Paradox within the Brotherhood
In Invisible Man, the narrator is taken in by a group known as the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood is an organization that presents itself s revolutionary, pro-equality, and free. Yet somehow, this organization manages to promote and perpetuate racial stereotypes, inequality on the basis of race and gender, and forces its members to conform to a strict system of rules. It functions very similarly to Liberty Paints and to the college that the narrator attended which are both very much a part of the system that the Brotherhood is supposedly fighting to overthrow. The Brotherhood holds within itself a paradox--though it claims to be a radical and egalitarian organization, it aligns itself with practices and beliefs that are big parts of the inequality "the system" promotes.
The Brotherhood claims to be a "rainbow coalition," a post-racial society and an equal society for all people. However, the behavior of the members of the organization, when they interact with the narrator, reveals that the opposite is true within the organization. When they are drunk or are in some other situation where they don't care about their image (e.g. when Emma thought she wouldn't be overheard) they say things that are very clearly racist (like "Don't you think he should be a little darker?"). The Brotherhood also very clearly has a questionable stance on gender equality, though they claim to be pro-equality. The name itself "Brotherhood" completely excludes women. On top of that, everyone in power in the Brotherhood is male, and there seem to be very few women involved in it at all. They also seem to have no problem putting a man in charge of "The Woman Question," which is what they call the supposedly feminist branch of their organization. This racism and sexism reveals that the Brotherhood is much more like the system that they claim to oppose than they would like to admit.
They also portray themselves as a revolutionary organization. However, this image clashes strongly with their practices, which often resemble those of the system they are supposedly rebelling against. One such practice is that speakers at Brotherhood meetings and rallies aren't supposed to appeal to the emotions of the people they are addressing. Instead, they are supposed to address them in a "scientific" manner, focused on "correctness," bending their speeches to resemble something more like a business presentation than a rally. Another un-revolutionary quality of the Brotherhood is that it functions a lot like the college and the educational system that the narrator was a part of, as they spend a lot of their time catering to the rich white men in power, and pushing their ideology on people. Instead of rebelling against the system, The Brotherhood is mirroring an organization used to promote the system. The Brotherhood also moves the narrator to another job after his work was unsatisfactory to them (despite the fact that he was just following his orders), in a similarly unfair way to the way he was treated in Liberty Paints.
The Brotherhood claims to be a "rainbow coalition," a post-racial society and an equal society for all people. However, the behavior of the members of the organization, when they interact with the narrator, reveals that the opposite is true within the organization. When they are drunk or are in some other situation where they don't care about their image (e.g. when Emma thought she wouldn't be overheard) they say things that are very clearly racist (like "Don't you think he should be a little darker?"). The Brotherhood also very clearly has a questionable stance on gender equality, though they claim to be pro-equality. The name itself "Brotherhood" completely excludes women. On top of that, everyone in power in the Brotherhood is male, and there seem to be very few women involved in it at all. They also seem to have no problem putting a man in charge of "The Woman Question," which is what they call the supposedly feminist branch of their organization. This racism and sexism reveals that the Brotherhood is much more like the system that they claim to oppose than they would like to admit.
They also portray themselves as a revolutionary organization. However, this image clashes strongly with their practices, which often resemble those of the system they are supposedly rebelling against. One such practice is that speakers at Brotherhood meetings and rallies aren't supposed to appeal to the emotions of the people they are addressing. Instead, they are supposed to address them in a "scientific" manner, focused on "correctness," bending their speeches to resemble something more like a business presentation than a rally. Another un-revolutionary quality of the Brotherhood is that it functions a lot like the college and the educational system that the narrator was a part of, as they spend a lot of their time catering to the rich white men in power, and pushing their ideology on people. Instead of rebelling against the system, The Brotherhood is mirroring an organization used to promote the system. The Brotherhood also moves the narrator to another job after his work was unsatisfactory to them (despite the fact that he was just following his orders), in a similarly unfair way to the way he was treated in Liberty Paints.
Great post! I agree that the Brotherhood "supports" the very ideas that they are dismissing. I believe this was just to gain popularity as a movement. We also have to remember that Ellison is an ex-communist member. Thus, he is much more likely to criticize the party compared to Wright. In Native Son, Wright's idea of communism is what the Brotherhood tries to portray but they are almost secretly following a different agenda. I also liked your comparison to Liberty Paints. It shows that in both places, the narrator is still "invisible" because they both stress unity and discourage individuality.
ReplyDeleteI like how you bring up the numerous paradoxes invading the Brotherhood, since they seem to be going against every single ideal they fight for. I wonder if this is supposed to represent how completely invasive all of the stereotypes plaguing society are. You have this supposedly revolutionary and amazing organization, but there is never going to be a single magic bullet that solves all of the problems of society. All of the paradoxes that we see in the Brotherhood show how problematic such a solution is, and I think this post really demonstrates those issues.
ReplyDeleteNice post, Samir! I know this wasn't your main point, but I hadn't even considered the similarities between the college, Liberty Paints, and the Brotherhood, and now that you bring it up, the narrator is a million times more naive than I initially thought. He goes through basically the same situation three times, getting kicked out of these institutions for following orders, and doesn't catch on until like three chapters until the end.
ReplyDeleteCool post! Your last paragraph made me think about how different all the revolution type scenes from movies would be if they were inspired by a scientific manner instead of being emotionally charged. I have to say I can't imagine that they would hold nearly the same power, so I really like your point about how the Brotherhood contradicts its own revolutionary claims.
ReplyDeleteI think that Ellison uses paradox and allegory very effectively throughout the novel, and you make an interesting point when referring to the Brotherhood as paradoxical. I agree that while on the outside they might seem pro civil rights and equality, that is nothing compared to what the Narrator learns their true intentions are, later in the book. How they can call themselves champions of equality, while purposely causing a race riot and destroying the lives and dignity of the Harlem community, is a mystery to me and obviously a main point made by Ellison. Great post!
ReplyDeletenice post sam !! I definitely agree with everything you said - the sheer number of paradoxes within Invisible Man, and specifically the Brotherhood was something that really jumped out at me during our class discussions. I definitely think that the Brotherhood did more to perpetuate harmful and oppressive ideologies than it did to dismantle them. It's a little bit like what we're talking about in Race Class Gender - one view of communism was that while it promised freedom and equality, in actuality it stifled individuality and liberty. Since it seems like the Brotherhood is an allusion to Communists, I would say Ellison would probably be on that side of the argument.
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