Light Week 4

The scene with Jack's eye is symbolic of the invisible man's new perspective on the Brotherhood and shows his realization that the Brotherhood is using him. The light is paired with the symbol of the eye in this scene when our protagonist states, "I stared at the glass, seeing how the light shone through, throwing a transparent, precisely fluted shadow against the dark grain of the table, and there on the bottom of the glass lay an eye...A buttermilk white eye distorted by the light rays...outlined by the light against the darkened half of the hall" (474). It is used to enhance the eye symbol as if he is being "enlightened" as the light shines through the eye and he not only realizes the obvious, that Jack has a glass eye, but also the underlying aspect of the lies that the Brotherhood has kept from him and the way they have used him over his time with him. Everything is laid out on the table now and the light represents the truth of the matter being revealed to him in this meeting. The quote talks about the light "distorting" and "throwing a...shadow" of the eye which represents the reality being revealed about the eyes as well as the real ambitions of the group, one that doesn't care who it has to sacrifice to grow stronger. Our invisible man hates them when he realizes this truth revealed to him now and aims to see their downfall from now on.