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Grandfather dies
The narrator's grandfather, an ex-slave, dies. On his deathbed, the grandfather leaves his family with some final advice. " Son, after I'm gone, I want tyou to keep up the good fight. I want you to overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em with grins, agree 'em to death and destruction, let 'em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open." A young boy at the time, the narrator is not really sure what his grandfather's dying words meant but they haunt him in the years to come. -
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Narrator grows up in the south and is a gifted high school student
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Battle Royale
As one of the top students in his high school, the narrator is asked to give a speech to some important white men in town. The men reward him with a briefcase containing a scholarship to a prestigious black college But then he is forced to participate in a fight blindfolded in a boxing ring with other black young men, called "battle royale". That night the narrator dreams his scholarship is actually a piece of paper reading, “To Whom It May Concern, keep this nigger boy running." -
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Narrator attends a pretigious black college in the south
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Mr. Norton, Tim Trueblood, and the Golden Day
Narrator is asked to drive a wealthy white trustee of the college, Mr. Norton, around the campus. Narrator takes him to visit Jim Trueblood, a poor, uneducated black man who impregnated his own daughter. He then takes Mr. Norton to the Golden Day, a saloon and brothel that normally serves black men. A fight breaks out and Mr. Norton passes out. -
Narrator is expelled from college
Because of his day with Mr. Norton, the narrator is expelled from college. The college president Dr. Bledsoe gives him seven letters of recommendation addressed to the college’s white trustees in New York City, and sends him there to find work. He is not allowed to open the letter. Dr, Bledsoe tells the narrator he can come back to college after working and making some money. -
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Narrator travels to Harlem, New York
Looks for work but is not successful. He has one letter of recommendation left and will have to leave New York if he does not get a job. -
A job!
The narrator goes to the office of Mr. Emerson with his last letter. There he meets Emerson’s son, who opens the letter and tells the narrator that he has been betrayed: the letters from Bledsoe actually portrays him as dishonorable and unreliable. But he helps the narrator get a job at the Liberty Paints plant, whose trademark color is "Optic White". -
Mary to the Rescue
While at the paint plant, ht enarrator is injured and sent to the plant hospital. When the narrator wakes up with memory loss and not able to speak. The white doctors use this black patient to conduct electric shock experiments and turn him out on the street. Some black community members take him to the home of Mary, a nice black woman who lets him live with her for free while he recovers. -
Eviction inspires a speech
One day the narrator witnesses an old black couple being evicted from their home in Harlem. He becomes angry and gives a speech to the crowd that is gathered around. The crowd is inspired by the speech and carries the couple’s belongings back into the house. -
Brother Jack & the Brotherhood
Brother Jack, a man in the crowd, hears the narrator's speech and offers him a job working for his political organization, the Brother hood. The narrator takes the job, and Jack tells him that he must change his name, buy new clothes & move to a new apartment He also gives the narrator money to repay Mary for the free rent, The Narrator pays Mary and moves out. -
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Studies with Brother Hambro
Because some of the Brotherhood members do not like the Narrators rally speech, they decide to send him to Brother Hambrs learn more the ideals of the Brotherhood. The narrator returns home feeling like a new person. -
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The Harlem Brotherhood
The narrator enjoys his work as an well-known activist in Harlem. -
Accused & Seduced
The narrator is accused of trying to use the Brotherhood to for self-advancement. He is then moved to another post, as an advocate of women’s rights. After giving a speech one evening, he is seduced by one of the white women at the gathering, who attempts to use him to play out her sexual fantasies about black men. -
Brother Jack turns on Narrator
After returning to his post in Harlem, Brother Jack becomes angry with the narrator and wants him to go back to see Brother Hambro to learn about new strategies for the Brotherhood to try in Harlem. -
Riot in Harlem
The narrator becomes involved in a riot in Harlem. He runs into an old acquaintance who calls for the narrator to be lynched. The narrator escapes down a manhole to avoid the police. The police put the cover on the manhole and the narrator stays underground ever since.
