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The Brotherhood, Identity, and the Past

    As the narrator's career with the Brotherhood progresses in Invisible Man, he becomes increasingly prominent within the Harlem community. Although the he feels content with the job and how it allows him to express his ideas and passions, the narrator becomes recognized only for the version of himself he's supposed to present as part of the Brotherhood—not his actual self. In fact, his "brothers" express disapproval for even being too personal. As a people-pleaser, he doesn't question his forced identity shift and transitions smoothly, but as a result, he doesn't register that his newfound recognition and identity relies almost solely on the Brotherhood. His obliviousness seems a little concerning since the Brotherhood may not always be on his side. The narrator is so oblivious and caught up in his job that he doesn't even realize that he's selling part of his identity—his past—for it. Even if the narrator does feel genuine and enjoy his new identity, his unquestioning trust regarding the Brotherhood seems a little worrying.

       On that note, I don't think the narrator will end up sticking with the Brotherhood (or the Brotherhood will stick with him). Numerous details and events point to how the Brotherhood doesn't seem like a good fit for him. For instance, the Brotherhood's philosophy of "forgetting the past" is contradictory to many of his happiest moments in the book, such as the yam scene. A major part of why he's so happy in the yam scene is because of the sense of nostalgia the yams bring him and the fact that he's finally reconciling his current identity and his background (which the Brotherhood takes away shortly after). The narrator's interaction with Tarp is another instance in which his past allows him to feel content and make valuable connections with others. Although he's puzzled and internally somewhat unappreciative regarding the interaction, Tarp's paternal gesture makes him feel respected and cared for. 

This entire book is literally documenting and remembering the narrator's past, which strongly indicates that the Brotherhood's "forgetting the past" philosophy doesn't agree with the narrator's values. In general, it seems counterproductive for the Brotherhood to forget the past especially since the racial issues that the Brotherhood claims to be fighting against are a product of history.

Comments

  1. Rithika PatnamOctober 10, 2021 at 8:52 PM

    Interesting take! Your point is definitely supported by the fact that the narrator from the prologue is literally sitting in his basement just recollecting and writing about all of his memories. Clearly, his past is wildly important to him, and my guess is that the Brotherhood's disconnection from the past might be the final straw for the narrator to finally leave it.

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  2. EllaOctober 14, 2021 at 1:10 PM

    I definitely agree. I was honestly surprised that he stayed with them for so long. It's truly a testament to the influence the Brotherhood has over him. They make him feel needed and useful. The first scene where we see dissent by the Narrator towards the Brotherhood is when he returns to Harlem. There's an intense verbal battle between Brother Tobbit where I saw the Narrator develop his own personality for the first time since the prologue. That argument to me is the first time the narrator is starting to mentally break himself off of the Brotherhood after seeing through their façade.

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  3. ZoeyOctober 21, 2021 at 2:15 PM

    Yeah I definitely agree that I don't think the narrator will stay in the Brotherhood. It seems like, especially more towards the beginning of his relationship with them, the narrator felt like a lot of their values and goals overlapped - which may have been a big reason why he stayed. As the story progresses he's discovering more and more differences between him and their thinking; for example as you explained their disconnection from the past; and the Brotherhood trying to impress their opinions onto his speeches might just be enough to make him leave.

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