A Death, A Birth

I want to talk about the narrator's eulogy for Clifton in chapter 20. I believe this is the first time the narrator expresses original, expressive thought without concern for how others will interpret it. In other words, development of unique consciousness!

Up to this point, the narrator is known for giving flowery speeches that cater towards a certain audience. In the beginning, this speech was at the battle royal and the audience was a group of white men. The white men largely influence the narrator's speech and even interject to make sure his message aligns with their beliefs. The next major speech the narrator gives is for the Brotherhood. Although he doesn't follow their ideology (because he doesn't know what it is), the narrator isn't conscious of the words he is projecting. After the narrator gives his speech, he has trouble recalling "the sequence of the speech." He asks himself, "What had I meant by saying that I had become 'more human'?". The narrator didn't have an outline for his Brotherhood speech and instead catered to the emotional roars of the audience who craved profound and enlightening (but seemingly vague) announcements. The narrator delivered, but it doesn't seem like his words held any specific deep meaning. At this point, the reader doesn't really know what the narrator believes, and it's unclear whether the narrator has any personal beliefs.

Then, comes the eulogy. Right away, I noticed a stark difference in the language the narrator used to speak to the mourning crowd. The narrator speaks almost exclusively in clipped phrases: "I've told you to go home." "What are you waiting for?" "His name was Clifton and they shot him down" "Aren't you sick of the blood?". The short statements draw the attention of the crowd, while the questions put the crowd on the spot and force them to reflect. Instead of howling and roaring like the audiences at the battle royal and the Brotherhood speech, the crowd is "listening intently." The narrator also reveals his true feelings about Clifton's death. He believes the funeral "doesn't matter" because Clifton simply "forgot his history....[and] lost his hold on reality" and there's nothing anyone can do.

The narrator manages to give the most successful political speech of his life by avoiding his traditional political rhetoric entirely. By intensely downplaying Clifton's death, the narrator draws attention to the twisted way society views police brutality. The narrator repeatedly tells the crowd there is nothing to be done while describing, in gory detail, the scene of Clifton's death. One can easily imagine the crowd transitioning from mournful and hurt to confused and defiant to (most importantly) hopeful for change. The narrator is basically using reverse psychology to inspire political action. It's as if he is challenging the crowd: "There's nothing you can do...unless, of course, there is."

Perhaps this is the best speech the narrator has ever given because he finally has a personal connection to the material. He witnessed Clifton's death firsthand. The narrator finally has a concrete reason for speaking, a purpose, and a crowd who actually cares about what he has to say. Because this situation is unfamiliar to the narrator, he doesn't think to pull out the formulated rhetoric he learned from college professors. Instead, the narrator simply is himself (gasp!). Subsequently, I payed way more attention to this speech than the other speeches the narrator gave. I found myself feeling proud of the narrator for finding his voice. For the first time, the reader and the narrator are in agreement that change is coming, and the narrator could be at the heart of it:

"And through the haze I again felt the tension. There was no denying it; it was there and something had to be done before it simmered away in the heat."