Finally the last section of Invisible Man! The section started off with the narrator seeing Ras the Destroyer giving a speech of condemnation on the Brotherhood for not using Clifton’s death. Some of his followers confront the narrator so he gets a disguise. Since identity is a theme of this book, it was interesting to see all of the different people the narrator is mistaken for as “Rinehart”. Everyone seems to know him in the disguise but they think of him as a variety of people which could be a reflection of how he does not know himself. As the narrator reflects on the disguise he “[sits] there trembling” as “[he] caught a brief glimpse of the possibilities posed by Rinehart’s multiple personalities and turned away. It was too vast and confusing to contemplate” (499). The narrator is almost scared of the possibilities that the new identity could bring to him because he has grown accustomed to not having an identity and being whatever people tell him to be. When the narrator gets to Hambro’s house he learns the truth behind the Brotherhood and decides to learn more by going to get information from Jack’s mistress. Although he does not go through with it, it was surprising to me because the narrator does not seem like the type of person that would exploit people, so it is obvious that he has strong feeling towards the Brotherhood. He does decide to use Sybil which does not work out for him because she just wants to use him. When the narrator reports back to the Brotherhood about Harlem he lies to them and says that things are quieting down. The whole rest of the ending was crazy. After major chaos in the streets of Harlem and being attacked by Ras with a spear, the narrator flees and falls into a manhole and decides to stay there. Why do you think the narrator stayed underground? Being underground gives the narrator the most clarity that he’s had all book and he finally realizes that he was not interpreting his grandpa’s words correctly. He realizes that he should be making the world a better place. I also like that at the end the narrator burns all of the things in the briefcase. This shows that he is no longer letting others define who he is. He is ridding himself of the identities or things that people have given him that don’t reflect his true self. I thought that this was a fitting ending for the novel.
Great last entry Krist! I'm so sad yet estatic for this journey to end. But in answer to your question, I think the narrator stayed underground because that was the only place he truly felt like himself. His whole life has been built on pleasing others and conforming to their standards. However, when he started to stray from being held down and oppressed by these 'masters' he began to get in trouble and mess his life up. Being underground could symbolize a literal oppression as he cannot be seen by the outside world for who he truly is, just some crazy guy living under the street. He literally became an invisible man. I think the narrator remained underground to cover up who be had become and be comfortable with being a nobody. Great job Kristen!
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