Black v. White (3)

When the narrator is given the opportunity to join the Brotherhood's social and political movement, he views it as an opportunity to pursue his lifetime dream of becoming a powerful public speaker. The appeal of having social significance is tempting to the narrator, however he has yet to realize the sinister intentions of the Brotherhood. At the cocktail party in the Chthonian, the Invisible Man overhears Emma asking Brother Jack, "But don't you think he should be a little blacker?" At this moment, we are able to see that the Brotherhood views the narrator as a symbol of his race and not valuable for his individuality.  They then strip him of his identity and give him a new one to live by.  There is irony in this situation because the Invisible Man believes this is the path to his peak as an influential leader like the Founder. His whole life, this is what he has wanted to do. However, in this process, he willingly but unwittingly submits his old identity to the Brotherhood and the world before his rebirth in the hospital.  He may have seemed to achieve the impactful character he had imagined, but not before converting to his new self.  The Brotherhood’s facade of a selfless, negro-supporting organization is stripped by Emma’s comment— she reveals the purpose of the Invisible Man, his race, in the Brotherhood and inserts the seemingly unavoidable burden of racism into even this group of people.