Chapter 12

Matt Eaton

Summary

In Chapter 12, Invisible Man comes home from the hospital and is still rather groggy. People who see him coming off the bus are stare and him and do not know what to do. A woman comes to help Invisible Man and takes him to her home to rest. He does rest and the woman, named Mary, begins to tell him that it is his generation who must lead the cause for the black people, but not to forget about the little people. All that Invisible Man wants to do is get back to the Men’s House. He does and realizes that he has been kicked out for the spittoon incident. He goes back to Mary’s home to live and she keeps telling him about brotherhood. The chapter ends with Invisible Man desperate for a job and real place to live.

Themes/motifs

The major themes of this chapter are expulsion and brotherhood. He is expelled from Men’s House and does not know where to live. Mary is telling him about how people have to stick together and be "brothers." Invisible Man just cares about living. In an ironic twist, Mary sees Invisible Man as full of hope and the hope for an entire people. Invisible Man cannot even see hope for himself. It is comically ironical because their viewpoints are so different.

As far as symbols, Invisible Man’s final line about drowning is once again used to show how he is drowning in a sea of people. The chapter ends with a feeling of hopelessness and despair.

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