Although the narrator seems out for the count in chapter 12, he gets some TLC, rest, and magnificent sweet potatoes in chapter 13 and regains his faculties in a remarkable way. (The imagery involved in the sweet potato passage made me change my yam stance; I thought I didn't like them, but I think I'll need to try them again. Ellison would have been an amazing writer of menus. Is anyone else hungry after reading that part?)
*What is the rhetorical purpose of the "spoiled cream" complexions of the women that the narrator sees as he careens out of the subway?
*How does the syntax of the first three pages contribute to the narrator's sense of disorientation?
*What is the rhetorical effect of the syntax on page 256, as the narrator returns to Men's House?
*What purpose does Mary serve for the narrator?
*How is alliteration used to express the anxiety that the narrator feels on page 259?
*Yumminess aside, what is the metaphorical value of the sweet potatoes?
*What is the pupose of the emancipation letter among the old couple's belongings?
*Why is the narrator ambivalent about attacking the men who are evicting the old couple?
*What is the narrator's rhetorical argument as he addresses the crowd?
*How does the man in the cafe interpet the narrator's sentiments incorrectly?
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I think that it was horrible of those white people to throw those elderly people along with their things out on to the street. I felt bad for the elderly people when they were refused to be allowed to go inside and pray. I though that it was very courageous of the narrator to deliver that speech, which eventually made the bystanders demand justice for those two elderly people and made the police come. I couldn't believe it when the narrator turned down Brother Jacks job offer knowing that Mary has been allowing him to live for free at her apartment.
As the narrator stood along side the crowd watching the eviction one man notes that they all have nerve and that they just need someone to start off the rebellion against the white men working in the house. The rhetoric phrase the narrator uses is law abiding citizens. That phrase is somewhat ironic because they began a small riot in the home to allow the elderly coupele to pray, bringing the police to the scene, clearly not law-abiding in the policemen's eyes, and other whites. The narrator is unsure of the reason why he delivered the speech that ignited the people, it brought deep passion and thought from the narrator.
In these few chapters and the one before it, The narrator changes a lot. When he awakes in the hospital, he does not remember who he is. The first change is when he attacks the man he thinks is Mr. Bledsoe. When the narrator was first punished, he tried to talk his way out of it, but the second time he thinks he sees Mr. Bledsoe, he attacks him and calls him names. He then meets Mary, where he lives in her home, free of charge, something he probably never would have done before the accident at Liberty Paints. Then he eats the yams and finds the evicted couple and realizes that he should embrace his heritage and speaks up for the elderly couple, when before, he aimed to be a model citizen and impress the white people at his college, pushing away his heritage and black ways.
Mary takes the narrator to her house after he passes out in the street. The purpose of Mary in the narrator's life is to encourage him to become more active in fighting for racial equality. It is Mary who encourages the narrator to take the job with the Brotherhood.
I think Mary comes into the narrator's life as a mother figure for him. Living with Mary helps bring the Narrator back into his memories of his life in the south, and he indulges in the yams which remind him of his childhood in the Ssouth. When the narrator was at college, he acted as he thought the white people would want him to be, constantly on his best behavior and very sophisticated. When he eats the yams, he recognizes his freedom.
Marys main purpose to the narrator is to help him become more effective in the fight for racial equality. Mary plays the main role in the narrator joining the brotherhood. Mary also acts as a caregiver to the narrator. She takes care of him and watches over him after he passes out on the street.
I thought that it was fair to throw these people out. If the people did not pay for their home, then they do not deserve to live there. I think that the narrator had no place to step in. Especially since he caused a uprising. Many people could have been hurt or even killed. If the people in Harlem would just obey the law, then there would be no problems.
The purpose Mary serves the narrator was to bring him back to health. Also, she was almost a reminder of how he and others need to fight for their rights, "It's you young folks what's going to make the changes...You got to lead and you got to fight and move us all on up a little higher." It was interesting and powerful to see how fired up the narrator got as he was making his speech. I don't think he realized how motivating his speech was and how it would cause the people to strongly stand up for themselves, "What on earth ahd I said to have brought on all this?" I enjoyed this chapter.
After the narrator is released from the hospital it seems as though he has changed a great deal. He is more outspoken and opinionated than before. He also seems less worried about pleasing others and more about pleasing himself. When he stands on the street and watches the old people being evicted he is filled with inner turmoil. He doesnt understand why they are being thrown out. If the narrator had seen this before he were in the hospital, he would have probably walked away from the situation so he wasnt part of a riot. However the narrator had changed after being released from the hospital and actually got up and gave a speech leading the people into rebellion. Im interested to see how much more the narrator changes throughout the novel.
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