1. Peter Wheatstraw foreshadows the encounter with the yam seller. How do these encounters differ? What changes are revealed in the narrator's identify? How is his change in identity linked with his desire to show Bledsoe as a fraud?
When the IM first encountered Wheatstraw he denied his culture and didn't really embrace. He even seemed a bit ashamed of his Souther culture when he was offered pork chops and denied them. The incident with the yam is completely different. The narrator embraces his black culture. He even returns to purchase two more yams after his first. He enjoys the freedom of eating them right there on the street. He notices how great it is to not have to hate something that you really don't. The IM is certain that Bledsoe is just a fraud pretending to not enjoy his Southern culture. He is amused by the idea of Bledsoe being a chitterling eater and mocks him for pretending that he is above it.
2. In the eviction scene, the narrator makes his second speech of the novel. Study it carefully. Compare it to the first speech. Take notes about the narrator's developing identity.
In the narrators first speech, he spoke of racial equality. In this speech, the IV acknowledges the struggle Blacks have faced. He points out that even though the are "free," it's nearly impossible to succeed in a world that is agains their skin color. He continuously states that "we're wise and law-abiding." The narrator wasn't scared to stand up for his beliefs this time. He wasn't saying things that the white men wanted to here, but things that motivated the Blacks.
3. How does the narrator meet Brother Jack? The Brotherhood is a thinly veiled version of the Communist Party. Richard Wright Ellison's first mentor, was an active member in the Communist Party. At Wright's request, Ellison wrote a number of articles for leftist publications between 1937 and 1944, but never joined. He objected to the Communist Party's limitations of individuality and personal expression.
He met him after he got off the roof. He was the figure the narrator saw "chasing" him, but it just turned out they were running the same way. The narrator was caught off guard and was distrustful of Jack. He didn't really understand his message either. Jack invites the narrator to get some coffee with him and proceeds to offer him a job, which the narrator refuses.
4. What new piece of paper replaces the letters from Bledsoe as the narrator's identity?
The piece of paper with Jack's contact information. It becomes a new way that the narrator may be able to define himself.
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