Spring 2004 POLITICAL SCIENCE 13

We urge you to start reading Invisible Man now. This sheet is designed to help you through it.

INVISIBLE MAN

Ellison’s novel – one of the greatest works of American fiction – is an extraordinarily rich and complex reading of American racism and of America. Try and read the whole thing, but make sure you read at least these chapters: Prologue, chapters 1-4, 7-11, 13; 16-17, 19 to the end and Epilogue.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

PROLOGUE on invisibility

COLLEGE

1/ Battle Royal

2/ Norton hears Trueblood’s story of incest with his daughter

3/ Norton at "'The Golden Day" on the day that inmates of local veterans hospital come

4/ Norton and IM return; IM faces Bledsoe

51 Homer Barbee's sermon about The Founder and success formula

6/ Bledsoe to IM on necessity of lying to whites; kicks him out

NEW YORK CITY

7/ bus-ride to NYC; last lesson from mad veteran; Harlem

8/ IM looks for a job

9/ IM meets rapping man; meets Young Emerson

10/ day at paint factory; Brockway; the Union; paint explosion

11/ electric lobotomy

12/ Mary Rambo takes IM in; evicted from Men's House

13/ yams; the old couple evicted; IM’s speech; meets Brother Jack (local Brotherhood Party (i.e.Communist Party) organizer

14/ hired by Brotherhood; Jack takes him to party; new name; dances with Emma

15/ says goodbye to Mary, moves to Brotherhood apartment downtown

16/ makes first Brotherhood speech (becoming more human; remembers lit. class lesson)

17/ first rally; meets Tod Clifton; meets Ras the Exhorter

18/ good talk w/ Tarp, IM is denounced by Wrestrum

19/ transfer downtown to speak on Women Question; sexual affair; faces not the "class

struggle" but the "ass struggle"

20/ Harlem again: watches Clifton shot by police; contemplates his failure on subway

21/ Tod Clifton's funeral march; IM's speech

22/ Brotherhood policy change w/out IM knowing; he is denounced

23/ IM realizes he can mistaken for Rinehart (numbers man and minister, etc-,) & plans to

subvert the Brotherhood

24/ Jack's party; IM takes Sybil home; gets call to hurry to Harlem

25/ riot in Harlem; looting; IM driven underground

EPILOGUE: Mr. Norton again; what is destiny?