Ras the Exhorter is a West Indian man whose background is never explained. A black nationalist, Ras believes that the black race should band together to form their own nation, separate from the interests of other races. He opposes cooperation between whites and blacks on principle, and opposes the Brotherhood due to its multiracial membership. As the novel progresses, Ras’ exhortations rise in pitch and intensity, and Ras eventually declares himself “Ras the Destroyer” by the time of the Harlem riots, donning African gear and jousting the police force.
Ras the Exhorter Quotes in Invisible Man
The Invisible Man quotes below are all either spoken by Ras the Exhorter or refer to Ras the Exhorter. 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:
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Chapter 25
Quotes
I looked at Ras on his horse and at their handful of guns and recognized the absurdity of the whole night and of the simple yet confoundingly complex arrangement of hope and desire, fear and hate, that had brought me here still running, and knowing now who I was and where I was and knowing too that I had no longer to run for or from the Jacks and the Emersons and the Bledsoes and Nortons, but only from their confusion, impatience, and refusal to recognize the beautiful absurdity of their American identity and mine.
Related Characters:
The Narrator (speaker), Dr. Bledsoe, Mr. Norton, Brother Jack, Ras the Exhorter, Young Emerson
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Invisible Man LitChart as a printable PDF.
Ras the Exhorter Character Timeline in Invisible Man
The timeline below shows where the character Ras the Exhorter appears in Invisible Man. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Prologue
...but lets him go. The music becomes thunderously loud, and the narrator thinks he hears Ras the Exhorter before coming out of the dream.
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Chapter 7
...the narrator hears passionate words being spoken, and is attracted toward a crowd. He discovers Ras the Exhorter (though he does not yet know his name) making a shrill speech about...
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...of Men’s House, where the narrator will rent a room. Behind him, the voice of Ras seems to become more violent.
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Chapter 17
...that he had to see the doctor. Clifton has been injured in a clash with Ras the Exhorter’s men. Jack describes Ras as a “black nationalist” and tells Clifton to take...
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The narrator recalls that he saw Ras the Exhorter when he first came to Harlem, only that he didn’t yet know his...
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...listen to his speech. As the narrator speaks, Clifton catches his eye, pointing out that Ras the Exhorter and his men have begun to infiltrate the crowd. A fight breaks out,...
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In the chaos of the fight, streetlights are broken. Ras’ men and the Brotherhood fight in darkness. The narrator beats off an attacker. In the...
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Ras tells Clifton that he shouldn’t work with whites, stating that they will only betray him...
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Ras continues his exhortation, but the narrator tells him that the Brotherhood will still be out...
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Chapter 19
...he does not. He is told that Clifton has “failed in his assignment,” and that Ras the Exhorter is gaining influence in Harlem. The narrator is instructed to return to the...
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Chapter 23
The narrator comes across Ras the Exhorter giving a speech on the street. Ras points out the narrator and indicates...
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As the narrator leaves Ras’ circle, two of Ras’ men follow him down the street. They grab the narrator near...
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...about Rinehart if people are going to be mistaken so often. The narrator comes across Ras’ crowd again. In his disguise, no one recognizes the narrator as a member of the...
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Chapter 25
...is amazed that Clifton’s death has caused so much destruction. Another man tells them that Ras the Destroyer caused the riot.
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...him by his Brotherhood name. Another voice calls out to catch the narrator, indicating that Ras the Destroyer is looking for him. The narrator disappears into the crowd. He wonders why...
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Ras the Destroyer is riding through the streets of Harlem at the head of his gang....
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Ras’ men spot the narrator, and Ras throws his spear at him, which misses and lodges...
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Ras shouts again to hang the narrator, and the narrator realizes that if he is hanged...
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Ras’ men chase after the narrator and struggle with him, but the narrator breaks free and...
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...a group of men talking about the wild evening. One describes the eventual encounter between Ras and the police force, with Ras charging the police on his horse. The man recounts...
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...He has a vision of himself as a prisoner of all his past enemies, including Ras, Brother Jack, Mr. Norton, and Dr. Bledsoe. The narrator tells his captors that he is...
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