He shouts for the crowd to go home as they did nothing to prevent the state which created the tragedy. Once they reach the park, the crowd expects the narrator to speak but he does not know what they want to hear.

The marching procession begins to sing and the narrator is envious of the man who is not ashamed to start the old slave song. The narrator wonders about the crowd, whether they are connected to Clifton, attracted to the spectacle, or see the event as an outlet for their grievances. A slow procession with banners and a band march solemnly toward Park. They view the death as their hope being shot down mercilessly and unnecessarily. Pushing ahead on his own, he organizes the funeral and meetings to rouse support.Īt the funeral, the turn out is large and brings members that the narrator had not seen since returning to Harlem. The narrator tries repeatedly to reach headquarters of the Brotherhood but can contact no one. He sends the loyal members out to round up as many other members as possible. The narrator plans to revive the neighborhood sentiment and to save Clifton's identity by holding a grand funeral. He is interrupted by young members of the community who ask if Clifton's death is true. His thoughts shift to self blame and then he wonders how he should react to the media about the event. Looking at one of the dolls he had taken from the scene, he realizes that Clifton had been making it dance by an imaginary thread. The narrator cannot get Clifton out of his mind and criticizes himself for not using the event of the Sambo performance to educate the crowd.

Invisible man ralph ellison sparknotes