In the opening of Chapter 10, the Invisible Man (IM) arrives at a paint factory in Long Island. In his first glimpse, IM views a large sign reading: Keep America Pure With Liberty Paints. Upon entering the factory, a man named MacDuffy interviews IM and sends him to work for Kimbro.

The factory itself is representative of the American city. The reader will learn that like a city, the factory houses distinct social classes. The upper class is symbolized by management. They oppose the lower classes; these are the laborers, both for and against the union.

An office boy that delivers IM to Kimbro informs him of the fact that management has been hiring "colored college boys" because it does not have to pay union wages. He also confides in IM that everyone refers to Kimbro as "Colonel." This term has a Southern connotation and compares Kimbro's treatment of his employees to that of a slavedriver.

Kimbro puts IM to work mixing buckets of milky brown liquid that turns white as it is stirred. The societal metaphor here is the attempt of whites to keep society pure "white." IM also has to add ten drops of black dope to each bucket to make the paint even whiter. He is then required to make a paint sample. IM finds himself questioning the purposes of the white paint. It is used to paint national monuments; symbolically, though, anything can be covered up by white "paint." Many young black men at this time were seeking a higher education to become more white in order to fit into a white man's world.

Kimbro explodes when he discovers that IM has accidentally added paint remover instead of dope to several buckets. He sends him back to MacDuffy, who assigns IM a new job in the basement.

The basement symbolizes hell. It is no coincidence that the boss here is rather Satanic. His name is Lucius Brockway, an apparent derivative of Satan's real name, Lucifer. The other workers view Brockway as a traitor to blacks because he thought up the company slogan: If It's Optic White, It's the Right White This slogan implies that the right way to be is white. Brockway is very paranoid about losing his position of power; he is against the union because he feels it will attempt to eliminate him. He states that the paint would not be of the high quality it is if it were not for him; he is the "machine inside the machine" (217).

In the basement, IM is in charge of reading the pressures of various gauges. While retrieving his lunch from the locker room, he accidentally interrupts a secret union meeting. Suspicious of why IM is taking so long, Brockway reprimands him for joining the union. IM finds it difficult to convince him that he is not a member. An altercation ensues between the two, and IM is on the verge of beating Brockway's brains out when Brockway gives up.

Brockway looks at one of the gauges and hurriedly shouts to IM to turn it quickly. The fight has distracted them and the pressure is too great. Running for cover, Brockway flees the basement. Realizing too late what is about to occur, IM is caught in a massive explosion. He drifts through different states of consciousness and hears a voice saying, "these here young...boys ain't no good for the job. They ain't got the nerves" (230). IM feels an incredible defeat; it is the loss of his identity.

Chapter 10 hosts both familiar and new characters. They are as follows:

1) Invisible Man (IM) - He is the narrator who, in this chapter, works at a paint factory.

2) MacDuffy - MacDuffy is the man who sends Invisible Man on various jobs.

3) Kimbro - He is Invisible Man's first boss; he is called "Colonel" because he tends to act like a slavedriver.

4) Lucius Brockway - Brockway is Invisible Man's second boss; he manages the basement where the guts of the paint are produced. His first name is a derivative of Satan.

5) union workers - These are the other factory employees who cause controversy by joining the union. They harass Invisible Man for not joining the union and for working for Brockway, a man they view as a traitor to his own people.

Chapter 10 is set in a paint factory in Long Island, New York. The factory comes to represent an American city, housing various distinct social classes.

"I had lost irrevocably an important victory" (230). The chapter closes on this note and symbolizes the death or loss of the narrator's identity yet again.

The symbolism in Chapter 10 is discussed as it appears throughout the chapter summary above.

Several motifs appear in this chapter of Invisible Man. They include

1) union/brotherhood - the labor union

2) whites - the factory management

3) touching - young versus old (Invisible Man versus Brockway)

4) machines - produce paint

Themes that occur in Chapter 10 include

1) cover-up - paint

2) death - the loss of Invisible Man's identity

3) betrayal - how the union feels towards Brockway

4) power - Brockway's position

5) violence - Invisible Man versus Brockway

by Laura Stevenson