Light Week 3

After the Invisible Man delivers his first speech after joining the brotherhood, he goes back to the place that he is staying at and thinks about that day’s events and considers himself to have been “lucky” (352) and that he “said the right things at the right time and [that] they had liked [him]” (352). He then thinks back to his college when he thinks about where he got the term “more human” (354), and with the same train of thoughts starts thinking about what Mr. Norton and Dr. Bledsoe have done to him. He then thinks that they have actually helped him: “By kicking me into the dark they’d made me see the possibility of achieving something greater and more important than I’d ever dreamed” (354). This quote is ironic because it is after they pushed him into the darkness that he has realized his full potential, in contrast to the common thinking that light helps people to realize their true identity.  Darkness is usually confusing and misleads people, but in this scenario the Invisible Man is more inclined to make a difference in his community. This quote also indicates that the Invisible Man wants to be a part of something bigger, rather than just focusing on only himself. This might be the light, or truth, for the narrator, because he finds joy in helping to improve the status of his race, and thinks that this is his main purpose in his life now. He only finds the light after being pushed in the dark, or the unknown. This also relates back to the scene of his “rebirth”, because he has found a new way to lead his life.