Blindness is the most obvious theme in Chapter 22, especially after Brother Jack's glass eye falls out. Symbolically, the glass eye means two things. One, Jack can only see what the Brotherhood wants him to see. In all other cases, he is blind to reality and the humanity of those he employs, particularly Invisible Man. Second, the glass eye incident also allows Invisible Man to realize that Jack does not necessarily see him as a human being: "... yes, and blindness; he doesn't see me. He doesn't even see me" (475). In Jack's mind, Invisible Man is not a human being but rather is only a speaker of the Brotherhood's ideals and goals. This realization causes Invisible Man to question Jack's ability to understand what is happening in reality, therefore increasing Invisible Man's awareness that the committee is not always interested in what is real.

Another main theme is of the connection between power and betrayal. The main question of the chapter is who betrayed whom. Did Clifton betray the Brotherhood, or did the Brotherhood betray Clifton? In the committee's mind, Clifton betrayed the Brotherhood by leaving and then selling the Sambo dolls. Invisible Man, however, believes that the Brotherhood betrayed Clifton by deserting the community to focus on national and international prospects. He explains to the committee that the community no longer cares too much for the Brotherhood, and asks, "you don't really think that crowd turned out today because Clifton was a member of the brotherhood?" (469) Although, in most cases, this is the truth, the committee refuses to accept this reality, claiming it still has ultimate authority, and "the committee does the thinking" (470) and that their "job is not to ask them [the community] what they think but to tell them!" (473) In all, the committee believes it has absolute power while it is stumbling through the reality of the situation in Harlem.

A minor thread of the chapter is the theme of death and rebirth. Because of Clifton's death and funeral, Invisible Man is forced to face the committee. After the death and the confrontation, Invisible Man begins to feel changed and, in some ways, more human. To end the chapter he explains his feelings: "... I would never be the same. Never. After tonight I wouldn't ever look the same, or feel the same. Just what I'd be, I didn't know; I couldn't go back to what I was--which wasn't much--but I'd lost too much to be what I was. Some of me, too, had died with Tod Clifton" (478). The cycle of death and rebirth started with Tod Clifton and ended with Invisible Man.

The theme of isolation appears very insignificantly in the middle of the chapter. Invisible Man comments that "there's nothing like isolating a man to make him think" (469), an opinion that is quickly struck down by Jack's retort of "...Brother, and you were not meant to think" (469). Because Invisible Man has been excluded from strategy meetings and other events of the Brotherhood, he has become accustomed to isolation. He now takes that time to examine his thoughts, which is what causes him to plan the funeral for Clifton. That analysis eventually costs him confrontation with the committee and the truth about the Brotherhood's hierarchy.

Other Chapters

Prologue| Chapter 1| Chapter 2| Chapter 3| Chapter 4| Chapter 5| Chapter 6| Chapter 7| Chapter 8| Chapter 9| Chapter 10| Chapter 11| Chapter 12| Chapter 13| Chapter 14| Chapter 15| Chapter 16| Chapter 17| Chapter 18| Chapter 19| Chapter 20| Chapter 21| Chapter 22| Chapter 23| Chapter 24| Chapter 25| Epilogue