Chapters 22 and 23 are the first chapters where we really get to see the narrator from the prologue. It is at this moment that he actually starts to use a more critical consciousness and think for himself. We also see that he is starting to pay more attention to what his grandfather has said.
In the beginning, the narrator is always avoiding what his grandfather said or just not understanding it. That comes from the beginning when the grandfather first started talking about how he was a traitor and then "the younger children were rushed from the room" (16). Even then, to the narrator's parents, the thought of being subversive was completely against their nature. That is why, in the beginning, we could see the narrator as completely naive and believing that "white is right". His avoidance of what his grandfather is saying is seen in the Golden Day as well. When the Doctor very accurately describes the relationship between the narrator and Mr. Norton, he dismisses it by labeling the Doctor as crazy. There have been other moments of disillusionment before the scene in chapter 22, but the narrator still remained optimistic and it isn't until now that he really sees that the brotherhood and the society is flawed.
In this scene all we get from the brotherhood is sarcasm. They aren't clearly upset with what the narrator did, but instead of being able to speak scholarly like they always pride themselves in, all they can do now is just repeat what the narrator is saying in a mocking voice. The narrator is clearly the more sophisticated one here actually developing clear and precise sentences and undermines everything that the others are saying, especially Brother Tobitt. They are making a change in the way things are being done in Harlem and even though the narrator ends up going along with it, he is still thinking for himself. He not only questions their authority, but thinks about breaking apart completely, but decides that this solution would not work. It isn't until the end of chapter 23 when he finally sees past the whole illusion and begins to embrace his invisibility.
Thus, the narrator has changed a lot from the naive college undergraduate to the Rinehart like Speaker in the brotherhood.
Very true. It seems like I have been patiently waiting for this shift in the narrator's conscience since chapter 1, and it is finally happening. The difference between the narrator in chapter 1 and the current narrator is quite drastic.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we see a big shift in the narrator's attitude in these chapters. When the narrator realizes the Brotherhood's hypocrisy and insanity, he mentally breaks free from them and decided to pursue what he wants, rather than listen to what the high ranking brothers are telling him to do.For the entire book, the narrator has been "kept running," and been ordered around by a bunch of white people, but now he's "running" and acting on his own free will.
ReplyDeleteI agree in this idea of a shift in both the narrator's attitude and behavior. In previous scenes it felt as if, even if he wanted to comment on things he noticed, he was too afraid to speak up. Within those scenes, the authority figures were not at a level so much greater than the narrator, it was merely part of the mask in combination from feeding off of the narrators readiness to follow orders. Here, it finally feels like the narrator is confident enough to be 'himself' and speak his mind, gaining immediate satisfaction as he stuns the brotherhood.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that this section of the novel is where we see the shift in the narrator's behavior and not only that but a mental shift. This is where we begin to see the narrator breaking away from the Brotherhood and their ideals. Here he is able to speak what he is truly feeling and the emotions that have been tucked deep inside of the narrator's soul are let somewhat loose. We finally get to see more of the Prologue narrator and this section in the book is a great example of progression in the narrator's character.
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