microphone. Once again, this use of electricity is foreshadowing the realization the narrator has about the Brotherhood as he this lesson only after he has gone to work for the “absorbs Brotherhood, which notifies him that the interests of the section of Harlem he manages be ‘must sacrificed to [the interests] of the whole’ (502)” (Wilcox 1004). This lesson teaches him that He realizes that he was just a machine run by their He had no freedom within the group “electricity.” that claimed to fight for racial freedom. Whoever possesses the electricity has the power to control anyone or anything they choose (Wilcox 1004). For this reason, the narrator is unfamiliar with using it and the Brothers refuse to let him get too close to this power; it would destroy his role as their pawn if he gained power over them. In contrast, the use of electricity in the chronological end of the story has a very different meaning. In the Prologue, the narrator explains how he diverts electricity from Monopolated Light Company to feed his 1,369 light bulbs (Ellison 7). The difference between this use of electricity and the ones that precede it is the control of the electricity and the narrator’s identity. Before this point in the novel, the narrator is placing his identity in the college, his work, or the Brotherhood. He is completely controlled by others with power. Now at the chronological end of his journey, the narrator realizes that his access to literal electricity will determine his invisibility (Ford 889). Of course, the attaining of electricity does not automatically happen when he realizes he is invisible. However, it is the realization process and acceptance that leads him underground and possesses him to steal electricity. This is significant because this appropriation “subversive of technology or more specifically electricity- signifies an act of sabotage upon social norms – and conventions” (Ford 888). All throughout the novel, he had been shocked with electricity that has left him in the hands of the racist culture in America. Finally, he has become invisible and is taking back that control: clearly breaking away from the expected social behavior. The electricity
microphone. Once again, this use of electricity is foreshadowing the realization the narrator has about the Brotherhood as he “absorbs this lesson only after he has gone to work for the Brotherhood, which notifies him that the interests of the section of Harlem he manages ‘must be sacrificed to [the interests] of the whole’ (502)” (Wilcox 1004). This lesson teaches him that He realizes that he was just a machine run by their “electricity.” He had no freedom within the group that claimed to fight for racial freedom. Whoever possesses the electricity has the power to control anyone or anything they choose (Wilcox 1004). For this reason, the narrator is unfamiliar with using it and the Brothers refuse to let him get too close to this power; it would destroy his role as their pawn if he gained power over them. In contrast, the use of electricity in the chronological end of the story has a very different meaning. In the Prologue, the narrator explains how he diverts electricity from Monopolated Light Company to feed his 1,369 light bulbs (Ellison 7). The difference between this use of electricity and the ones that precede it is the control of the electricity and the narrator’s identity. Before this point in the novel, the narrator is placing his identity in the college, his work, or the Brotherhood. He is completely controlled by others with power. Now at the chronological end of his journey, the narrator realizes that his access to literal electricity will determine his invisibility (Ford 889). Of course, the attaining of electricity does not automatically happen when he realizes he is invisible. However, it is the realization process and acceptance that leads him underground and possesses him to steal electricity. This is significant because this “subversive appropriation of technology – or more specifically electricity- signifies an act of sabotage upon social norms and conventions” (Ford 888). All throughout the novel, he had been shocked with electricity that has left him in the hands of the racist culture in America. Finally, he has become invisible and is taking back that control: clearly breaking away from the expected social behavior. The electricity
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