Invisible Man Narrator Quotes

Narrator

Quote 55

You must realize immediately that much of our work is opposed. Our discipline demands therefore that we talk to no one and that we avoid situations in which information might be given away unwittingly. So you must put aside your past. (14.120)

This demand reflects the Brotherhood's insistence on the sacrifice of individuality.

Narrator

Quote 56

That was all I needed, I'd made a contact, and it was as though his voice was that of them all. I was wound up, nervous. I might have been anyone, might have been trying to speak in a foreign language. For I couldn't remember the correct words and phrases from the pamphlets. I had to fall back upon tradition and since it was a political meeting, I selected one of the political techniques that I'd heard so often at home: The old down-to-earth, I'm-sick-and-tired-of-the-way-they've-been-treating-us-approach. I couldn't see them so I addressed the microphone and the co-operative voice before me. (16.36)

This further illustrates the difference in political philosophy between the narrator and the Brotherhood. He rejects the Brotherhood's approach to speech-making and is a huge hit when he chooses to use the political traditions with which he grew up. When push comes to shove, when the narrator stands in front of a giant spotlight and a huge crowd, he resorts to lessons from his past.

Narrator

Quote 57

I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. (Prologue.1)

Other people have the power to render the narrator visible or invisible.