Closure
Throughout Invisible Man, the narrator is forced to move from one organization to the next, each of which have a different idea of what part Blacks should play in society. Near the end of the book, the narrator comes to realize just how easily manipulated he has been, and how following his grandfather's advice only made things worse.
Despite his constant movement from setting to setting, the narrator's briefcase remains with him as a treasured possession. The items inside, meanwhile, are various trinkets obtained throughout his journey: his high school diploma, the shattered Jolly N bank, a paper with his Brotherhood name...
In Chapter 24, though, the narrator is assaulted by a flock of birds and their droppings. He uses his briefcase to shield himself, quite unlike how careful he has been with the briefcase in the past. Later, when he falls into a manhole to escape Ras, he burns the briefcase's contents for light.
What does all this mean? By burning the briefcase's contents, the narrator is showing an action of detachment from his past, a new beginning. It's at this time that he realizes how his grandfather's advice to "agree them to death" only made it easier for "them" to manipulate him. He realizes his own invisibility, and ends up staying underground.
Despite his constant movement from setting to setting, the narrator's briefcase remains with him as a treasured possession. The items inside, meanwhile, are various trinkets obtained throughout his journey: his high school diploma, the shattered Jolly N bank, a paper with his Brotherhood name...
In Chapter 24, though, the narrator is assaulted by a flock of birds and their droppings. He uses his briefcase to shield himself, quite unlike how careful he has been with the briefcase in the past. Later, when he falls into a manhole to escape Ras, he burns the briefcase's contents for light.
What does all this mean? By burning the briefcase's contents, the narrator is showing an action of detachment from his past, a new beginning. It's at this time that he realizes how his grandfather's advice to "agree them to death" only made it easier for "them" to manipulate him. He realizes his own invisibility, and ends up staying underground.
Nice post! I agree that burning the documents in the briefcase was a really important moment of closure for the narrator. Burning those ties to his past probably also helped him feel more confident with dropping out of society. I also think it’s cool that immediately after burning the papers that society values, the narrator creates his own papers in the form of the novel that reflect what he values.
ReplyDeleteI agree that burning the papers was closure and a needed action for the narrator to take to show himself that he can move on. I also think the bird scene was important as an in-between step so that he could start moving in the direction of leaving his old self behind. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I agree with everything said thus far, however, I would like to comment on when the narrator shields himself from the birds. At the college, there is a statue with bird droppings all over. We talked a lot about this and how it signified the college trying to make its students more white in a way. For our narrator, despite all these conformities attacking him, he is able to save himself in a way through his briefcase.
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