African American Literature (Harmen Alleyne)

Towards the end of Invisible Man  the narrator adopts the persona of Rinehart, and several people mistake him as such. Also around the same time he has an affair with a Brotherhood member named Sybil. In both of those instances, the narrator uses the fact that he has a fake identity to get away with what he is doing. In these cases, does the narrator's invisibility act as a tool that the narrator uses to have his way? Along the same lines, does the narrator even know his invisibility is being used this way. By this point in the book the narrator does sort of know he is "invisible", but hasn't said much about it and hasn't given it a proper name. This use of his "thousand faces" could help him "agree them[whites] to death", but the narrator seems to only use it to survive and not get caught by certain people. What are your opinions on the "thousand faces" interpretation, and are there any other clear examples of other times he's ex...

In Invisible Man , the narrator seems to have a natural talent for public speaking. He begins speaking during his school years before the Battle Royale and has had a speech during the home eviction. He has also been drafted into the "Brotherhood" to do more public speaking. He seems to have a talent for rousing crowds, even if that was not shown in his Battle Royale speech. After the home eviction speech, he thinks of himself as a famous speaker akin to Booker T. Washington and takes pride in that. Now to the main point. Is the author fond of speeches because it makes him more individual? During his speeches he is separate from the crowd, able to show his views on matters and not be just a cog in a machine (as Norton calls it). Even if he may not be truly visible, his unique existence cannot be fully denied. Is not being able to make speeches why he has retreated within his "hole" during the prologue? Is writing this book and sharing his views and experiences how ...