When introduced to this “Brotherhood”
in chapter thirteen, I was very unsettled as I’m sure others were as well. The
first thing that threw me off was the constant use of “brother.” It was very
annoying to read every five seconds, but it felt weird because Brother Jack was
way too suspicious for me, too smiley and kind of pushy. As mentioned in class,
the narrator wasn’t too keen on the offer being made to him and I think he is
right to find Brother Jack untruthful. Especially towards the middle/end of
their conversation when Brother Jack says that the older people “don’t count.”
Reading that page made me uncomfortable because those are the people who have
suffered the most and I feel like he is invalidating their experiences,
especially those like the older couple who got evicted from their home; those
who were former slaves. In just didn’t sit well with me. Plus, Brother Jack
basically took advantage of the narrator’s financial situation. The narrator
already felt guilty about being indebted to Mary and needed money and Brother
Jack just comes swooping in like he’s the answer to all the narrator’s
problems. After thinking it over, the narrator became blinded by a way out,
which I think is very unfortunate.
Then,
in the next chapter when the narrator decides to take up the offer and attends
the party, I really began to questioned this organization. First on page 302,
when Brother Jack is talking to Emma, he’s behavior towards her appalled me as
someone who wants equality for all people, but I guess that doesn’t include
women as much as it does black people? He spook to her as a servant, demanding
drinks and making a smart remark of her being intrigued. Despite his behavior,
I like that Emma ignores his remarks, but also what is their relationship? Does
Brother Jack act that way with all women? Following that idea, Brother Jack is
pretty controlling over everyone and everything, which I guess I noticed in
chapter thirteen. He wants things to be done his way and it almost feels like
he is trying to make all that is happening appear to be a great opportunity for
the narrator. He doesn’t really tell the narrator everything, only the things
that he needs to know, so again intentions?
Next,
to make it worse, Brother Jack basically takes the narrator’s identity away
from him. Giving him a new name, telling him to forget his education, to move
out of Mary’s home, and Harlem? I think that at that point, the narrator should
really question this group’s intentions for him. They’re completely changing
him, but that also arises the question of how does this affect the narrator, as
mentioned in class. Also, when a man asking the narrator to sing? It is
literally like the first chapter where the narrator is entertainment for all
the important people in town. It’s interesting, the narrator’s thoughts about
the incident, that he thought about why that wasn’t okay to be asked to sing
rather than reflecting on his past experience. Anyway, these are just some
things that bothered me about this “Brotherhood.”
Great post! I would like to comment on your first paragraph. This is just adding on to what you said but I felt as though Brother Jack is using the struggles of the older generation to push the younger generation. As for the older generation themselves, he pushes them aside and taking their grievances, not their character. I also agree with your feelings on the "Brotherhood." I didn't like it from the start and am still very skeptical about the organization. I feel like Ellison is poking fun at us, knowing that something is off but waiting till the narrator is deep within the system to kick him out.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with everything you said here. I was also really uncomfortable with the idea of the brotherhood right off the bat. Like you said, the constant use of “brother” is really unnerving and it doesn’t seem very genuine. As the story went on though and we learned about more of their policies and ideologies, I got more and more uncomfortable. One thing I really didn’t like was their claim to basically “not see race” which is something I HATE and find totally unproductive when it comes to achieving racial equality and justice.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I feel like something that is especially revealing is the the full name of the Brotherhood is the Brotherhood of Man. Another thing that stood out to me was how they tried to ignore the past and act as if everybody was the same, even though society treated people differently.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I wasn't the only one. Every time they called the narrator a brother, it reminded me of times a white man has called himself my brother. I know that in my lifetime I'll never make as much as a white man, so what exactly makes us related to such an extent? Anyways... You also reminded me that the narrator's identity gets taken away from him. At first I thought this was to protect his family and secret identity, like a superhero, but after reading your post I realized it was to make him one of them. The brotherhood is unsettling and so is the idea of losing one's self to an organization they know little about.
ReplyDeleteBrother Jack is extremely controlling and is quick to temper. I like that you brought up the singing scene, because the man who did ask the Narrator to sing was drunk. This is significant because when people are influenced by alcohol, they are more honest about their true thoughts. This probably should have sent a message to the Narrator, that the Brotherhood, or at least several members in the group, did not have the best intentions for African American people. Great post!
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