Black v. White (4)

Just as the Invisible Man is starting to believe he has found his purpose in the world and the meaning of his identity, Ellison throws Ras the Exhorter into the scene of his first street talk as a source of irony.  Ras and his Black Nationalist group protest the views of the Brotherhood in that they believe in exterminating white people from the black community. The Black Nationalists refuse to interact with the white people out of respect for their race, whereas the Brotherhood promotes the peaceful interaction of the ethnicities.  During the brawl between Clifton, the Invisible Man, and Ras, Ras argues in defense of his social standing. He attempts to convince the Brotherhood members that the white men are not their allies and cannot be considered "brothers." As a final rebuttal, Ras reminds the men that "[He is] no black traitor to the black people for the white people" (376).  This statement establishes the idea of treachery in the Invisible Man's decisions. Up until this point, he has been confident in his progress as a social leader/ speaker, yet now the view of the 9th circle of hell, as represented in Dante's Inferno, causes readers to question the morality of the Invisible Man's social actions. Now, the contrast of the two extreme viewpoints is obvious to him.  Once again, the Invisible Man must determine which of his views are influenced by the Brotherhood's ideals and which are of his own mind.  His constant search for his identity in the black and white communities "[keeps] this nigger-boy running" (33) and is a major factor in his invisibility to the world.