Symbolism
Brother Clifton sells these after leaving the brotherhood. They are a representation of the willingness of black entertainers for white masters.
What is a Sambo Doll?
One of the white trustees at the narrator's college, who the narrator drives around.
Who is Mr. Norton?
A reoccurring theme in Invisible Man, in which one believes their race is superior than all others and expresses this through prejudice and discrimination.
What is Racism?
"All of the town's big shots were there in their tuxedoes, wolfing down the buffet foods, drinking beer and whiskey and smoking black cigars. It was a large room with a high ceiling. Chairs were arranged in neat rows around three sides of a portable boxing ring."
What is the Battle Royal?
The narrator compares himself to this famous black actor.
Who is Paul Robinson?
The narrator is disgusted by this object he finds in Mary Rambo's house. This represents the difficulty of abandoning the legacies of past stereotypes.
What is the Coin Bank?
The white and blindly loyal leader of the Brotherhood.
Who is Brother Jack?
The narrator is in search of his identity throughout the novel. Eventually, he comes to terms with how he is truly seen.
What is invisibility?
"The theme was sure-fire guarantee of audience interest and the rest was up to me...I was exchanging greetings with the audience when she appeared."
What is the woman's meeting?
The bar and grill the narrator visits.
What is Barrelhouse's Jolly Dollar?
This symbolically covers blackness in the same way that the narrator's education sought to hide his black heritage, or cultural "blackness." Suggests a larger theme of "whitewashing" national history by failing to acknowledge black contributions.
What is Optic White?
A kind and motherly woman who sees plenty of potential for the narrator to contribute to racial progress.
Who is Mary Rambo?
The narrator encounters many institutions and individuals who abuse this. The Brotherhood is one of the best examples of using this narrative that seems to perfectly explain the world.
What is Power?
" A sea of faces stood around and a magnificent blonde was ____"
What is naked?
The members of the union at the paint factory continuously called the narrator this offensive term.
What is a fink?
Warm images, in particular, are used when the narrator is nostalgic, happy, and content. This is seen primarily when he is with Mary or eating warm foods such as yams. Cold images are used when the narrator feels isolated, frightened, or confused. This is seen strongly when the narrator leaves college, wanders New York looking for work, and debates joining the Brotherhood.
What is temperature imagery?
This person impregnated his wife and daughter.
Who is Trueblood?
Prejudice forces blacks to submit and conform to white culture in order to gain acceptance.
What is White America?
"I dearly loved my master, son," she said.
"You should have hated him," I said.
"He gave me several sons," she said, "and because I loved my sons I learned to love their father though I hated him too."
What is the narrator's dream?
The narrator's first job.
What is the paint factory?
This symbolized his escape from prison as well as his escape from mental slavery.
What is Brother Tarp's link of chain.
The narrator originally gets advice from this person.
Who is Invisible Man's grandfather?
Brother Clifton experiences this first hand, as it is vaguely introduced in the previous chapters.
What is Police Brutality?
"His name was _____, he believed in Brotherhood, he aroused our hopes and he died."
Who is Tod Clifton?
Invisible Man was the first novel by a black author to win this award.
What is the National Book Award for Fiction?