 After
graduation from high school
Invisible Man gives a speech to powerful
men
 He is awarded a scholarship based on his
talent
 “I
wanted to leave but I wanted also to
speak and I was afraid they’d snatch me
down” (31).
 This
is the first speech IM gives in front of
powerful and intimidating men.
 IM draws from this experience later when
he delivers a speech to a mob.
 While
IM was driving Mr. Norton, Mr.
Norton asked him to stop at Trueblood’s
cabin. Trueblood tells of the incestuous
relationship he had with his daughter.
 “Trueblood’s
mouth fell agape, his eyes
widened and filled with moisture as he
took the bill between trembling fingers.
It was a hundred-dollar bill” (69).
 IM
learns the advantages of good oratory
as Norton hands Trueblood money. He
learns how to appeal to emotions instead
of intellect.
 At
IM’s last chapel, Barbee shares stories
of the founder. After the speech, IM
discovers that Barbee is blind.
 “between
the gesture and the opaque
glitter of his glasses, I saw the blinking of
sightless eyes. Homer A. Barbee was
blind” (133).
 The
IM learns that you can overcome any
obstacles to influence your audience in
oratory.
 After
IM comes back with Norton the
disgruntled Bledsoe lectures him.
 “Why, the
dumbest black bastard in the
cotton patch knows that the only way to
please a white man is to tell him a lie”
(139).
 This
shows IM characteristics of being
overtly honest and lack of fear for
powerful people.
 The
IM sees the possessions of a poor
family in Harlem strewn all over the
street. He’s moved to speak about the
injustices of poverty.
 “Something
had been working fiercely
inside me, and for a moment I had
forgotten the rest of the crowd” (270).
 This
is significant because it gets him the
job with the Brotherhood and incites the
the crowd to act within a few words.
 This
is a speech about dispossession
given to a crowd at the rally by IM. IM
discusses how he has evolved as a
person.
 “My
true people! My true country! I am
a new citizen of the country of your
vision, a native of your fraternal land”
(346).
 IM
gains more confidence and learns that
he needs to be less emotional when he
speaks.
 When
IM is walking the streets, he
discovers Clifton persuading a crowd to
buy Sambo dolls.
 “Sambo-Woogie, you
don’t have to feed
him, he sleeps collapsed, he’ll kill your
depression and your dispossession, he
lives upon the sunshine of your lordly
smile” (432).
 This
speech shows the betrayal of Clifton
because he is selling the ethnically
demeaning dolls.
 At
Clifton’s funeral, IM speaks bluntly to
the crowd. He cannot bring himself to
speak on the issues of the brotherhood. It
is a parody of Brutus’ eulogy.
 “ ‘All
right,’ I called out, feeling
desperate. It wasn’t the way I wanted it to
go, it wasn’t political” (457).
 This
speech shows the IM taking his own
initiative instead of listening to the
specific orders of the Brotherhood’s
committee.