The group portrayed in Ellison's Invisible Man, The Brotherhood, is a perfect model of Emerson's ideas on the conspiracy of any society against the individuality of its members. The Brotherhood restrains the personal growth of the protagonist, and in so doing impedes the development of his own identity. To that respect the protagonist is unable to truly discover who he is until he breaks away from society at large and formulate his own ideas and beliefs. And until then he was unable to become true to himself, and realize who in fact he was.
While growing up in a place predominately controlled by the white upper class, the Invisible Man was an exceptionally intelligent boy. He was a smart and astute young boy and was a rather talented speaker. He was able to formulate his ideas in a clear, and articulate manor. However, when asked to speak in front of the town's elite he was made a mockery of. Nobody really listened to what he was talking about and was treated in a manor of speaking as an animal. He had stood alone, as an individual and had spoke his mind and he was given no sense of true recognition. He felt in fact, alone and invisible from the others.
Later in his life when the protagonist ends up in Harlem he is
After being part of the Brotherhood for a short time now the Invisible Man is beginning to feel like he is finally part of something important and that he too is becoming a prestigious figure in that respect. Bother Tarp had given him his link from his slave chain that he broke free from as a sign of reverence. The Invisible Man always kept the chain on his desk because it was a dear possession that Brother Tarp had given him. One day in the office Brother Wrestrum approached the invisible man in response to Brother Tarps chain. "... I don't think we ought to have such things around! You think so, I said. And just Why? Because I don't think we ought to dramatize our differences.....That's the worse kind of thing for the Brotherhood-because we want to make folks think of things we have in common. That's what makes for Brotherhood. We have to change this way we have of always talking about how different we are. In the Brotherhood we are all brothers (392)." Here also is a classic example of the Brotherhood's attempt to crush the individuality of its members. It does not want to stress the differences of people because everyone is a brother. Yet brothers can be different they want to create a nation of walking zombies preaching their propaganda.
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