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Ch 1 pages 1-13 total: 10
The main character refers to himself as an invisible man. He states that he is just like us, but is unseen because those around him refuse to see. He thinks of a time when a man bumped into him, and he nearly killed the man, before realizing that the man had not seen him. He talks about "Monopolated Light & Power" and how he siphons off some of their power into Harlem, where he lives in a border area. He describes his home- a light filled hole. He recalls his first encounter with drugs. 1456 pgs -
Ch 1-2 pages 13- 37 total: 37
Invisible man continues to emphasize the fact that we won't even know he exists. He talks about his youth and his grandpa's dying words and about his grandparents the slaves. Then he recalls the time he was asked to give a speech to the whole white community, and how it turned into a mob of "beat the black one" and fighting and cruel drunken games. He finally gave his speech but was hardly paid any attention. The he talks about his college. total: 1480 -
Ch 2-3 pages 37-70 total: 70
The invisible man picks up a founder of the college and they drive aroudn and coem upon a black man and his family. He got both his wife and daughter pregnant. He tells the founder the story, and the founder seems to be in a state of shock, seeing how different that man was as compared to him. They drive away. -
Ch 3-8 pages 71-162 total:162
As the man and the founder head towards the bar, they see some veterans on the road. Some fights happen at the bar while the man tries to get whiskey for the founder. They drove away after a lot of confusion. They head back to the college for the session. The man is worried that he will be expelled. He goes and talks to the founder again. The man feels alone as he watches. On the bus, the man runs into the veteran who mocked the founder and the college. He tells the narrator to hide himself. -
Ch 8- 9 pages 162-172 total:172
The man gets to New York and is surprised when he sees a black police officer. He notices people on a sidewalk in Harlem, where a man named Ras the Exhorter talks about chasing the whites out. The man thinks chaos could arise at any minute. He then goes to the Men’s House and takes a room. -
Ch 10-11 pages 196-250
The man gets to the Liberty Paints plant. The supervisor brings the man to a room filled with buckets of paint. The supervisor shows him how to do the job. The man does the mixing wrong and gets yelled at. The man goes to the furnace room to help the engineer who doesn’t want an assistant. The man is put to work anyways. He is discriminated against. The man feels unwelcome. The narrator blows stuff up and passes out. He wake sin a hospital. He is in a lot of pain and delusional. Doctors argue. T -
Ch 12-15 pages 251-332
The man passes out and is brought to a kind black woman’s house. He leaves once he is better. He gets “home” and knows he can’t live there. He goes back to the lady’s house and stays there. He wants to take action. He misses the South. He gives angry speeches. He gets a political offer, but turns it down, then decides later to take the offer. The man joins the “brotherhood” which attempts to change the society. He is told he must change his name and move. He breaks a statue and brings the pieces -
Ch 16-17 pages 333-382
The brotherhood bring the man to a rally. He gets nervous, the crowd gets frenzied. He improvises. He is loved. Some brothers criticize his unprofessional style. He learns more about speech giving. He becomes chief spokesperson. Ras the Exhorter is the opponent. A rally occurs in protest of racist eviction policies. A fight happens. Ras says the white people cant be trusted. The man becomes somewhat famous. He works hard, and is haunted by nightmares of his past. -
Ch 18- 19 pages 383- 422
The man is threatened cause of skin color. The man is reminded of their purpose by a fellow brother. Some brothers hole racist attitudes. A man wants the narrator to be interviewed. The man (narrator) doesn’t want this. The man says okay to interview. He is accused of using brotherhood to further his own ambitions. They transfer him. He becomes a women’s rights activist. The man sleeps with a white woman, who turns out to be married. There is a meeting, man goes to Harlem. Ras' followers increas -
Ch. 20 pages 423-444 total; 444
The man sees men who went to his speeches. He learns that jobs in the Brotherhood disappeared. The man goes to his old office to look for someone but cant find anyone. No one is there. The man doesn’t get called to a meeting. He finds the meeting already started. Realizing he was excluded, he leaves. He starts to crush a doll his ex-friend dropped. He puts it in his bag when he sees police. In a crowd, and the same friend stands. The man sees his friend hit a policeman, and the police shoot him. -
Ch 21 pages 445-462
Haunted by the death and the doll, the man goes back home and tries to make the doll dance. Someone knocks at his door. and weeping young Brotherhood members ask if Clifton is dead. The man says yes. He tries to get instructions but cant. They get the body and have a funeral march. When the march happens, the people are mad. Hundreds of former members march. The mad gives a sad speech. There is tension in the crowd. He wishes the Brotherhood would regain influence in community. -
Ch 22-25 pages 462-571
Members are angry that he made the march without approval. Brotherhood said Clifton was a traitor. The man and members fight. Racist comments fly. Community gets angry about Clifton’s death. The man sees Ras again. Ras followers and the man have brief fight. The man escapes and disguises himself and gets mistaken for “Rinehart”. Brotherhood doesn’t want to influence Harlem community. Man is angry, and plans to infiltrate Brotherhood. Chaos in Harlem. The man tries to make peace. -
Ch 22-25 pages 462-571 continued
He lies to brotherhood about peace in Harlem. The man tries to discover more through Sybil to no avail. Emergency in Harlem and the man hurries. Ras is inciting chaos, and man realizes that Brotherhood planned riots. Violence ensues. The man runs into Ras and Ras tries to kill him. Man runs away, falls into a manhole, and is trapped. Narrator burns possession for light. Man decides to stay underground, away from everything. -
Epilogue pages 572-581 total pages read: 581
The man decided to remain underground and study his life. He realizes he received hate when he spoke honestly, and love when he said what was wanted. He becomes “invisible” and ponders his grandfather. He says he has stayed in this hole to discover what he wants. He is invisible, not blind. He decides we need to live our life and not be controlled. Memories surface. The man wonders why he wasted effort writing this story. He decides to “come up for breath” and no longer be gone. total: 2027
