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What role does the motif play in the meaning of the work as a whole? 

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What role does the motif play in the meaning of the work as a whole? 

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Power/electricity emphasizes the severe racial issues and power struggle between the protagonist and his community as well as the white and black communities. However, it also demonstrates the protagonist's will to empower himself and bring justice to his race, which allows us to identify the character's hunger for success and perseverance throughout the novel.

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"A face was now level
with mine, looking closely and saying something without meaning. A whirring
began that snapped and cracked with static, and suddenly I seemed to be
crushed between the floor and ceiling. Two forces tore savagely at my
stomach and back. A flash of cold-edged heat enclosed me. I was pounded
between crushing electrical pressures; pumped between live electrodes like an
accordion between a player's hands. My lungs were compressed like a bellows
and each time my breath returned I yelled, punctuating the rhythmical action
of the nodes" (232).

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"A face was now level
with mine, looking closely and saying something without meaning. A whirring
began that snapped and cracked with static, and suddenly I seemed to be
crushed between the floor and ceiling. Two forces tore savagely at my
stomach and back. A flash of cold-edged heat enclosed me. I was pounded
between crushing electrical pressures; pumped between live electrodes like an
accordion between a player's hands. My lungs were compressed like a bellows
and each time my breath returned I yelled, punctuating the rhythmical action
of the nodes" (232).

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This passage shows a rebirth of the narrator. In this entire scene, the narrator is put through numerous tests including shock therapy because he is "insane". The interesting idea behind this, is the fact that he was taken into this hospital for fighting for what he believes in. It appears that every time he tries to show his identity he ends up oppressed. Almost as if electricity is used to oppress and confine the narrator to a blank slate, to make him into almost an entirely new person. In this scene, the narrator is not able to talk or remember anything which could symbolize his rebirth, cutting all connections that he had to his past life, to create a new one. What makes this hard to tell is that this quote is full of contradictions such as the narrator's life, a flash of cold-edged heat, the narrator is compared to Booker T. Washington. However, the styles that the brotherhood enforce are more W. E. B. Du Bois. Whenever he fights for his own ideals he is suppressed and rejected, however when he endorses the ideas that others such as the brotherhood put on him, he seems to be praised. This quote also says that he feels like an accordion being played by the musician, throughout the book, the narrator has been used for someone else's good, maybe this shock therapy isn't meant to stop him from being insane, but maybe even to put some sense into him. More than likely it represents a ending part of the narrator's past life, so he can create something new, like when a phoenix bursts into flames and starts its life anew, the narrator is being shocked into a new life, where he starts not being able to talk or move like a baby, and transitioning into a brand new man.

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"I went
toward the microphone where Brother Jack himself waited, entering the spot
of light that surrounded me like a seamless cage of stainless steel. I halted.
The light was so strong that I could no longer see the audience, the bowl of
human faces. It was as though a semi-transparent curtain had dropped
between us, but through which they could see me -- for they were applauding
-- without themselves being seen. I felt the hard, mechanical isolation of the
hospital machine and I didn't like it" (341).

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"I went
toward the microphone where Brother Jack himself waited, entering the spot
of light that surrounded me like a seamless cage of stainless steel. I halted.
The light was so strong that I could no longer see the audience, the bowl of
human faces. It was as though a semi-transparent curtain had dropped
between us, but through which they could see me -- for they were applauding
-- without themselves being seen. I felt the hard, mechanical isolation of the
hospital machine and I didn't like it" (341).

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The narrator portrays his feeling of isolation by portraying the light or electricity as a barrier that keeps him confined from reaching his full potential or goals. The light blinds the narrator from being able to see his audience, which indicates that he is unable to see his success and power, in terms of authority since his audience helps reflect the extent of power that he holds. Due to his inability to reach for his goals, he finds discomfort in the confines of electricity relating back to the idea that he strives to harness that power and use it to his advantage so that he can transform what was initially meant to cause harm into an opportunity to stand up for himself and his race.

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"That is why I fight my battle with Monopolated Light & Power. The
deeper reason, I mean: It allows me to feel my vital aliveness. I also fight
them for taking so much of my money before I learned to protect myself. In
my hole in the basement there are exactly 1,369 lights... Nothing, storm or flood, must
get in the way of our need for light and ever more and brighter light. The
truth is the light and light is the truth" (7).

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"That is why I fight my battle with Monopolated Light & Power. The
deeper reason, I mean: It allows me to feel my vital aliveness. I also fight
them for taking so much of my money before I learned to protect myself. In
my hole in the basement there are exactly 1,369 lights... Nothing, storm or flood, must
get in the way of our need for light and ever more and brighter light. The
truth is the light and light is the truth" (7).

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This passage reveals the narrator's struggle with corporate and institutionalized power. The Invisible Man expresses that his motive for stealing the electricity ties back to his personal desire to feel alive, suggesting that without it he feels empty or as if he is merely surviving without a purpose. The fight against monopolized power provides him with a reason to live and inevitably contributes to his overall identity because it allows him to believe that he is working towards an important cause. Furthermore, the abundance of energy that he steals speaks to how deeply oppressed he felt in the past. It is not enough for him to take just enough energy to get by and be unnoticed. Rather, he wants the company to feel the impact of his actions and feel the same kind of helpless confusion that he did. The narrator justifies his actions with the statement that the light is the truth suggesting his belief that many people, his early self included, often live in the dark without ever realizing it. By committing acts of nonconformity, the narrator fights against the submissive role that his race was placed in. The light remains a constant reminder to him that control is a mindset that one can break free from and to the company that they do not have a monopoly over control as they do with electricity. In the end, his ability to manipulate the power to his advantage correlates with his discovery and ownership of his invisibility. He sees the truth of his situation and finally sees himself clearly therefore allowing him to take control of his own situation and exploit both literal and figurative power.

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"A hot, violent force tore through my body, shaking me like a wet rat. The rug was electrified. The hair bristled up on my head as I shook myself free. My muscles jumped, my nerves jangled, writhed... Ignoring the shock by laughing, as I brushed the coins off quickly, I discovered that I could contain the electricity—a contradiction but it works. Then the men began to push us onto the rug" (27).

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"A hot, violent force tore through my body, shaking me like a wet rat. The rug was electrified. The hair bristled up on my head as I shook myself free. My muscles jumped, my nerves jangled, writhed... Ignoring the shock by laughing, as I brushed the coins off quickly, I discovered that I could contain the electricity—a contradiction but it works. Then the men began to push us onto the rug" (27).

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This scene strongly portrays the oppression of the African Americans who faced brutality for the amusement and entertainment of the white people. In one sense the I.M. is in a powerless position, where he has no control over his body, just as he has no control over his life due to his racial background. He feels that he has shaken himself free, but even though he's free from the electric rug he has not achieved absolute freedom from the oppression and the omnipresent discrimination that derives from white supremacy. The narrator presents a very passive approach to this treatment, as he fails to fight for himself and his dignity, which shows his acceptance of his subordinate role in society. Then the narrator realizes that he could take the electricity, something intended to be a destructive force, and use it to his advantage. The electricity resembles the struggle of oppression that he faces, which he feels he has the ability to harness to become an authority figure and earn respect.