Chapters 16-19

Chapter 16:

Oratory:

“But I’ve been sitting here listening and looking and trying to understand what’s so common about us” (342).

The main instance of oratory in chapter sixteen is at a rally for the Brotherhood. The brothers ask IM to speak at the end of the rally, once the crowd is already fired up. IM forgets what he wants to say once he gets up on stage, but improvises on the spot and comes up with a speech about how they are dispossessed and blind. The crowd absolutely loves the speech and receive him warmly, but members of the Brotherhood are not so impressed, as IM learns after he has finished.

Power:

"'Did I do something wrong?' I said.

      'The worst you could’ve done,' he said coldly" (349).

Brother Jack held some power in chapter sixteen in regards to the speech given by IM. IM was aiming to impress Brother Jack with the words of his speech, so he had power in this sense, but he also had power when IM was finished with his speech. IM left the stage believing he had done a fairly good job, as the crowd was enthusiastically cheering him on, but Brother Jack disagreed - and made his view quite clear. The quote above is part of this conversation; Brother Jack tells IM that he does not believe the speech was actually well done, and encourages other brothers to do the same. In doing this, Brother Jack has the power to control IM’s feelings of himself and his accomplishments, which may ultimately contribute to his feeling of invisibility.

Chapter 17:

Oratory:

“You my brother, mahn. Brothers are the same color; how the hell you call these white men brother?” (370)

Ras the Exhorter says this in the middle of a physical fight with Brother Tod Clifton, and continues to give a speech about what it means to be black and what duties come along with being black. His word choice is meant to instill a sense of responsibility in Clifton and IM, and convince them to leave the white individuals that they have agreed to work with. In addition, he tries to convince them that a group of African-Americans will do a lot more for the black community than a group of both blacks and whites through appealing to a sense of community. He also tries to make Clifton and IM feel guilty about teaming up with white men by making it seem as though the only reason that they would do this is because the white men would “provide” them with “their” women.

Power:

“Why you go over to the enslaver?” (371)

This motif in chapter seventeen was more about a struggle for power and a discussion about who ought to have power, mainly between Ras, Clifton, and IM. Ras, a black nationalist, was furious that Clifton and IM, two black men, would work with whites, and saw it as a sort of sign of betrayal to their race. He could not understand how the two men believed that the white men had their best interest in mind, and how they thought that working with them would actually help further their cause, and Clifton and Ras actually get into a physical fight over this disagreement.

Chapter 18:

Oratory:

“This business of being a brother is a full time job. You have to be pure in heart and you have to be disciplined in body and mind" (394).

This quote comes from Brother Wrestrum as he gives the IM his spiel on what it means to be a true Brother. The leg iron is what evokes this speech, as Brother Wrestrum insists that it “dramatizes [their] differences”, and deteriorates from the Brotherhood’s cause of unity and trust in eachother. Coming from Brother Wrestrum, however, this quote is very ironic. Near the end of the chapter, Brother Wrestrum shows traits of hypocrisy as turns his back on the IM, charging him with using the Brotherhood to advance his own self interests. He uses the magazine interview as evidence against them IM, even though he knows the truth behind the interview since he was there when the IM received the call. Through this, Brother Wrestrum ironically went against the moral standards of Brotherhood he spoke so highly of earlier in the chapter.

Power:

“He’s trying to train them so they won’t listen to no one but him...He wants to be a dictator!” (401)

This quote comes from the meeting at the end of the chapter, where Brother Wrestrum is accusing the Invisible Man of being power crazed. The charges Brother Wrestrum brings were perhaps out of spite and jealousy, considering a few weeks ago the IM held power over Brother Wrestrum when he dismissed him out of his office and neglected to show much interest in the suggestion of emblems. Brother Wrestrum continually states that, as leader, the IM only wants to advance his own self interests and that he aims to control the entire movement. This then brings about a sort of fight over power-the Invisible Man is the one with the power as leader, but Brother Wrestrum is envious of the power IM holds and tries to take it away from him by bringing about the charges.

Chapter 19:

There were no instances of oratory in this chapter.

Power:

The power in this chapter lies in the hands on a character distinctly different from most others in previous chapters- she is a young woman. The unnamed woman has power over IM by luring him into her apartment to “discuss the Brotherhood”, but her true intentions are clear. She manages to seduce IM enough to go against his instinct and morals and have sex with her, a married woman. The morning after he “looked up to see the man looking straight at [him]” (417) which we assume to be the husband. The woman obviously has control over her husband as well, since he did not even react to seeing his wife in bed with another unidentified man. By the end of the chapter, Brother Jack still holds over over IM as well, moving his assignment once again back to Harlem after the disappearance of Brother Tod Clifton. Brother Tod is suspected to have joined sides with Ras the Exhorter, who inevitably still holds some power, threatening the Brotherhood.