Invisible Man
Chapter Twenty-One
The narrator is back at the office but cannot tell anybody about the death of Clifton. He enters his office and the scene of the death of Clifton comes back to his memory. He brings out the doll and finds out that Clifton makes use of a black string to make it dance.
He then regrets not intervening in the matter; maybe he might have saved his life. He then thinks about what to tell the committee when the newspaper carries it. He also thinks of giving him a befitting burial because his death is greater than the incident or the object that caused his death.
A group of group members of the Brotherhood comes into his office to confirm the death of Clifton. The girls are crying especially, Shirley one of the girls cries profusely. The narrator set in motion the preparation for the burial of Clifton. He is unable to reach anyone in the headquarters likewise from Chthonian.
The boy with Clifton while selling the dolls has also disappeared. He then calls a committee of the district’s leading members and they move ahead. They solicit funds for his burial on the street and the body is claimed from the movie.
A leaflet of protest against the death of Clifton is sent to the police commissioner. They also send Clifton’s photograph to the Negro papers for publication.
Brother Clifton’s burial takes place in Mount Morris’ Park instead of a church chapel because of the large crowd that is expected to attend it. It is a Saturday afternoon and all former members are appealed to join the funeral procession and they all grace the program. There are banners and signs about Brother Clifton:
BROTHER TOD CLIFTON
OUR HOPE SHOT DOWN
There are also drum corps, no cars, and few flowers. The march goes through Harlem and stops at Mount Morris’s Park. There are renditions and presentations from people both old and young.
Tod Clifton’s friends carry his coffin forward and every soul present or around the place is moved. The narrator doesn’t prepare for any speech because he has never attended any burial organized by the Brotherhood. Somebody just tapped him that it was time for the final word. He just tells the people to go home.
He doesn’t know when he will start delivering the speech. He starts by mentioning his name and describing his physique and goes ahead to describe his relationship with the people and his activities as well as how he was killed. The speech then turns motivational on the blacks. Tod Clifton’s body is later taken to the graveyard for burial.
The narrator walks through the streets tiredly and hopes to find somewhere to rest but thinks that there is still a lot to be done. He deems it fit that the emotions of the people should not die down like that, that he needs to work on it. He realizes that Brother Clifton’s death has brought a sort of awareness to the people.
Chapter Twenty-Two
After the burial of Clifton, the narrator is invited to a meeting of the Brotherhood where he expresses the success in getting the crowd out during the burial of Clifton. Brother Jack claims they didn’t see the crowd and asks the narrator how it went. The narrator continues that the people were moved.
Brother Tobitt, one of the members confronts the narrator asking “Is that all the great tactician has to tell us?” He then asks him to explain how the people were moved. The narrator responds that it is for the committee to decide. He explains further that they tried severally to reach the committee for guidance but failed.
He now says they went ahead on his “personal responsibility. “That is where the narrator offends them the most. Brother Jack continues repeating the phrase “personal responsibility” several times to the hearings of the other members.
The narrator is also trying to clear himself by saying that he is given the assignment to win back the people and he saw the opportunity of doing that and he did it the way he understands.
Brother Jack and Tobitt continue to attack the narrator and twist whatever he says sarcastically. Brother Jack then blames the narrator for organizing Clifton’s burial like that of a hero, that Clifton betrayed the Brotherhood and resorted to selling dolls.
The narrator then responds that they call Clifton a traitor but the people came out for his burial. He then criticizes Brother Tobitt for saying he knows what it means to be black. Tobitt claims that because he married a black girl. He also let them understand that Clifton was killed because he was black.
Eventually, the narrator then asks them what he should do in case the Brotherhood has not done what it should do. Brother Jack then tells him that he should refer to the committee in such a situation and that the committee should be allowed to guide him.
The narrator also tells them clearly that the people of Harlem likewise Clifton felt betrayed and that is why Clifton disappeared from the Brotherhood.
Brother Jack disproves that the people felt betrayed. He says that their job is not to ask the people what they think but to tell them. He also claims to be their leader and tells them what to do. His being compared to Marse Jack infuriates him and it leads to a fight and his left false eye is removed.
This shocks the narrator but the other members are aware already. The narrator then eyes Brother Jack quizzically and the latter explains that he lost his eye in the line of duty while carrying out the Brotherhood’s assignment. He then replaces the eye.
He asks for the time and he is told, “Six fifteen.” He then says they should leave. He thereby advises the narrator before leaving that he should watch his temper and discipline.
When they leave, he is at his table ruminating about Clifton’s death. He brings out the doll and puts it on the desk. His interest in the Brotherhood is dwindling with the death of Clifton but does not know the steps to take now.
It shows clearly here that all is not well between him and the members of the Brotherhood. He begins to know his enemies in the group.