Invisimbe mind

7/27/2019 Invisimbe mind

1/7

R A L P H E L L I S O N ' S M O D E R NV E R S I O N O F B R E R B E A R A N DB R E R R A B B I T I N I N V I S I B L EM A N

F L O Y D R . H O R O W I T Z

M r . E l l i s o n ! s Invis ib le Man is an intel l igen t , young Ne gro at tun ed towhat he cons iders the c la r ion phi losophy of the whi te wor ld"keep th i sn igg er boy ru nn ing ." At f i r s t we f ind h im like a b ea r , by h is own ad m iss i on ,h ibe rna t ing , unknown to anyone in a H ar l em t enem en t ba sem en t . Th e re heref le c ts upon h is pa s t ex pe r ien ce , which soon , l ike DanteTs t rava i l to thebl ind ing l igh t of knowledge , i s to be reco un ted . We can mean whi le un der s tan dsymb ol i ca lly one of h i s p reo ccup a t ions . Around h im in t h i s da rk ba sem en the has r igged e lec t r i c f ix tur es . He ha s tapped a pow er l ine and cu r re n t ly i ss tea l in g the e le c t r ic i ty tha t i l lumin a tes h i s h ibe rna t io n . On the ce i l ing andwa l l s th ere a re now 1369 l igh ted bu lbs . Such en l igh tenm ent m etap ho r ica l lyse ts the tone of the book. I t i s f rom one f ram e of re f e re nc e a psycho logica ls tudy , impres s ion i s t i ca l ly t o ld .

So begins the s to ry . In the South , once , a N egro boy w as awa rdedby the wh i tes a sch ola rsh ip to a Neg ro s ta te co l leg e . He w as to le ar n thet r ad i t i on of Booke r T . Wash ing ton prac t ica l s e rv i ce t o t he Negro com m uni ty , humble d ignity (a t l e as t in publ ic ) , in te l lec tua l ize d acc epta nce of wh i teau tho ri ty . And naively on tha t foundat ion he fr am es h is go al s , and aff ixesin the ra f t er s th e hopeful br an ch of re l ig io n. Dil l igen t ly and in innoc ence hele ar n s to confo rm. As a re w ar d , in h i s th i rd y ea r , he i s chosen to chauf feura v is i t ing whi te t rus te e of the co l leg e .The day i s a d i s as te r . Taking a back road he a l lows the de l ic a te lysen s i t ive t ru s te e to see the Negro in a l l h i s sq ua lor . Fol lowing a con ve rsa t io nwi th a fa rm er who i s known to have com m it ted inc es t , the t ru s t ee fa in ts andis ca r r ie d to the only ava i lab le haven , a sa loon and bro the l jus t then a t thehe ight of i t s weekly bu s in ess wi th the Neg ro am bula to ry Vets of a m enta lins t i tu t ion . W i th in the day our he ro i s d i sm iss ed f rom the co l lege of co nfor m i ty , on the mo rro w t rav e l in g No r th to the expec ta t ion of g re a t e r f ree do m .

In sh or t o r d er , thus upon the ve rg e of manhood , o th er d i s i l lu s ion m ent sfo llow. The l e t t e r s of r ecom men da t ion wh ich he c a r r i e s f rom the co l legep re s id en t p rov e t r e ac he ro us . In the N or th he i s economica l ly expo l i t ed .Be cau se of h i s sk i l l as a publ ic spe ak er he i s en l i s te d by the Co m m unis t sand la te r duped . In the shadow of each rebuff he d is t ing uishe s h is gra nd f a t h e r ^ e n i g m a t ic s m i l e a nd h e a r s h i s w o r d s : " o v e r c o m e ' e m w i t h y e s s e s . "Ac cord ing ly , the rac e of h i s ex per ie nce in the South and No r th exh aus ts h i s


2/7

22 Midcont inent A m er ic an Studies Jou rna lconsc iousness o f self. He f inds that in runn ing he is no w he re. Like a con t inua l ly endangered Odysseus under the polyphemal whi te eye of soc ie ty heis Nom an. The wh i tes a re b lind to h im , he i s inv is ib le to himself, havingfai led in a su cc es sio n of ro le s . W hile in i tself t his is a kind of knowledge bysuf fe r ing , i t i s m or e than he can b e a r . His se l f - im po sed ba sem ent ex i le i sthe refo re an esca pe f rom resp ons ib i l i ty , if a l so f rom the inequi ty of ahos t i le w or ld . The w in te r of h i s d i sconten t , he know s, m us t come to i t sh ibe rna t iv e end , and he m us t chance th e new spr ing , ye t for the t ime andfor the em pah s is of the novel his pa s t d i s i l lus ion ing exp er ienc e m ust ben a r r a t e d .

Bec ause the mode of t ha t na r r a t i o n i s im pre s s io n i s t i c , E l l i son t akes t heoppor tuni ty to convey the la rges t par t o f the novel 1 s meaning via a qui teim agin a t ive , o f ten b iz a r r e ra nge of im ag er y . In tha t way the log ic of imag eass oc i a t io ns se t s ou t the ba s i s of the m at ic im pl ica t io n . This may come asa new idea to the h is tor i an and l i t t e ra teu r a l ike , espe c ia l ly be cau se thesoc ia l and pol i t i ca l s ign i f icance of Mr . El l i son T s book seems conclus ive ly tode r iv e f rom i t s open d r am a , co lo r fu l v ign e t t e s , and f rank app ra i sa l s . Ye ti t m ay not be am is s to dem on st ra te tha t th er e i s a good dea l m or e soc ia l andpol i t ica l com m en tary be ing e f fec ted in the wo rk v ia a h ighly p lanned if so m ew h a t c o v e r t s t r u c t u r e .Th i s me ans seve ra l th ing s . Such a dem ons t r a t i on i s nec es s a r i l y i nvo lvedwi th i t s own too ls , the log ic of in te rpo la t ion as wel l as the m o re gen era l lyunde r s tood judgemen t of i n t e rp re t a t i o n . Fu r th e r , t he s to ry i s not a lwaystold l i t e r a l l y , bu t r a th e r i s r end e red by symbo l s and imag es t ha t have so m ething l ike a l i fe of th ei r own. At an ex tre m e ( the Invis ible ManTs expe r i encewhi l e in shock) , t he l i t e r a l r e su l t t akes t he fo rm of an imp ene t r ab l e im p re s s ion i s t i c m o ra s s , and the r ead e r m us t ag re e t o wi tnes s r a th e r t han to und e r s tand in the t rad i t ion a l se ns e . Othe r t im es a log ica l asso c ia t io n can bedra wn from si m il a r ins tan ce s: a t the beginning of the novel the Invis ible Man

com es to a sou thern "s m ok er " w her e he wi l l en te r the pr izef igh t r ing , andwhi le there he sees a nude dancer who has an Amer ican f lag ta t tooed on herbel ly : a t the end of the book he is de sc r ib ed as a "black br u is e r" who is "o nthe ro pe s" and "punch drunk " and he sc raw ls anoth er d i s to r t ion of ano therAm er i ca n m ess age ac ro s s t he be l ly of ano the r nude: "Syb i l , you w ere r a pe d /by / Santa G laus / Su rp r i s e . " Such dev ices a s t he se fo rm the t ex tu re ( a lbe i tan i ron ic one) of the A m er ic an m eanings which the hero e xp er i en ce s , andwhich no less impor tan t ly the reader i s inv i ted to exper ience wi th h im.As we do so we may t race the Invis ib le Man as a Chr is t - l ike f igure ,

sacr i f iced and sac r i f ic ing . Many of the sym bols by which he i s des cr ib edare d is t inc t ly Chr is t ian symbols , many of h i s ac t ions a re ana logues of Bibl ica l ev en ts . O r , psycho logica l ly con s ide red , h e i s the dra m at ic vo r tex ofNegro neu ro t i c i sm : so ex t ens ive i s the imag e ry he re t ha t we m us t r ea d andin te r pr e t wi th the a id of an unabr idged Fre ud . H is tor ic a l ly and pol i t i ca l ly ,t o o , he i s be se t by a cava l cade o f Amer i can symbo l s and images wh ich a r e


3/7

B re r Be a r and B re r Rabb i t i n Inv i s ib l e Man 23in the wron g p l a ce s , a som e t im es sub t l e , so m e t im es r auco us debunk ing ofthe nam es and ins t i tu t ion s which A m er ic an s a r e supposed to hold so de ar : theA m er i ca n f lag upon he r be l ly undula tes to the sh im m y of a nude , the ident i tyof Jef fers on is an i l lusio n in the mind of a she l lsh ock ed ve te ra n , the S tatueof Lib er ty i s obs cure d in fog whi le l ibe r ty i s the nam e app el la te to a co rp or a t een te r p r i s e , Em ers on i s a bus ines s m an , t he Fo ur th of Ju ly i s J ac k the Com m unis t ' s b i r thday as wel l as the occas ion of a race r io t .

Based fa i r ly c lose ly upon the fo lk lore mot i f of B re r Rabbi t and B re r B ea r ,the l ine of im ag ery d is cu sse d in th i s pa pe r i s as i ron ic as such o th er pa t te rn s ofm eaning , and pe rha ps even m or e so be ca us e of i t s Negro or i g in . L ike the nove l ! sfifty or pe rha ps sev enty f ive o th er m ot i f s , i t i s no t esp ec ia l ly ex tens ive , no r doesi t so close ly effect an analogy tha t i t ad m its of no ot he r me an ing for i ts individualp a r t s . Qu i te t he oppo s i t e . The be a r and the r abb i t a r e som e t im es psyc ho log i ca l ly one in the sa m e, as in Ja ck the Rab bi t , J ac k the B e ar . But i t wouldsee m tha t the rabb i t can be P e t e r as w el l . Or he i s ca l led Buck eye , w hichde sc r ibe s J ack the Comm uni s t l a t e r on . Or he i s abou t t o be pepp e red wi thBUCKs hot . Or the re i s a pun on be ar , so tha t the he ro can not b ea r h i s e x i s te nc e .T he re i s , in sh or t , a r ic h language p lay which in te r tw ine s th i s mot i f wi thmany o th er s , which , p erh ap s too gra tu i tous ly on occ as ion , ident i f ies rab bi twi th B re r R abb i t , wh ich makes l i t e r a ry exp l i ca t ion no t t he ea s i e s t of p u r s u i t s .Y et , for a l l th at , the point of El l ison Ts use of th i s mot i f seems p la in enough.Though they a r e so m et im es fr iendly enough, le ss than k in and m or e thanh e r b i v e r o u s q u a d r u p e d s , r a b b i t a nd b e a r a r e n a t u r a ll y i r r e c o n c i l a b l e . M o r e ,we know f rom Uncle Remus tha t soon they wi l l match wi t s .

Th is m ake s for a good m etap ho r in which to ca s t the Inv is ib le M an,s in ce , in te re s t ing ly enough, for El l i son , wi t i s no t the sa m e as in te l l ige nc e .His pro tago nis t i s no t a v i c to r . E ar ly in h i s educa t ion the Invis ib le M andis co ve rs tha t . W hi le he i s chauffeur ing M r . No r ton , the t r us te e of theco l l ege , t hey app roach J im Trueb lood Ts bac k road shack . The Inv i s ib l e Manme nt ions tha t Trueblood has had re la t ion s wi th h is own da ug hte r . Nor tondeman ds tha t t he ca r be s topped . He runs ove r t o T rueb lood , acc os t s h im ,wan ts h i s s t or y . W hi le the am azed and m or a l ly up r igh t Inv is ib le Man lookson , Truebloo d com pl ies in fu ll de ta i l . E l l i so n a l re ad y ha s de scr ibe d h im "a sone who to ld the o ld s tor ies wi th a sense of humor and a magic tha t madet h e m c o m e a l i v e . n And aga in , as one "who m ade h igh p la in t ive ly an im also un ds . " Now th i s s to ry : s l eep ing th re e abed bec ause o f t he ex t r em e co ld ,h is wi fe , dau ghter and himself, as if in a dre am wel l beyond h is con t ro l , jus tna tu ra l ly , i nces t oc cu r r e d . The s to ry i s a co l loqu ia l po e t i c . Be fo re t he ac tTruebloo d has been noth ing , bu t now he f ree ly ad m i ts : "B ut what I donTtun de rsta nd is how I done the w or st thing a m an can do in his own fam ily andTstead of things gi t t in bad, they got b e t t e r . The n igguhs up at the sch ool do n ' tl ike m e, bu t the whi te fo lks t re a t s me f i ne ."

This i rony i s the key to El l i son ' s en t i re t re a t m en t of B r e r Rabbi t andB re r B ea r ' s r e l a t i o nsh ip . He re t he i s sue i s m or a l . T rueb lood , i n t he midd le


4/7

24 Midcon t inen t Amer i can S tud ie s Jou rna lof the n ight which he descr ibes "Black as the middle of a bucke t of ta r , r t h a sgiven h is daughte r a bab y . F o r th i s he i s rew ard ed . No r ton g ives h im ahun dred -do l l a r b i l l . "You ba s t a rd , " s ay s t he Inv i s ib l e Man unde r h i s b re a th ,"You no -good ba s t a rd ! You ge t a hun dred -d o l l a r b i l l ! " P l ay ing the be a r ,th e Inv is ible Man is fooled, of co u rs e; throw n out of schoo l in a h u rr y . Inva in he objec ts to the co l lege pr es ide nt : "Bu t I wa s only dr iv in g h im , s i r . Ion ly s topped there a f te r he ordered me t o . . . . " " O r d e r e d y o u ? " r e t o r t s t h ep re s ide n t , "He o rd e red you . Da mm i t , wh i t e folk a r e a lways g iv ing o rd e r s ,i t Ts a habi t wi th them . Why d id n ' t you ma ke an exc use ? CouldnTt you sa y theyhad s i ckness sm al lpox or p i cked ano th e r cab in? Why tha t T rueb lood shack?My God, boy! You Tre bla ck and l iving in the Southdid you forg et how to l i e ? "

This i s the form of the anec do te . B re r B ea r i s ou twi tted by B re r Rabbi tin a f i r s t enc ou nte r . So the Invis ib le Man t ra ve ls to the No r th . Th ere onthe s t re e t s of New Yo rk Ci ty he m ee ts the second rabb i t m an, in th i s ins tan cenam ed P e t e r . Of co u r se , exac t ly cons ide red , P e t e r r abb i t i s no t t he s am eas B r e r R abbi t , ye t he be longs to the sa m e t rad i t io n . He knows how to esca pethe Mc Gr ego rs of the w or ld . H ere in H ar le m he looks l ike a c lown in baggyp a n t s , wheel ing a c ar t ful l of unused b l ue -p r i n t s . Says P e te r , "M an, th i sH ar lem a in ' t no th ing but a b e a r ' s d en ." The Invis ib le Man then com ple tes thebr id ge of logic to the or ig ina l analogy : "I t r ied to think of som e sa ying aboutb ea r s t o r ep ly , bu t r em em be red only Jac k the Rabb i t , J ack the B e a r . " P e t e rneed s no soc i a l r een fo rcem en t , how eve r . He p ro f f e r s h i s key to succ es s :"A ll i t tak es to get a long in thi s h er e ma n 's town is a l i t t le shi t , gr i t , andm ot he r -w i t . And m an , I w as bawn wi th a l l th r e e ." So the f r iendly s ide ofthe ra bb i t ' s pe rso na l i ty , advis in g the Invis ib le Man what to expec t f rom thec i ty , the No r th , the whi te w or ld . But i t i s no us e , for the be ar m us t a lwaysbe tr i cked and soon he i s .

He has he ard of a job a t L ib er ty Pa in ts and hur r i ed to apply . The scen ede pic t s a pa t r io t ic devot ion to the f ree e n t e r pr i s e sys tem : f lags f lu t te r f romthe bu i ld ing to ps . A sc re am ing eag le i s t he comp any ' s t r a de m ar k . L ibe r tyPa in t s cov e r s Am er i c a wi th wha t i s adv e r t i s ed a s t he wh i t e s t wh i t e poss ib l e ,a defe ct ive shipm ent ju st then be ing se nt out for a W ashington nat ion al mo num en t . The b ea r i s sen t down, down, down, to he lp the i ra sc ib l e Ne gro ,Luc ius Brockway .

"T hr ee leve ls underg round I pushe d upon a heavy m eta l doo r m ark ed'Da ng er ' and descen ded in to a no isy , d imly l i t ro om . Th ere wa s som eth ingfa m il i ar about the fumes tha t f i l led th e a ir and I had jus t thought pin e, whena h igh-p i tche d N egro voice ran g out above the ma chine s o un ds ." In an im agewhich we may r ec a l l , t he f i r s t r abb i t , T rueb lood , has a l r eady d ream ed of suchm ac hin er y . And h is b lac k as ta r des cr ip t ion i s t aken up now by the Inv is ib leM an 's thought of p in e , and by El l i so n ' s pun "h igh -p i t ch ed ." So the he roencou n te r s Lu c ius , t he nex t B re r Rabb i t , who i s desc r ibed a s sma l l , w i ry ,w i th co t tony whi te ha i r , who defends h imsel f by b i t ing , and who se co ver a l l scovered by goo br ing the image of the Tar Baby to the Invis ib le Man 's mind .


5/7

B re r Bea r and B re r Rab b i t in Inv i s ib le Man 25Aga ins t Lu c iu s ' s g r i t and m othe r -w i t t he re i s ba re ly any de fe nse . I tt u rn s ou t t ha t Luc ius a lone has t he s e c r e t of A m er i c a ' s w h i t e s t wh i t e pa in t .He and no one e l se knows the loca t ion of every p ipe , swi tch , cab le and wirein the base m en t he ar t of the p lan t . Only he knows how to keep the pa in t f rombleed ing (whereas T rueb lood does ac tua l ly b l eed fo r h i s m ora l sm ea r ) , on lyhe how to mix the b a se . He ha s he lped Spar land , the b ig b o ss , wo rd thes logan " If i t ' s Opt ic W hi te , I t ' s the Right W hi te . " And he knows h is wo r th :"ca in t a s ing le doggone drop of pa in t move out of the fac tory lessen i t comesth rough Luc ius Brock way ' s han ds . " So in t he m a t t e r of econom ics a s be fo rewi th m or a l s , B re r B ea r can no t w in . As Lu c ius ' s a s s i s t a n t he t ends t hes t ea m va l ves , and when they pas s t he dang e r m ark , bu r s t , B rockway sc ram ble s

for the door and escapes whi le the Invis ib le Man a t tempts to shut them of fand i s caught in the s te am . Again we may rem ind ou rse lv es tha t the conce ptso f mach ine ry and sca ld ing have been un i t ed in T rueb lood the r abb i t ' s d r eam.B re r B ea r can no t w in no m a t t e r how ha rd he t r i e s .In t h i s ca se , m ore ov e r , h i s e f fo rt s a r e na ive , sh o r t of t he hyp oc r i sy wh icha lone m ean s surv iva l for the na t ive ly ta len ted N eg ro . W hi le he s t r ug gl es forco nsc iou sne ss and se l f in the company hosp i ta l , tha t fac t of Negro ex is ten cei s b rough t ou t . A ca rd i s p l aced be fo re h im: "Wha t i s you r n am e ? " Un de rthe b ludgeoning of exp er ien ce he ha s los t h i s ident i ty , " I re a l iz ed tha t I no

longe r knew my own na m e . I shu t my eyes and shook my head wi th so r r o w ."The f an t asy of h i s im pre s s io n con t inues . O the r ca rd s a r e subm i t t ed , f ina l lythe ques t ion : "B oy, who w as B re r R ab bi t? " Soon af te r he i s re le as ed in ad a z e , f inds h is way to H ar le m and co l lap ses on the s idew alk .Here E l l i son has been po r t r ay in g the New Negro in t e l l ec tua l . Wha t hasth is Inv is ib le Man learn ed ? tha t in the South , in the co ur se of en l igh tenm enthe i s p i t ted aga ins t h i s fe llow N egro , fa rm er and co l lege pr es ide nt a l ike ; tha tNeg ro inured to the qu as i - s lav ery pra c t i ce d by the w hi t e . And in the Nor thl i t t l e be t te r : s urv iva l in a s lum , a b e ar in a be ar de n . Yet defea t i s a

r ea l i za t ion , and a r ea l i za t ion i s a v i c to ry of pe r sp ec t iv e . In sh o r t , he i s nos im ple B re r B ea r . I t i s E l l i so n ' s i n t en t ion to have h im l ea rn wha t the youngin t e l l ec tua l s m us t l ea rn tha t a s l ong a s na r ro w se lf i n t e r e s t m o t iva t e s h imhe can have no pe ac e . H i s m us t be t he r ea lm of the un iv e r s a l . Tha t bec om esth en ex tph as e , no twi th a ru s h of emp a thy , bu t a s be fo re , t h rough t r i a l , t h roughdefe at , throu gh knowledge of self.One day , when he has rec ov ere d f ro m his or de a l in the pa in t fac to ry , hecom es upon the H ar le m evic t ion of an aged Neg ro couple . Th e i r m ea gr epo sse s s io ns on the s idewa lk , t he wi fe a t t em pt s t o r e tu rn in to t he i r apa r tm en t

to p r ay . When the m ar sh a l s i n cha rge r e fuse pe rm is s ion the c rowd r i o t s .Suddenly in the melee the Invis ib le Man hears h imse l f ye l l ing , "Black men!B r o t h e r s ! B l a c k B r o t h e r s ! " Hi s fu r the r ro l e a s B re r B ea r has begun . Unde rthe aeg is of h i s co l loquia l e lloquence the c rowd re tu rn s the furn i ture to theap a r tm en t . Then , i n ano the r mo me n t , t he po l i ce have a r r iv ed and he se a r ch esfo r a w a y of e sc ap e . A wh i t e g i r l s t and ing in t he doorway acc os t s h im ,


6/7

26 M idcon tinen t A m er ic an S tud ies Journ a l"B r o t h e r , t h a t w a s q u i te a s p e e c h y o u m a d e , M di rec t s h im to the roof. Hehu r r ie s ac ro ss to ano th e r bu i ld ing , down the s ta i r s , in to the s t re e t a b lockaway , ac ro ss to a f a r c o rn e r . Bu t a s he w a i t s fo r the l igh t to change th e r ec o me s t h e q u i e t , p e n e t r a t i n g v o i c e b e s i d e h i s e a r , "T h a t wa s a ma s t e r f u l b i tof p e r s u a s i o n , b r o t h e r . " T h e b i g g e s t , m o s t p e r s i s t e n t r a b b i t of a l l h a s j u s tt r a c k e d h i m , B r e r J a c k t h e Co m m u n i s t , a l i a s Bu c k e ye t h e o n e - e y e d i n t e r na t iona l ho pp er . B re r B ea r i s wan ted fo r the o rg an iza t ion . W i ll he l i s t enover coffee?

Says the Invis ib le Man, "I wa tched him going a cr o ss th e f loor wi th abouncy ro l l ing s te p ." Aga in : "His m ove m ents w er e those of a l ive ly sm al la n i m a l . " And J a c k ' s p i t c h i s s h o r t : "P e r h a p s y o u wo uld b e i n t e r e s t e d i nwo rk ing fo r u s . We need a good spe ake r fo r th i s d i s t r i c t . Someone who canar t i cu la te the g r ie van ces of the peo p le . They ex i s t , and when the c ry ofp r o t e s t i s s o u n d ed , t h e r e a r e t h o s e wh o wi l l h e a r i t a n d a c t . " Co m mu n i s mis the answer to h i s needs , fo r a s many reasons as i t i s adver t i sed to have .I t of fers h im a ca us e , soc ia l equa l i ty and a jo b . I t fu lf il s what m us t se emt h e g e n e r i c d e s t i n y o f a Br e r .

W hat in fo rm s the Co m m unis tpo l icy i s the sc ien t i f i c a t t i tude , how ever ,no t the m an bu t the m a s s . To th i s pos i t iv i s t i c ph i losophy the Inv i s ib le Manm us t imm edia te ly be t r a in ed , fo r in the cou rse o f change to the new br o t he r hood , he i s to ld by Ham bro the Com mu nis t ph i losop he , ce r ta in sen t im en ta lidea s wi l l have to be sac r i f i c ed . The ve ry idea o f r a ce , tha t co re - anddefense of Neg ro un i ty , m us t be sub l im a ted . N or i s th e re p lace in theBr o t h e r h o o d ' s t e a c h i n g f o r e mo t i o n , f o r p s a l m s in g i n g , y a m- e a t i n g , T u s k e e g e eze a l . Al l i s to be log ica l : the an sw ers to the wo man ques t ion , the ra t iona lyou th g ro up s , the o rgan iza t ion of l ab or , even the pub l ic r a l l i e s . At l ea s tth is i s the theory , and i f l ike Liber ty Paints i t i s myopic and ac tual ly t ingedwi th g rey , i f the women take h im to bed to answer the i r po l i t i ca l ques t ions ,if the youth a r e too eas i ly f rant ic , if the publ ic i s s t i l l s t ro ng for the gospe land labor d i s t rus t s the Negro as scab ; i f these rea l i t i e s , the Inv i s ib le Man ' si d e a l i s m d r a w s h im i nt o t h e b e a r t r a p , B r o t h e r J a c k h i s f o i l .His i s a pe r su as ive sk i l l . Soon he i s known, l iked , t ru s te d , power fu l ,conf ident tha t the Broth erho od is lead ing the N egr o ar ig ht . Now he is wi l l ingto f igh t R as the E xh or te r , l ea de r of the Ne gro-on ly m ovem ent . Bu t a squ ick ly , the t r ap sp r ings : the in te rna t iona l ly d i rec ted Bro the rhood changesi ts H ar le m po l icy . Indef in i te ly , th er e w i l l be an in te rdic t ion of i t s p lan tobe t te r the N egr o ' s so c ia l cond i t ion . Un less the Inv i s ib le Man i s wi l l ing tosac r i f i ce the t rus t , the hopes o f h i s f e l low Negro , he mus t r enounce iden t i tyo n c e m o r e .I n a s c e n e wh i c h p r o v e s th e B r o t h e r h o o d ' s s h o r t s i g h t e d n e s s Br e rJac k , i t tu r ns ou t , ac tua l ly has bu t one eye ther e com es the b r ea k . Bu tnow, una l l i ed , the Inv i s ib le Man mu s t r eckon w i th Ra s the De s t ro ye r , who ina Fo ur th of Ju ly fl a sh e lec t r i f i e s H ar lem as the na t ion a l i s t l ead er of a su pe rra ce r io t Th is i s no t im e fo r in te l l ec tu a l i sm , no r th i s the p l ac e . Pu rsu ed ,


7/7

B r e r Be ar and B re r Rabbi t in Inv is ib le Man 27to surv ive , our hero has no cho ice bu t to h ide in an underground cavern .Th ere we f ind h im when the novel beg in s : "C al l me Ja ck - t he -B e ar , fo r I amin a s t a t e of h ib e rn a t io n . " Th a t i s th e p a t t e r n , f ro m r u r a l co p se to co sm o p o l i t an fo res t .

Univers i ty o f Kansas

Invisimbe mind

Documents