Invisible Man Chapters 13-15 Reading Questions

Chapter 13

1. Peter Wheatstraw foreshadows the encounter with the yam seller. How do these encounters differ? What changes are revealed in the narrator’s identity? How is his change in identity linked with his desire to show Bledsoe as a fraud?

→ The encounters differ because the narrator wants to express to people that he is from the south and is not ashamed of it anymore.

2. In the eviction scene, the narrator makes his second speech of the novel. Study it carefully. Compare it to the first speech. Take notes about the narrator’s developing identity.

→ His audience changed from a white audience to a black audience. He is directing his speech to black people.

3. How does the narrator meet Brother Jack? The Brotherhood is a thinly veiled version of the Communist Party. Richard Wright, Ellison’s first mentor, was an active member in the Communist Party. At Wright’s request, Ellison wrote a number of articles for leftist publications between 1937 and 1944, but never joined. He objected to the Communist Party’s limitations of individuality and personal expression.

→ The narrator meets Brother Jack on a street.

4. What new piece of paper replaces the letters from Bledsoe as the narrator’s identity?

→ The envelope that was given to the narrator by Brother Jack.

Chapter 14

1. What pushes the narrator to accept The Brotherhood’s offer? The fact that Mary Rambo is taking care of the narrator (being short of money already) and he was not contributing at all.

→ He accepts Brotherhood’s offer because he feels like he needs to repay Mary Rambo for all the nice things she has done for him.

2. Note that the building is called the Chthonia. In Greek mythology, this is another name for Hades’ realm, the underworld. What descriptions and images can you find that convey the sense of entering an underworld type of realm? Why is entering the world of The Brotherhood like entering the underworld?

→ The Chthonia is filled with darkness.

3. The phone number has been replaced by a new name in an envelope? Why? Why are we never told of this new name?

→ (not sure)

4. How does the party scene remind the reader of how limited and/or hypocritical most whites are in the understanding of the treatment of Blacks?

→ They are very racist towards the black people even if they do want to help the black people have civil rights.

Chapter 15

1. Think about the symbolism of the Sambo bank. Is it related to Clifton’s Sambo doll? What about the fact that it belonged to Mary Rambo? What about the bank’s “grinning mouth” that swallows coins? Think back to the Battle Royal in Chapter 1.

→ The Sambo bank symbolizes the hard work that the black people have to do on a day to day basis just to get what they need. They needed to keep the white people entertained in order to make a living. The fact that Mary used to own this bank means that she has also gone through racial discrimination and has struggled.