Finally, we have come to the end of this ridiculously long book. Honestly, this ending seems rather frantic and brief. In chapter 23, we see the narrator accidentally taking on yet another identity of a man he doesn't even know. Having been physically attacked and threatened, the narrator tries to disguise himself with glasses and whatnot but apparently becomes the spitting image of a man known around town as Rinehart. It seems to be only sketchy people who recognize the narrator by this name, which could suggest another aspect of the narrator's mysterious personality. Following suit with this new, underhanded identity, the narrator seems to be trying to undermine the Brotherhood yet again. However, this time he seems to think his grandfather's advice of merely agreeing with everything he Brotherhood says will do more for him than outright mocking and disproving the organization. Chapter 24 is more of the narrators underhanded attempt to destroy the Brotherhood by using the forgotten wives of the group members. This plan blows up in his face when he realizes the woman he is trying to seduce has her own agenda, but luckily for the narrator he gets saved by the bell, or the phone, when the Brotherhood calls him. It's strange that the organization would call him when they have become frustrated with him so many times before. In chapter 25 we see a creepy scene of the burning building as Ras chases the narrator through the building, calling for the narrator to be hung like the mannequins for being s traitor to the black race. The narrator attempts to speech his way out of death, but only digs a deeper hole for himself. However, the narrator escapes the building only to be chased by the cops, which causes him to fall down a drain and be covered by a man hole cover. He narrator has literally hit rock bottom. The epilogue contains self reflection of the narrator, wondering how he has ended up like he is, alone, underground and miserable. Honestly, I think he did this to himself. He thought he could crated a better life for himself out of his own peer and scheming. He interprets his life events and all turning sour because of his attempts to help.
What do you think about this self reflection? Do you think the narrator's life tuned out terribly because he tried to 'help' others?
It's been great doing this assignment with you, but I'm sure glad it's over!
I think at the end the narrator realizes that making yourself into someone you're told to be will not lead to good things, and it will not last. I think his life turned out how it did because of a bad string of events that started at the beginning. The narrator went from one accident to the next and never found a place where he belonged. He thought that the Brotherhood would be that place but they wanted him to give up his identity. Leaving the Brotherhood and going off on his own might have been enough to break the cycle, but in the end, falling down the manhole is what does it.
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