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Brothers, Invisible Man

     The term "brother" has been used so many times throughout "Invisible Man," it has practically become a theme of the novel. And yet, it is used in any way but a familial sense. Ralph Ellison uses the word with intention, and as a means to signal to the reader when white characters in the novel seek to align with the protagonist for their own gain. 

    A memorable time this word crops up is in chapter 10, when the protagonist stumbles into a union meeting and is immediately treated as suspect and bombarded by the "brothers" assembled there. He first remarks on the leader's use of the word, saying "Brother? Even after my weeks in the North this was surprising." (219) However, once they learn he is working for Brockway, the "brother" is quickly dropped, and the protagonist is seen as an enemy. After deliberation about whether he can be trusted again, the men in the locker room return to calling him brother. In this case, the word brother is meant to impart friendliness and normality, but their initial quickness to call the protagonist by it and the speed at which they revoke the label create a clear in group and out group in the scene.  

    Skipping ahead to chapter 14, the organization that the protagonist joins also uses the word brother liberally. Everyone is a brother, and the protagonist is no different. And yet, the organization's intentions in hiring the main character remain mostly unknown to him, even after he is given more details at the meeting. What little the reader learns along with the main character about specifics is not said directly to him, but rather overheard and pieced together. It is clear that while they call him "brother," they mean to use him to further their plans without being honest with him. In this chapter, several different types of "brothers" are created. One is what the members of the organization use to refer to the main character, another is what they use for each other, before or after exchanging important information not meant to for the protagonist. 

Comments

  1. Madeleine K.September 20, 2021 at 8:28 PM

    Eve, I really like your Blogpost! I find it really interesting how you make these connections through this one word. Throughout this book I think Ellison ahs been really intentional with his words and his stories and this is a great example of this.

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  2. SallySeptember 20, 2021 at 9:53 PM

    I definitely think this "Brother" theme is an interesting way to analyze the novel, and you summed it up very well. Even though "Brother" seems like such a close word to call a friend, in each situation, the narrator hardly knows anyone there. The word is used superficially for each party's own gain, emphasizing Ellison's awareness in how the word is purposefully misused.

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  3. MitchellSeptember 27, 2021 at 8:32 AM

    When we look back at it, the fact that the union guys at the paint factory call him "brother" when he stumbles onto their meeting *may* imply that they are Brotherhood members (which would be compatible generally with unionization and labor politics). Or it could just be a conventional expression of solidarity (it *should* be a welcoming term, even though the narrator feels attacked in this scene, and they quickly trade it out for "fink"). We get glimpses of Ras the Exhorter before we actually meet him, and I wonder if this is a subtle way of Ellison implying that the Liberty Paints Union is a Brotherhood organization.

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    Replies
    1. DorenOctober 18, 2021 at 12:25 AM

      I had not considered the possibility that the men in Liberty Paints may be a related to the Brotherhood before, but it certainly paints (haha funny wordplay) the organization and its optic white paint in a new light. It seems that the Brotherhood essentially wants to destroy any sorts of identity that can form a community (e.g. race or gender), treating all forms of oppression as equal. That's why Brother Jack is frustrated by the narrater bringing up race when they meet. The optic white paint is very literally used for white-washing things. From the perspective of the Brotherhood, the idea of white-washing the black population, unifying them under the organization without the community of race, is absolutely appealing. Though I personally do feel that the use of the term "brother" in this earlier scene was probably not related to the organization, there are certainly interesting ways to interpret Liberty Paints in the context of the Brotherhood.

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  4. DorenOctober 18, 2021 at 12:29 AM

    I think considering "brother" in terms of "in groups" and "out groups" is a great way to think about the term. When the Brotherhood forces the narrator to start using the term "brother" to refer to other people and referring to him by it, they push trust and collectiveness of the organization down his throat, pulling him into their "in group" by force. The narrator isn't really welcomed into their group, but they have use for him, so they drag him in to use him as a puppet later.

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