In chapter 10 of Invisible Man, an important chapter for a variety of reasons, there is a definite turning point in the narrator’s treatment of authority. Up to this point, he has been very subservient and excepting with his first major outrage coming from the realization falsification of the letter in the previous chapter.
He has very similar feelings about the two bosses that are assigned to him in the chapter, however, his actions are very different. His mental abuse of Kimbro and later physical abuse of Brockway both show the transition in his character.
The first man who assumes power of the narrator in the pain factory is Kimbro, who in initially described to the narrator as “terrible” (194) by a co-worker and the narrator’s opinion gets steadily worse.. Throughout his time with Kimbro, the narrator thinks very poorly of the man. He quickly questions the motives of this man, wondering if he was “trying to kid me?” (195). The anger felt toward Kimbro is deeper than his anger with Bledsoe in their confrontation. The narrator curses Kibro with words like: “flunkey, a northern redneck, a Yankee cracker” (196). His contempt for the authority is evident when he considers “writing the owners” (202) to complain about his treatment.
After being given a new boss, the narrator immediately appears to have no respect for the man. His first confrontation with the man resulted in him turning up the stairs. He goes on to continually be wary of Brockway and wonders how such a figure could earn such power. What sets apart the narrator’s reaction with Brockway from that of Kimbro is the physical actions of the narrator. When threatened, the narrator, “throwing myself forward” (221), fought instead of running out of the basement.
The beating up of this frail man shows a strong connection to the scene in the prologue where the narrator beats up a random man in the street. The progression from submissiveness to ‘invisibility’ is very evident with two steps in his rejection of authority being indicated in this chapter.
When I read this scene, I attributed the narrator's different treatment of both of them as having to do with the narrator's potential while working under each of them. While working under Kimbro, there was hope (though, not much) of him slowly climbing the ranks of the factory to the point where he would be seen and respected by everyone, which was ultimately his goal during college. While under Brockway, it's made very clear to him that he would be nothing more than a lowly assistant under Brockway, and even if he did take his job, he would still be practically invisible to everyone. This was very much not what the narrator had in mind for his future, and so he resorts to more physical violence with Brockway, an act that he wasn't pushed far enough to do with Kimbro.
ReplyDeleteWe do welcome these signs of "talking back" in the narrator's internal responses to these bosses--especially Kimbro. His problem up to now, we might say, has been a too-complete deference to authority figures, so it's good to see him challenging a guy like Kimbro. But things become less clear when it comes to Brockway, who, while kind of a "character," at least seems deserving of the narrator's respect. The farcical nature of their fight (when the narrator wasn't willing to fight Kimbro, or even to talk back to him out loud) suggests that the narrator's rebellion is maybe misdirected at this point--a good impulse applied indiscriminately. Brockway might make us roll our eyes (although I do like him, and I also see him as an early model of "invisibility," the real power underneath the factory), but the narrator's "I'll kill you!" certainly takes things too far. He's no nemesis, just a harmless guy who's paranoid about those college boys taking his job.
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