The Voice Of The Dispossessed

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

and his eye is swollen. He's having a hard time seeing the crowd. We can make symbolic connections to his impaired vision and how he does not see his circumstance very clearly, as well as the blood he must swallow to continue his speech. The white men ignore him and only occasionally ask him to repeat something he has said, until he stumbles over the words social "equality." The room becomes deadly quiet and, "The laughter hung smokelike in the sudden stillness." The crowd begins booing and yelling things at him and eventually he corrects the word to the original phrase social "responsibility." Worried that it may not have been a slip of the tongue, he's told that they "want to do right by him" but he must remember his place. At this point, the reader is able to see that IM is idealistic and very naïve. He is determined to make this speech in front of this audience of bigoted businessmen who couldn't care less what he is saying. He cannot see that he is only a form of ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

such a fury that the police show up and he ends up running away (a recurring theme in the book). One man, Brother Jack, is so impressed with IM's speaking skills that he offers him a good paying job in an organization only referred to as the Brotherhood. IM accepts and this takes him into a world he never knew existed, let alone dared to be a part of. The brotherhood is a world of power, and glamour, and "equality" with the white man. He is still naïve but he has found a path and he is a step closer to discovering his destiny.
The Brotherhood gives IM the opportunity to speak formally to a crowd for the first time. He is called to an arena to speak to the spectators about the ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: