Arya on Literature Things

At the end of chapter 25 of Invisible Man , we find the narrator trapped in a coal cellar with only his briefcase to keep him company. During this time, the narrator starts to burn the items in the briefcase to create light in the darkness beneath the manhole cover. Throughout this novel, Ellison has used the items in this briefcase as a symbol of the ongoing manipulative environment that surrounds the narrator. Only at the bottom of the cellar, in the absence of everything and everyone, does he seem to be truly free from manipulation. In this environment, he can have some clarity of mind and time to reflect. By burning these items, the narrator is metaphorically freeing himself of the strings that have been controlling his life for so long. By liberating himself and placing himself in an isolated situation, he creates the ideal environment for a rebirth, much like the rebirth in the hospital chapter where he was seemingly erased, emerging from this birth as a blank slate. In the same...

One of the most important times we see the narrator speak out against racism is in chapter 16, where he gives a motivational and rather radical speech. This speech rouses the crowd while angering the Brotherhood for its unscientific and emotional delivery. The narrator, with his newfound passion, goes on to give more speeches and attend more rallies, advocating for African-American rights. This style of combating stereotypes opposes that of his grandfather, Bledsoe, and even Ras the Exhorter, who all aim to empower themselves, although achieving these goals through different methods.  In the first few chapters of the book, the narrator's grandfather gives the narrator advice to submit to white society, acting docile and serving them as they expect him to. In chapter 1, the grandfather specifically states that he wants the narrator "overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em with grins, agree 'em to death and destruction, [and] let 'em swoller you till they vomit or...