Invisible Man is now a "spy" for the brotherhood. As the chapter opens, he is using the people around him, and reporting back to "headquarters" (the Brotherhood). There are a lot of small crimes around him, such as broken store windows. Invisible Man tries to stop the violence and stop the press from making such a big deal over such minor incidents. At the Chthonian, Invisible Man thinks that something about Emma seems a little off; when looking for a "second choice" woman to dance with, he finds Sybil at the bar, "one of the big shot's wives" (516). George, her husband, did not give her the attention that she felt she deserved; she felt neglected. She is able to receive that attention from Invisible Man.

For their meeting at Invisible Man's apartment, he has delicate liqueurs, fruits, nuts, and candies but is disappointed in himself when he makes the drinks too strong and when he talks to Sybil about politics. Sybil could not let her husband find out about her. After they had been together for a little while, Invisible Man thinks Sybil looks naked or "raw" the way she is no longer made up, and she is busy drinking so much that she is hardly responsive. With both of them extremely drunk, Sybil calls out to Invisible Man, asking whether he wants her, and when he sees her belly he pours his drink onto her, then writes in her lipstick "Sybil, you were raped by Santa Claus Surprise."

After the two separate, Invisible Man keeps seeing Sybil all over the city, even after putting her into cabs and leaving her. She is very drunk and keeps calling Iman "boo'ful." He finally puts her into a taxi and advises the driver to take her straight home. At the end of the chapter, there are a lot of pigeons flying overhead, and many of them are dropping their little bombs onto the ground below, "falling like rain" (534). Invisible Man uses his trusty briefcase to shield his head from the storm.

The Brotherhood's role in this chapter is apparent in two distinct places: when Invisible Man is wandering through the streets when he is with Sybil and see her husband, George.

There is dancing at the Chthonian when Invisible Man realizes that something is the matter with Emma; he then ditches Emma for Sybil.

When, at the end of the chapter, Invisible Man is being attacked by bird poo, he uses the briefcase he had earned way back in the battle royal to protect his head. This is not the only time bird poo is used; it is also what gives the statue of the college founder its dignity and respect.

The last page of the chapter refers to Invisible Man's grandfather, with the last line: "I ran through the night, ran within myself. Ran" (534). He was not only running physically from the birds but also from everything he had done, from the affair with Sybil, and from himself.

Themes

The very beginning of the chapter could be viewed as the disintegration of society with the Brotherhood's ultimately not helping by preventing any aid. The affair between Invisible Man and Sybil is the betrayal of George by Sybil, and the running at the end of the chapter once again goes back to the grandfather.

The setting of the Chthonian is important, as a reference to hell. The problems with Emma in addition to the origin of the affair with Sybil are all part of that hell.

This quotation is the short verse Invisible Man scrawls onto Sybil's stomach after pouring his drink upon her. Both of them are extremely intoxicated. The entire affair is performed in a fog of the influence of alcohol. Because of Sybil, Invisible Man realizes that he is indeed invisible.

This is the one time in the novel when Invisible Man reverts back to the slave-language, rather than the highly educated form of speech he usually speaks in. At this point, he is attractive to Sybil only as a "domesticated rapist."

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