Revelation

In Chapter 9 of Invisible Man, the narrator discovers what Bledsoe has written in the letters he's given him. Specifically, Bledsoe requests that Emerson (and the other letter-receivers) keep the narrator away from the school, while keeping the narrator himself oblivious and hopeful.

Later, alone, the narrator recounts the letter, speaking aloud to himself. "Please hope him to death, and keep him running," he paraphrases.

Back in the first chapter, after the calamity of the narrator's high school graduation, the narrator has a dream with his deceased grandfather in it. He opens his briefcase and opens letter after nested letter, eventually reaching a short message: "To Whom It May Concern, Keep This N*gger-Boy Running."

Up until the boiler explosion and the narrator's memory loss, he's constantly hopeful about his future, letting higher authorities control him. His grandfather planted a seed of doubt all those years ago, though, and it seems he's finally "come to his senses" with Bledsoe's letter.

Comments

  1. Ayah JaberSeptember 15, 2018 at 8:19 PM

    Nice post! I see your train of thought, but I think that Brother Jack is still going to control the narrator in some ways and "keep him running" for a bit. Of course, the narrator's mind set and ideas has definitely changed a bit since the boiler explosion, but I think there is still a few changes that will be made to his persona as the book goes on.

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  2. SJSeptember 17, 2018 at 7:34 AM

    I agree that the narrator is finally free from his complacent attitude, but with that I think there comes another problem. If all he's done his whole life is been a "good boy", now that he can't even do that what else is he supposed to do?

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