Chapter 10-20 Motif

Chapter 10

Symbolic objects: Coal 

Quote:  Mr. Brockway says, "Our white is so white you can paint a chunka coal and you'd have to crack it open with a sledge hammer to prove it wasn't white clear through!" (Ellison 217)

Explanation: The coal is a symbol for a black person and the white paint represents people trying to fit into white culture. It relates to the idea  that New York was a place where many people were assimilated, and that's why it was such a big "melting pot." Being white was something people wanted to be and try to gain acceptance from white people. The use of coal helps to explain why the invisible man didn't like Mr. Brockway because compare someone to a coal has a negative connotation. It also shows how going to New York doesn't help the invisible man feel any less invisible, and things in the north is similar to the south

Chapter 11

Symbolic Object: florescent light

Content: TIM was at the factory hospital after the accident.

“When I emerged, the lights were still there.”(Pg 238)

Explanation: The light symbolizes hope. He references light many times in the book starting at prologue. This quote shows their importance by being the first as he wakes up again from his haze. He feels hope from the pure whiteness that comes off of the lamp. He is starting to realizing his invisibility. The light helps him further this knowledge even more. T.I.M  talked about not being addressed and feeling unknown in the sea of whiteness. The light symbolizes society and he is a lost, helpless soul being sucked into this place where no one really knows the real him.

Chapter 12

Symbolic object: White overalls he got from the hospital.

Quote:  “...I saw it as they looked at my overalls,” (257).

Content: T.I.M  is at the Men’s Warehouse and he can feel the residents stereotyping him and starting to dislike him because he is no longer part of Bledsoe’s (who had a lot of power) world.

Explanation: The overalls symbolize stereotype and conformation. The African American residents have decided to fit the Invisible Man into a box and view him through a veil. The color of the overalls is white and they believe that the Invisible Man need to be white in order to be in a society where white people had power.  This motif is important because it will help help the Invisible Man to see things differently and achieve his goals invisibly. The doctors think that the narrator is now “pure” and will be different. They believe that he will be a more ideal member of society if they act certain way.

Chapter 13

Symbolic objects: Yam.

Quote: “I walked along, munching the yam, just as suddenly overcome by an intense feeling of freedom-simply because I was eating while walking along the street.”(264).

Content//Explanation: The yam represents freedom in this chapter. He no longer cares what people think of him. He realize that he can do whatever he wants without feeling bad about it like he used it. He no longer feel the need to live for other people. The yam symbolizes him leaving behind all his self-shame from his life in the south. Hopefully this will help him move forward and will help him get to the point of invisibility that he achieves in the prologue. This can also symbolize power. This new freedom signify that he has power that every other black person in the South does not have, even Bledsoe, who like T.I.M tried to fit in to the white society. This is the first time we see T.I.M  taking control of a situation on his own without any prompting from anyone.

Chapter 14

Symbolic Object: Cabbage

Context: After his talk with people from the Brotherhood who offered him a job to make money by giving public speeches, T.I.M notice Mary has been cooking cabbage for days now. He did not like the smell of cabbage because it reminded him of time he had no money and that was all he had to eat.

Explanation: It reminds him the times when money was sparse and the only thing they could afford was cabbage. He realizes that Mary doesn’t have a lot of money either and he need to find a job quickly. The cabbage also gave T.I.M power and motivation to work harder. This also shows how things in the North is similar to the South.

Chapter 15

Symbolic Object:  The coin bank depicting a black figure happily eating coins given by the white man at Mary’s home.

Quote: “the cast iron figure of a very black, red-lipped, and wide-mouthed Negro, whose eyes stared up at me from the floor, his face an enormous grin”(319).  

Context/Explanation:   This coin bank serves as a symbolic object in representing the stereotypes of black people in society. The symbolic meaning of the bank becomes clear after the Invisible Man destroys the bank. Despite his efforts to get rid of the bank he is unable to dispose of it and instead must keep it with him as he continues his journey. This shows that despite TIM’s efforts to distance himself from the stereotypes of the black man, he is instead forced to remain connected to them, constantly being reminded of his history and the stereotypes that define him.

Chapter 16

Symbolic Object: Master the Bulldog

Quote: "There was a child standing in rompers outside a chicken-wire fence, looking in upon a huge black-and-white dog, log-chained to an apple tree. It was Master, the bulldog; and I was the child who was afraid to touch him."

Context/Explanation: IM is reminded of Master when he is fixing to give the speech. It’s like he

was scared of the crowd but he wanted to trust them. The Master symbolize white people during slavery era. T.I.M. is African American and he is afraid of “Master” the bulldog. This shows how racism is still a problem in society despite slavery was abolished in the 1800’s. This also shows T.I.M. life is surrounded by racist stereotype.

Chapter 17

Symbolic objects: depicted in the knife.

Quote: “We’ll be out here and the next time you go after one of our brothers with a knife-and I mean white or black- well, we won’t forget it.” (374).

Content/Exp:  In this quote T.I.M.  is telling Ras that if he comes after one of his “brothers” again there will be serious consequences. The knife symbolizes betrayal and violence. Ras feels betrayed by Clinton and the Invisible Man, but he cannot hurt them. The knife symbolizes a series of future events that will end poorly for the Invisible Man because usually in a book, a knife kills the person.

Chapter 18

Symbolic object: Brother Tarp’s leg shackle

Quote: “It was such a link as I had seen on Bledsoe’s desk, only while that one had been smooth Tarp’s bore the the marks of haste and violence.”(389).

Context/Exp: Brother Tarp wore the chain for 19 years. He gave the chain to TIM to remind him of what he was fighting for. Similar to chapter 6,  Brother Tarp’s old leg shackle is similar to Dr. Bledsoe’s decorative desk leg shackle in that they both serve as a symbol in representing the hardships of slavery. While Dr. Bledsoe believes that the leg shackle serves as a reminder of the progress that the black community has made in time, Tarp reflects on his old leg shackle as a reminder of his past and the continued injustice that is a part of society. Brother Tarp’s shackle shows the violence and struggles that come with slavery and the effects it still has on people decades later.

Chapter 19

No Symbolic Object were found in Ch.19

Chapter 20

Symbolic objects motif : seen through the darkness

Quote:“Barrelhouse had prepared me for the darkened windows of the district…” (427)

Context/Exp: T.I.M  feels lost and blind after coming back to the “new” Harlem. The changes to Harlem and the loss of presence from the Brotherhood cause this darkness. The darkness also symbolize everything is out of his control. His plans don’t work out and he can’t find people he knows. T.I.M  is in darkness because he can’t gain control of anything; he doesn’t have power This lack of power is a struggle T.I.M. went through for the entire book. He has never once had complete control of anything and he begins to realize his invisibility in society.