Many times, there will be someone that will give much even though he does not have much to give. This is the case of Homer A. Barbee. He may not be a developed character but he is a small symbol of inspiration for the narrator. But even though he may not be very bright, he is also the "wise man" of every story whether he may be blind or missing a leg.
Ellison uses this character to strengthen the title of the book. To Barbee, everyone is completely invisible. And he has been the invisible one that everyone has paid little attention to until now. So even though he has made himself seen in his speech, everyone else are nothing to him in terms of sight.
Whenever attempting to make a speech to move people, the best possible register is familiar or ceremonial. Barbee used a mixture of both with excellent results. "And of course, you all know the story" (P130) is nothing shorts of familiar register and "how rich and poor, black and white, young and old, all came to pay their homage" on the same page goes with ceremonial. He is doing everything he can to connect with the public to a time when everything was completely equal. By using an optimistic and disdainful tone, he is easily able to be heard.
A "Black-draped coffin"(P 131) is a symbol of a dark feeling. In the case of the black men working which Barbee describes, they feel that cold feeling that they may one day become slaves again. This means that what we now all "Jim Crow laws" would one day pull them back into becoming a minority. Now, his tone goes into gloomy giving him the most powerful piece of attention possible. Being an old man also gives that impression that he has witnessed all that he is talking about. He is the reference of how times were and he has done a good job in demonstrating it.
It is almost ironic how a man can live in such a dark world of blindness but always keep his head up even though he does not see what he's doing it to. Barbee may very well be the narrator's foil at this point. The narrator makes no inspiring speeches, and makes no effort to support the black community he lives in. And out of all, he has no physical or mental conditions that hold him back to being great and admired. So at the moment, he is far more invisible to the public than this blind man.
Ellison uses this character to strengthen the title of the book. To Barbee, everyone is completely invisible. And he has been the invisible one that everyone has paid little attention to until now. So even though he has made himself seen in his speech, everyone else are nothing to him in terms of sight.
Whenever attempting to make a speech to move people, the best possible register is familiar or ceremonial. Barbee used a mixture of both with excellent results. "And of course, you all know the story" (P130) is nothing shorts of familiar register and "how rich and poor, black and white, young and old, all came to pay their homage" on the same page goes with ceremonial. He is doing everything he can to connect with the public to a time when everything was completely equal. By using an optimistic and disdainful tone, he is easily able to be heard.
A "Black-draped coffin"(P 131) is a symbol of a dark feeling. In the case of the black men working which Barbee describes, they feel that cold feeling that they may one day become slaves again. This means that what we now all "Jim Crow laws" would one day pull them back into becoming a minority. Now, his tone goes into gloomy giving him the most powerful piece of attention possible. Being an old man also gives that impression that he has witnessed all that he is talking about. He is the reference of how times were and he has done a good job in demonstrating it.
It is almost ironic how a man can live in such a dark world of blindness but always keep his head up even though he does not see what he's doing it to. Barbee may very well be the narrator's foil at this point. The narrator makes no inspiring speeches, and makes no effort to support the black community he lives in. And out of all, he has no physical or mental conditions that hold him back to being great and admired. So at the moment, he is far more invisible to the public than this blind man.
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