a huge black-and-white dog, log-chained to an apple tree. It was Master, the bulldog; and I was the child who was afraid to touch him, although, panting with heat, he seemed to grin back at me like a fat good-natured man, the saliva roping silvery from his jowls. And as the voices of the crowd churned and mounted and became an impatient splatter of hand claps, I thought of Master's low hoarse growl. He had barked the same note when angry or when being brought his dinner, when lazily snapping flies, or when tearing an intruder to shreds. I liked, but didn't trust old Master; I wanted to please, but did not trust the crowd. Then I looked at Brother Jack and grinned: That was it; in some ways, he was like a toy bull terrier" (338).Jack takes the Invisible Man to visit his new office in Harlem where he meets Brother Tarp on 360-62. His first meeting with the Harlem branch and Brother Tod Clifton, in whom the Invisible Man initially "[s]ense[s] a possible rival" (363) occurs on 362-367.
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| Marcus Garvey -- both an inspiration and "not" (see Art of Fiction interview) |
Ras the Exhorter
(Brother Jack) "'Ah, so, Brother Tod Clifton is late...Our leader of the youth is late. Why is this?'"
(Clifton) "'I had to see the doctor...Just a little encounter with the nationalists. With Ras the Exhorter's boys'"
The Invisible Man does not initially realize that the speaker he saw angrily addressing a crowd on his first walk through Harlem on 159-161 is the same person that Jack describes as "'the wild man who calls himself a black nationalist'" (364), whom a sister refers to Ras as the "'Extorter'" on 365, and who antagonizes black members of the Brotherhood for cooperating with whites in the organization (370-376). Brother Jack insists that the Brotherhood is
"'against violence and terror and provocation of any kind -- aggressive, that is...We will not countenance any aggressive violence. Understand? Nor attacks upon officials or others who do not attack us. We are against all forms of violence, do you understand?'" (365).Any fighting the black Brothers do with Ras is supposed be defensive in order to be countenanced or publicly recognized or endorsed by the Brotherhood.
Clifton considers their actions in terms of Marcus Garvey -- a figure with more in common in terms of his agenda with Ras. Garvey is mentioned earlier in the eviction scene when the Invisible Man notices a newspaper clipping about his 1927 deportation from the United States back to Jamaica (272). This reference indicates that Clifton is not strictly tied to the Brotherhood agenda. The Invisible Man insists "'Well, we're not Garvey, and he didn't last'" and starts trying to do all he can to make the Brotherhood a popular success.
"'Mahn...I ought to kill you. Godahm, I ought to kill you and the world be better off. But you black mahn. Why you be black, mahn? I swear I ought to kill you. No mahn strike the Exhorter, godahmit, no man...'
("sobbing") 'Why you with these white folks? Why? I been watching you you a long time. I say to myself, 'Soon he get smart and get tired. He get out of that t'ing.' Why a good boy like you still with them?'
'You my brother, mahn. Brothers are the same color; how the hell you call these white men brother?...Brothers the same color. We sons of Mama Africa, you done forgot? You black, BLACK...You got bahd hair! You got thick lips! They say you stink! They hate you, mahn. You African. AFRICAN! Why you with them? Leave that shit, mahn. They sell you out. That shit is old-fashioned. They enslave us -- you forget that? How can they mean a black mahn any good? How they going to be your brother?'" (370-71)
[The Invisible Man hits Ras with a pipe, "suddenly hot with fear and hate" (371)]
'And you mahn...a reg'lar little black devil! A godahm sly mongoose! Where you think you from, going with the white folks? I know...don't I know it! You from down South! You from Trinidad! You from Barbados! Jamaica, South Africa, and the white mahn's foot in your ass all the way to the hip. What you trying to deny by betraying the black people? Why you fight against us? You young fellows. You young black men with plenty education; I been hearing your rabble rousing. Why you go over to the enslaver? What kind of education is that? What kind of black mahn is that who betray his own mama?'
'I talk! Bust me with the pipe but, by God, you listen to the Exhorter! Come in with us, mahn. We build a glorious movement of black people. Black People! What they do, give you money? Who wahnt the dahm stuff? Their money bleed black blood, mahn. It's unclean!...Money without dignity'" (371)Ras refuses to be called "'crazy'" by these Brotherhood members. To his mind, Clifton and the Invisible Man are crazy for betraying their race through cooperating with whites:
"'Me crazy...You call me crazy? Look at you two and look at me -- is this sanity? Standing here in three shades of blackness! Three black men fighting in the street because of the white enslaver? Is that sanity? Is that consciousness, scientific understahnding? Is that the modern black mahn of the twentieth century?...Is that self-respect -- black against black? What they give you to betray -- their women? You fall for that?'" (372).
"'Women...is that equality? Is that the black mahn's freedom?...What they do to my people? Where is your brains?...They betray you and you betray the black people. They tricking you, mahn. Let them fight among themselves. Let 'em kill off one another. We organize -- organization is good -- but we organize black. BLACK!'"
"'When the black mahn going to tire of this childish perfidity (perfidy)? He got you so you don't trust your black intelligence. You young, don't play yourself cheap, mahn. Don't deny you'self! It took a billion gallons of black blood to make you. Recognize you'self inside and you wan the kings among men! A mahn knows he's a mahn when he got not'ing, when he's naked -- nobody have to tell him that...You young and intelligent. You black and beautiful...You wasn't them t'ings you be dead, mahn. Dead! I'd have killed you, mahn. Ras the Exhorter raised up his knife and tried to do it, but he could not do it. Why don't you do it? I ask myself...but somet'ing tell me, 'No, no! You might be killing your black king!' And I say, yas, yas! So I accept your humiliating ahction. Ras recognized your black possibilities, mahn. Ras would not sahcrifice his black brother to the white enslaver. Instead he cry...So why don't you recognize your black duty, mahn, and come jine us?'" (373-74).Ras has his own strange code of honor and does not kill Clifton because he is a fellow black man, however misguided Ras thinks that Clifton is. Even within the Brotherhood, race continues to be a significant issue at the Harlem branch regardless of their acceptance within the larger institution of the Party.
Black Nationalism Links:
Martin Delany accused Harriet Beecher Stowe of supporting colonization -- namely emigration to Liberia, which he called... Delany would later advocate emigration to eastern (rather than western) Africa and ultimately attempted to secure the office of American consul to Liberia.
Malcolm X -- see additional readings below.
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| Portrait of Frederick Douglass |
Frederick Douglass
Brother Tarp gives the Invisible Man a portrait of escaped slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass on 378, and the Invisible Man moves forward with remaking his own identity.
Just as Douglass traded out the last name of his master (Bailey) for Douglass, the Invisible Man enters public life with his new name and "almost laughed into the phone when [he] heard the director of the Men's House address me with profound respect" (379). You might consider the focus on changing identities over time expressed by another one of his grandfather's sayings that he recalls on 381:
"'You start Saul, and end up Paul...When you're a youngun, you Saul, but let life whup your head a bit and you starts trying to be Paul -- though you still Sauls around on the side.'"
Chapter 18:
The Anonymous Letter (383)
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| Leg irons |
The Invisible Man has full faith and confidence in the Brotherhood at the end of chapter 17 that is immediately shaken as 18 opens with an anonymous letter.
Brother Tarp helps him regain his equilibrium by telling him his own story of escaping from a chain gang on 386-390.
Brother Wrestrum immediately objects to the chain link that Tarp has given him on the basis of the Brotherhood needing to avoid "'dramatiz[ing] our differences'" (392). This reminder of inequality and criminality is not a unifying device, to Wrestrum's mind. He also objects to the Invisible Man's self-aggrandizement or self-interested promotion of his own persona at the expense of the rest of the party.
While Wrestrum's allegations on 398-402 are certainly exaggerated -- "'I'm exposing a double-dealer...Brother's this man is a pure dee opportunist!'" and a "'petty individualist'" -- the basis of his charge is borne out by the Invisible Man's complaint on 404 that "'he attacked my reputation'" (404).
The Invisible Man continues to think of himself as an individual striving to advance. He realizes that this desire is somewhat antiquated and that he "had almost allowed an old, southern backwardness which I had thought dead to wreck [his] career" (408), especially in his initial resistance to his reassignment to "The Woman Question."
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| Individual notoriety |
Supplemental Readings:
For Thursday, 4/10: W.E.B. Du Bois's "Application for Membership in the Communist Party of the USA" (1961) ~2 pages
For next week (4/15-17): "The Art of Fiction" -- an interview with Ralph Ellison, Paris Review, Spring 1955. ~8 PDF pages.
- See especially page 212 (PDF page 2) and their discussion from the paragraph break on the bottom of 216-224 (PDF pages 4-8).
Additional Sources (not required reading)
Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements (1965, excerpts -- not the best copy)
- See "A Declaration of Independence" (18-22, PDF pages 2-4)
- "The Black Revolution" (45-57, PDF pages 5-12)
- "Uncle Toms" (derogatory usage) on 160, PDF page 15
- Answer to "What do you think is responsible for race prejudice in the U.S.?" (212, PDF page 19)
- Shift from desiring a black state in 1965 (212-213, PDF page 19)
- "How to Organize the People" (214, PDF page 20) -- esp. with regard to Ras
- Factionalism in New York (222, PDF page 21)
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4/8: In-class Assignment
Consider the approach you took to Invisible Man in Close Reading #3. Make an individual comment of at least 100 words considering ways you might add to this reading for Essay #2. You might mention:
- major themes, characters, or issues you're interested in
- potential passages for a second close reading for the essay
- confusions or uncertainties
I touched on the themes of race and racism as well as power and self- interest in association with Bledsoe. The invisible man encounters a variety of different powerful people and institutions that crave control over events happening in their world. I want to find another section to close read that parallels Bledsoe’s attitude towards the invisible man. Bledsoe threatened to destroy the invisible man as soon as he felt that he was at a disadvantage. By finding a character that parallels Bledsoe’s actions, I wish to make the argumentative claim that the upstanding business men and community leaders that the invisible man encounters are only interested in power and self-importance, not the mutual benefit of their people. I was entertaining the idea of close reading a passage with Brother Jack for this purpose because he comes to relish his power over the original purpose of The Brotherhood: combating oppression. Both characters alternatively enforce old modes of oppression while simultaneously creating new ones.
ReplyDeleteI did my close reading number 3 on the Invisible Man’s speech that he gave during the Battle Royal in the first chapter. I focused on the narrator’s fixation with his speech and how it gave him a sense of power. I also focused on the specific language within his speech and the implications of certain words. The narrator giving speeches is a common theme that I am interested in. I plan on adding to this close reading for my essay with the multiple speeches that the narrator gives throughout the novel: the eviction riot speech and the speech that he gives with the brotherhood. I want to analyze how the content of the speeches change in unison with how the narrator’s image changes.
ReplyDeleteMy Close reading #3 focused on the internal reactions the Invisible Man had to the letter from Bledsoe and how this caused a greatly noticeable shift in the attitude and demeanor of the Invisible Man henceforth. I was planning to this particular close reading passage in my next essay, which I want to focus on the deteriorating psychological state of the Invisible Man throughout the novel and whether he could be described as “insane”. This passage would be especially useful for my topic, as this is the first notable shift towards what one might call insanity in the Invisible Man’s story, which continues toward a psychologically deteriorated state.
ReplyDeleteGoing with my close reading, which focused on the Ellis relating racism to colors, especially the mask they provided, I would like to explore the various masks the Invisible Man bears throughout the novel. It seems, that when his mask cracks, and he allows himself to be more true and see the truth around him, he is then kicked out or threatened by his current situation (such as getting kicked out of school, having to go to the hospital following the paint incident, and being charged by the brotherhood). I’m unsure how I’m going to make an argument about this, as of now, but I do know that I would like to focus on my first close reading, and then close read the passage where the brotherhood informs the Invisible Man, basically, that they don’t like what he represents and that he needs to change for them (Chapter 16). I think it would also be interesting to explore how the Invisible Man doesn’t seem to learn from his mistakes, and always goes in blind to new situations, and only slowly begins to see the truth around him.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm thinking I'd like to write about Rinehart and maybe even Bledsoe, and how they remain super visible, but under guises or masks, that allow them to be untrue to themselves, versus the Invisible Man.
DeleteMia Collins
ReplyDeleteFor the second paper, I am interested in doing an analysis of light imagery in the Invisible Man, exploring the differences between physical manifestations of light and those that are metaphorical. The first close reading I would include is the one from my close reading, where the Invisible Man leaves Mr. Emerson’s office ‘dazed’ and is told by the secretary to not blind himself (192). Another interesting passage could be the one discussed in class today, where Ras is vehement about the Invisible Man acknowledging the differences between the blacks and whites, and being kindred with other Africans. Lastly, I’m interested in the passage where the Invisible Man is in his room full of however many lights, and what the implications of this room are for him. I’m most likely going to look into the presence of light/dark and how it correlates to vision/blindness.
Hannah Aven
ReplyDeleteIn the third close reading I discussed the meaning of the words “brother” and “brotherhood” and how their organization is contradictory. I think I could turn take that idea and continue to write about how blacks were mistreated and manipulated prior to civil rights, or write about how whites were sometimes contradictory and hypocritical to the blacks during and after slavery. I think I could find another passage in Uncle Tom’s Cabin where a slave is being manipulated for personal gain and they are unaware of it, or I could use a passage about “Christian values” to discuss the hypocrisy of whites.
In Close Reading #3 I focused on the conversation between the Invisible Man and Dr. Bledsoe. I am considering focusing on power dynamics in the novel for my Essay #2 as well as maybe touching on power dynamics in Black America and how some African Americans catered to white authority in order to achieve power (like Dr. Bledsoe for example). After Chapter 6 we see the Invisible Man’s naievity unravel as he becomes more aware of the power structures surrounding him. Another thing I am considering including is how some people are punished when they do not cater to what the white man wants.
ReplyDeleteThe whole “Saul to Paul” saying that the narrator remembers could be an interesting topic to look into. Arguments could be made for and against the truth behind the statement, especially in the context of the time-period. Exploring the parallels between the narrator/other characters and Paul/Saul. Can anyone in their community become a true Paul, or does everyone “still Sauls around on the side” to an extent? My last close reading was over the narrator’s reaction to the content Bledsoe’s letters, and this could connect to the idea of “[letting] life whup your head a bit” to become Paul. The narrator’s initial reaction is not very Paul-like, but he does seem to grow from it eventually.
ReplyDeleteSo, overall, I'd be looking at the growth and progression of important characters or something to that extent.
DeleteWell, right now it’s mostly uncertainty. Although it’s not so connected to my last close reading, I think the theme of invisibility is interesting. It obviously shows up quite a bit in the book, but I think it would be most interesting to analyze it in relation to the various circumstances the Invisible Man finds himself in. Invisibility, pretty well defined in the prologue, is evident throughout the novel in the ways he is treated by others. I’d also be interested in considering the social conflicts in the novel, such as the dispossession problem in these chapters we just covered. Although this is a novel of fiction, it would be interesting to delve into the parallel’s between Ellison’s world and this one.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSince a focal point of my critical reading #3 was the different motives that some people had for blacks in society at the time, I could continue on this idea carrying it from young Emerson to the members of the Brotherhood. Although they claimed to be united around one idea, the Botherhood had members with other motives that begin to show in the later chapters of the book. I am not sure I have found what the best passage to show how some in the Botherhood have alternative motives outside of what Brother Jack described when he brought in the Invisible Man to work with them. I think if I read a couple more chapters I will be able to see what would work best. Contrasting the Brotherhood to the ideas of Nationalist like Ras could also help show the differences in opinion of how blacks should fit into society at the time.
ReplyDeleteFor the second essay, there are several topics that I am interested in addressing; however, as of now, the subject that I am most interested in is the transition of the narrator from an attitude of submission to an attitude of defiance. I began a discussion of this topic in my third close reading by addressing the battle royal scene during which the narrator, desperate to present his speech concerning humility, unknowingly began his transition by not fully complying with the desires of the white men, therefore establishing a foundation on which resistance against oppression could be built upon. There are several other scenes within the book that a further analysis of will most likely contribute to this topic of interest, thus I will look into them, as well as explore other areas that may provide a different subject for me to focus on.
ReplyDeleteIn my close reading I focused on the Liberty Paints Company and how Ellison repeatedly related racism to the colors of their paint. I would further focus on the character Lucius Brockway and how he was such a help to the company but was not given the recognition he deserved. This was a very important theme since the whites always seemed to downplay the black people/culture in anyway they could. For another close reading I would probably focus on other aspects of colors that Ellison used throughout the novel.
ReplyDeleteIn close reading #3, I focused a little on the symbol of electricity as a role of oppressiveness and opposition from the two different races.
ReplyDeleteSome of the scenes from the story I might incorporate are:
-Living underground in the beginning and “stealing” electricity
-Electrified rug
-Invisible Man using laughter to overcome the shocking
-Liberty Paints electrified sign
-“Electric pressures” and the “electric chair” in the hospital scene
-Bright lights during his speech
So for the close reading that I did last time, I talked about the Invisible Man's interaction with the woman on the subway. Since he is not acknowledged by her, he could be "invisible" yet, but I think that is more of a cultural thing and I don't think I'd like to talk about the cultural aspect of the book for my essay.
ReplyDeleteWhat confuses me about the novel right now is that the Invisible Man himself doesn't seem to be the same as how he was acting in the introduction. He seems to be very much in the spotlight, and not invisible at all. At what point does this change?
For my essay, I would like to talk about the idea that he is very well-intentioned, but seems ignorant of how the world works and it doesn't turn out so great for him. Perhaps this is why he becomes invisible? Kind of like the ignorance of youth. But I'm not sure.
For my close reading number three I focused on Bledsoe’s power dialogue on pages 142-143. If I wanted to incorporate this close reading into my Essay #2 I could focus on some major themes of power, individual identity and limitations. I would most definitely mainly focus on the character of the Invisible Man and could possibly tie in the character of Bledsoe when narrowing in on aspects of power and selfishness. I am still a little unsure of how I could create an argument behind these themes and characters but I just really enjoy this specific passage.
ReplyDeleteTo further expand on my interpretation of Bledsoe from my close reading, I want to compare Bledoe’s style of leadership to Brother Jack and the brotherhood’s strategy as leaders for the black community. My explanation of Bledsoe primarily revolved around his hunger for power at the expense of others- including the black race. To contrast this style, the brotherhood values their portrayal of their collective image over the Invisible Man’s view of himself as an individual striving to progress. I think it would be important to point out the shortcomings of this strategy, including their misrepresentation of the plight faced by African Americans at this time.
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ReplyDeleteKatelyn Holley
ReplyDeleteI focused my Close Reading on the theme of color and it's value as portrayed in the events that took place in the Liberty Paints Plant, his first job after leaving the University, in regards to passages such as:
“ ‘If you’re white, you’re right,’ “ I said. (218)
The same passage I close read on 201 about Optic White and the significance of color to society.
The ironies of having a black man try to make the world whiter.
“Our white is so white you can paint a chunka coal and you’d have to crack it open with a sledge hammer to prove it wasn’t white clear through!” (217)
For the second essay, I am interested in exploring more about inequality of gender and race seen throughout the novel. Not only are black people treated unfairly, but women also are seen as almost parallel to black men with their oppression from a white male society. Many times throughout the novel, the narrator relates to the women in the novel. He sees them suffering in the society just as much as the invisible man with such inequality from white men. I’m also considering writing over stereotypes, both concerning race and gender, and how they shape the novel’s theme of inequality.
ReplyDeleteMy close reading was about the invisible man's interaction with the vet on the bus. I talked about how the vet had kept calling the invisible man naive, and telling him to “learn to look beneath the surface” and “come out of the fog”.(Ellison 119) At this time, the narrator is still too trusting of those in high power, and those who do not have the best intentions for others in mind. For my essay, I would possibly like to explore how the invisible man has grown, matured, and seen more of the world through his experiences; whether or not he has become more or less "invisible".
ReplyDeleteMy close reading #3 focused on the Invisible Man's description of the college and, more specifically, the statue of the founder. I discussed the Invisible Man's thoughts on it, as well as his questioning of whether the founder is lifting the veil off of the slave's face or securing the veil more firmly in place. If I were to incorporate this close reading into my essay, I would discuss the theme of blindness/invisibility throughout the novel, the power dynamics within the black culture, and whether or not the blindness/invisibility that the Invisible Man experiences is a product of the system of passivity/submission that is encouraged by some black leaders, and something that could be changed through a different way of interacting with white people, or if it is only a symptom of a problem within society.
ReplyDelete