The narrator wakes in the paint factorys hospital, havingtemporarily lost his memory and ability to speak. The whitedoctors seize upon the arrival of their unidentified black patientas an opportunity to conduct electric shock experiments. Afterthe narrator recovers his memory and leaves the hospital, hecollapses on the street. Some black community members takehim to the home of Mary, a kind woman who lets him live withher for free in Harlem and nurtures his sense of black heritage.One day, the narrator witnesses the eviction of an elderly blackcouple from their Harlem apartment. Standing before the crowdof people gathered before the apartment, he gives an impas-sioned speech against the eviction. Brother Jack overhears hisspeech and offers him a position as a spokesman for the Broth-erhood, a political organization that allegedly works to help thesocially oppressed. After initially rejecting the offer, the nar-rator takes the job in order to pay Mary back for her hospitality.But the Brotherhood demands that the narrator take a newname, break with his past, and move to a new apartment. Thenarrator is inducted into the Brotherhood at a party at theChthonian Hotel and is placed in charge of advancing thegroups goals in Harlem.
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