Summary and Analysis

Summary

Returning to Mary, the narrator is overwhelmed by the smell of cabbage, recalling his impoverished childhood. The smell also makes him realize that maybe Cole is the only one Mary can afford, as she hasn't paid the rent yet. decided to call Brother Jack to discuss a job offer.

The narrator is surprised that Brother Jack must have been waiting for his call. Because he immediately directs the narrator to an address on Lenox Avenue. When the narrator arrives at the designated address, the car stops at the curb and three men and brother Jack tell them to get in, announcing that they are going to a party. After a short drive through Central Park, the car pulls up and the men enter Chthonian, an exclusive private club, where they are greeted by a cultured woman (later identified as Emma). The narrator marvels at the contrast between the opulent decoration of the room and the poorly dressed men, and surveys the scene. Brother Jack leads him into a larger, more richly decorated room full of well-dressed people. The narrator overhears Emma asking Jack if he thinks the narrator is black enough to be an effective leader. The narrator, deeply offended by her remarks, goes to a nearby window and lingers there, lost in thought. Soon, the narrator is asked to join a group at the library, where he is given a new name and told to become the new Booker T. Washington.

Analysis

The narrator buys new clothes and tries to free himself from Mary's cast-iron bench. He does his best to free himself from his old identity in order to prepare for his acceptance into the Brotherhood. (Note the narrator's comment. I feel like his head is going to explode. A few minutes later, he hits the bench against the pipe and it explodes.) Another perspective And banks also represent racist symbols and images that still permeate our culture and perpetuate destructive sambo stereotypes.

The scene in which the narrator desperately tries to get out of the "shattered image" puts a unique twist on the themes of invisibility and identity. Normally you can barely see a black man walking the streets of Harlem early in the morning, but on this particular morning the narrator is clearly visible. , is perceived as much more meaningful by two viewers who interpret what he does based on their perception of who he is. Northern mulattoes see him as a Southern "field nigger" who has no respect for private property, while Southern men see him as a crafty New York Negro/crook. Both share his racial identity, but neither identifies with him based on race, instead classifying him as an outsider because of regional, cultural, and class differences. This is shaking up the image of the homogenous, one-dimensional black community.