Violence :-) week 2

Once the invisible man returned from the captivating and hectic union meeting he had tried to escape, he was bombarded by Mr. Brockway's accusations and chose to become physical, "I was throwing myself forward, feeling him go over with a grunt, hard against the floor, rolling beneath the force of my lunge. It was as though I had landed upon a wiry rat." (226) The irony of this brutal dispute lies within the invisible man's frustration of "accept[ing] the foolishness of such old men as this" (225). Ellison's description of this argument presents a shift in the invisible man, from tolerating and respecting authority figures and their actions to aggression and hatred towards them. Ellison also makes it clear that the invisible man was first to become violent during this disagreement, illustrating that he may no longer put up with the discrimination he has been receiving- even if from someone much older and smaller. Just before this quarrel, the invisible man realized he would not always be able to "overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em with grins, [and] agree 'em to death and destruction" (16). Ellison's initial portrayal of the invisible man as a polite and law abiding negro has now altered due to his violent response to Mr. Brockway's threat to kill him.