Invisible Man

by

Ralph Ellison

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Invisible Man makes teaching easy.

Tod Clifton Character Analysis

Tod Clifton is a dedicated member of the Brotherhood chapter of Harlem and the leader of the chapter’s youth division. Early on, Clifton is the Brotherhood’s most tireless defender against the repeated attacks of Ras the Exhorter. However, when the Brotherhood’s policies shift, Clifton grows disillusioned and drops out of the Brotherhood. The narrator discovers him later selling Sambo dolls on the street, a cynical mocking of the Brotherhood’s high ideals.

Tod Clifton Quotes in Invisible Man

The Invisible Man quotes below are all either spoken by Tod Clifton or refer to Tod Clifton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Race and Racism Theme Icon
).
Chapter 20 Quotes

Why did he choose to plunge into nothingness, into the void of faceless faces, of soundless voices, lying outside history?...But not quite, for actually it is only the known, the seen, the heard and only those events that the recorder regards as important that are put down, the lies his keepers keep their power by.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), Tod Clifton
Related Symbols: The Sambo Doll
Page Number: 439
Explanation and Analysis:
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Tod Clifton Quotes in Invisible Man

The Invisible Man quotes below are all either spoken by Tod Clifton or refer to Tod Clifton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Race and Racism Theme Icon
).
Chapter 20 Quotes

Why did he choose to plunge into nothingness, into the void of faceless faces, of soundless voices, lying outside history?...But not quite, for actually it is only the known, the seen, the heard and only those events that the recorder regards as important that are put down, the lies his keepers keep their power by.

Related Characters: The Narrator (speaker), Tod Clifton
Related Symbols: The Sambo Doll
Page Number: 439
Explanation and Analysis: