Power Week 4

The Invisible Man and Clifton come face to face with Ras the Exhorter during a fight in the streets of Harlem that ensues during a speech the Invisible Man is delivering. Ras pulls a knife on Clifton during the fight but is unable to kill him because Clifton is black. Ras has opinions that vary greatly from those of the Brotherhood and in his conversation after fighting with the Invisible Man and Clifton he voices those opinions. Ras accuses them of working with the white men for access to their white women. He says that white men, "tell the black mahn his freedom lies between her skinny legs - while that son of gun, he take all the power and capital and don't leave the black mahn not'ing. (171)" This quote is significant because of the stereotype that Ras presents. Ras accuses the the Invisible Man and Clifton of having sexual desires for white women which displays that blacks and whites during this time both assumed this of the young black men. The stereotype that Ellison challenges in many parts of the novel has a sort of power over people because it prevents anyone from achieving equality if the stereotype lies within both races. It is also significant that Ras mentions the white men taking all the "power and capital" and leaving black men with nothing. Ras accuses white men of using the racial stereotype to manipulate black men so that they may in turn achieve power and profit. This can relate to the Brotherhood because of the idea of them playing a game of chess. The powerful white men in the Brotherhood are using and manipulating minorities such as women and African Americans as pawns to gain power. This can relate to the Grandfather's curse and "keeping him running" because the Invisible Man is acting as the white men want him to. Additionally, it's not just the brotherhood that does this either. While the Invisible Man was in the South the Battle Royal provided evidence of powerful white men exploiting the sexuality of women and using young African American men as a form of twisted horrible entertainment as a way to exert their power.