Invisible Man: Chapter 22 Summary & Analysis

The narrator is finally called into a meeting with the committee of the Brotherhood. The committee is sitting around a small table in half-darkness. The members are smoking.

Brother Jack asks the narrator how the funeral went. The narrator is surprised to learn that Brother Jack did not attend the funeral. He tells Jack that the turnout was enormous. Brother Tobitt begins to attack the narrator, questioning his decisions. The narrator tells the committee that he tried to get in touch with them, but when they become unresponsive he moved forward on his “personal responsibility.”

Brother Jack and the committee pounce on the narrator’s choice of words, criticizing his use of “personal responsibility.” The narrator tells the committee that he is sorry they missed the funeral. Brother Jack mocks the narrator, calling him “the great tactician.” The narrator asks Brother Jack what he means by his sarcasm, and Jack says that he means to discipline the narrator.

Brother Tobitt continues to mock the narrator. The narrator attempts to explain the reasoning behind organizing the funeral, but the committee doesn’t want to listen. Brother Jack tells him that the funeral was wrong because Clifton had betrayed the organization by deciding to sell Sambo dolls. The narrator replies that Clifton had many contradictions, but was not really a traitor. He also points out that the shooting of an unarmed man is more politically important than anything the man might have been selling.

The narrator tries to explain to the committee that the Sambo dolls aren’t important, and that the black community in Harlem needs an opportunity to express their legitimate grievances. He tells the committee that all they can see is a potential threat to the Brotherhood’s prestige.

Brother Tobitt attacks the narrator for presuming to speak for all black people. When the narrator retorts by asking what Tobitt’s source of knowledge is, Tobitt proudly tells the narrator that his wife is black. The narrator begins to needle Tobitt, telling him that he clearly knows all about what it’s like to be black.

Ultimately, Brother Jack informs the narrator that he was not “hired to think.” Jack says that the narrator’s only responsibility is to listen to the committee. Even if the committee is wrong, the narrator is not allowed to question their decision. Brother Jack tells the narrator to let the committee handle the strategy, as they are “graduates,” while the narrator is only a smart beginner. The narrator replies that the political situation in Harlem is the one thing he does know about, and they would do well to listen to him.

Brother Jack tells the narrator that the committee has decided against demonstrations such as the funeral, telling the narrator that they are no longer effective. The narrator replies that the demonstration is the only effective thing in Harlem lately; the people there believe that the Brotherhood has abandoned the neighborhood. This, the narrator explains, is the reason for Clifton’s disappearance.

After hearing the narrator’s report, Brother Jack finally says that the committee’s job is not to ask people what they think, but rather to tell them what to think. The narrator accuses Jack of acting like the “great white father.” Jack tells the narrator that he is the people’s leader, but the narrator replies that maybe he should consider himself “Marse Jack.”

Brother Jack is infuriated. He leaps to his feet and grips the table. Convulsed by his anger, Jack’s glass eye falls out of its socket. At first, the narrator believes he is hallucinating, and is disgusted by the sight of the empty eye socket. He quickly realizes that all the other members of the committee already know about the eye, and that Jack is using the eye to disorient the narrator and gain an advantage.

Accordingly, Brother Jack asks if the eye makes the narrator feel uncomfortable. Jack is proud of the eye, and he tells the narrator that he lost the eye “in the line of duty.” Jack tells the narrator that the narrator doesn’t understand the meaning of sacrifice, and that all discipline is actually a form of sacrifice. The narrator recognizes that Brother Jack is partly blind and is incapable of seeing the narrator.

Brother Jack puts his glass eye back in. He then asks for the time, and remarks that it is time for the committee to get going. As he leaves, he tells the narrator to remember his discipline and to watch his temper. He instructs the narrator to go see Brother Hambro again. As the committee leaves, the narrator feels like he’s watching a bad comedy. He feels that he can’t continue his fight for justice without the Brotherhood’s support, but also that he will never feel the same passion for the Brotherhood again.