CHAPTER 21

Characters

Tod Clifton

Tod Clifton is a member of the Brotherhood and a close friend of Invisible Man. He disappears, he changes during this period, and he sells obscene sambo dolls on a street corner in Manhattan. He is handsome and sensitive and is often called the "black king."

Invisible Man

Invisible Man is the narrator of the novel, and we experience the events of his life through his eyes. We experience his ultimate development and discovery of his identity through the nature of his society, his relationships with other people, and the significance of invisibility.

Chapter Summary

As Invisible Man enters the district office, he is not able to speak of Clifton. He first examines why it seems that Clifton died for a little paper doll. The doll is cardboard, with two faces, one on each side, and it dances. Clifton was shot and killed because he resisted a cop who had been angry enough to get out of control. At Invisible Man's door, there are a group of crying girls, who were wondering if the news of Clifton's death is true. With Clifto's having no family, Invisible Man is in charge of the funeral. Banners fly and a drum corps is accompanied by a band as a slow procession marches Tod's casket around the neighborhoods. The funeral, which takes place in a park, becomes a political event with the funeral oration given by Invisible Man.

Commentary

Setting

The beginning of the chapter is set in the office of Invisible Man. The funeral takes place in Mount Morris Park on a Saturday afternoon. The funeral procession winds through the poorer streets and then over to Lenox. Invisible Man then returns to his office.

Motifs

The funeral of Tod Clifton is used to solidify a cause; he is almost like a martyr. The political funeral is used to get the members back into the Brotherhood. During Invisible Man's oration, he evaluates his own past, looking back on the years he was in college. By repeating Tod Clifton's name over and over during the speech, Invisible Man tries to eliminate Tod's invisibility and give him an identity.

Quotations

"'There's Many a Thousand Gone.' And standing high up over the park something fought in my throat. It was a song from the past, the past of the campus and the still earlier past of home" (452).

In this quotation, Invisible Man begins to review his own past, his days in college and his life at home. He realizes that he is an individual and is no longer just a puppet of the Brotherhood.

"His name was Clifton and they shot him down. His name was Clifton and he was tall and some folks thought him handsome" (455).

During Invisible Man's speech, he tries to emphasize that Clifton has a name, so he is cannot be invisible. He attempts to give him an identity by repeating his name, trying to make it a rallying point. It also accentuates the fact that Invisible Man is a man without a name.

"In a side street children with warped tricycles were parading along the walk carrying one of the signs, BROTHER TOD CLIFTON, OUR HOPE SHOT DOWN" (461).

This quotation shows how the people, even children, came out to the funeral. Tod Clifton would be remembered, not as invisible but as a rallying point for the people.

by Daryl Heater