The Man in the MirrorIn a highly racial and divided society, the allure of being part of a group whose goal is to look beyond race and coming together as a working class seems like the second chance to realize the American dream the narrator hopes for. Once he enters the Brotherhood, the narrator is confronted with the reality that he still faces the same obstacles and prejudices that he did in white society. This representation comes in the form of the perfect and emblematic follower of the Brotherhood: Tod Clifton. According to Kerry McSweeney, Clifton represents the potential of black America. As a handsome, “well-made” man, he is the poster child for the Brotherhood's ideals and, like leader Brother Jack, is blind to the reality of black America. Unfortunately, Clifton's epiphany about the struggles and plight of African Americans costs him his life. However, even in death, Clifton remains a symbol to the narrator of the plight of black America and oppression. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay From the beginning, Tod Clifton is marked and distinguished from the other members of the Brotherhood with his scar and his “Afro-Anglo-Saxon” heritage (Ellison 1980, 363). Upon first meeting Clifton, the protagonist assumes that he is a rival as Clifton must help the narrator focus his speeches more on communist scientific ideals and less on race under the orders of his brother Jack. This introduction serves to show Clifton as a blind and loyal follower of the Brotherhood and an obstacle to the narrator. Both being African American men, there would be hope for them to meet. However, the Brotherhood takes no responsibility to discuss or recognize race. Yet Clifton often has to prove that he is of African-American descent. In antithesis to the black nationalist Ras the Extorter, Ras denounces Clifton for joining the Brotherhood as a sign of betrayal of his heritage: “You my brother, mahn…. How the hell can you call these white men brother? … The brother is the same color. We children of Mama Africa, have you forgotten? … [White men] cheat on you…. Why do you go to the slaver? …What do they do to you, black mahn? Give you those smelly women? (Ellison 1980, 370-372) Given this comment, the narrator comes face to face with black racism towards those who might have been seen as selling out to those with the ideology of Ras. The notion of the "black brute" is a concept the narrator is confronted with again after meeting Sybil, the wife of one of the Brothers, who hires him to play a black savage in her rape fantasy. Since these two cases reflect white stereotypes of black men as sexual demons, Tod Clifton serves as the first and foremost sufferer of the prejudices that still plague the African-American race. Tod Clifton as a character represents the journey that the protagonist goes through while in the Brotherhood. Visible to the Brotherhood because he is African American and a devoted follower of the cause, he is also at the Brotherhood's mercy for protection, a hope that ultimately disappoints him. Like the narrator, Clifton wants to improve race relations. Both believe that conciliatory goals can improve “racial” relations, but both men ultimately become the means to destroy Harlem's counterculture. This causes the narrator to conclude that “the end was the beginning,” offering, at least from a dietary perspective, no solution to racial invisibility. (Gibson 2010, 356). In reality, Tod Clifton is a visible man, but he is "invisible" since he is a "prisoner.