In Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man, one of Ellison's greatest assets is his ability to imbue inanimate objects with profound meaning. During the narrator's journey from bar to tavern, he acquires a series of objects that represent both manifestations of a racist society and clues that he uses to deconstruct his indoctrinated identity. The narrator's briefcase thus becomes a figurative safe in his mind that can only be unlocked by understanding the true nature of the objects found inside. Therefore, to realize who he is, the narrator must first realize who he is not: that unreal man whose name is written in Jack's pen, or the grinning face of Mary's bank. The narrator's briefcase itself is perhaps the most important of Ellison's Inanimate Objects. While the briefcase's influence does not lie in its being an overtly crude representation of an oppressive society like, say, Mary's bank, the briefcase still plays an important role in building the pillars of the narrator's overlapping identity. After the Battle Royale scene, the narrator is finally allowed to deliver the speech he has prepared. During his speech, he makes the "mistake" of using the expression "social equality" instead of the much more ambiguous term "social responsibility". The narrator corrects himself amidst the jeers of the almost entirely white audience. Then he continues his speech praising the importance of friendship, extolling the need for docile mutual coexistence in front of the audience's "thunderous applause" (31). Satisfied with the narrator's attitude of implicit submission, the superintendent “steps forward with a package wrapped in white tissue paper” (32). It presents this mysterious… medium of paper… the chaos against which that model was conceived” (580). Here, the narrator describes the process of self-discovery. Conceiving «a life project» (580) does not happen autonomously; this plan must be shaped to succeed where a previous plan had failed. In other words, the narrator must use the symbols of his old life – the contents of his briefcase – as the chaos against which a new model of life can be conceived. Therefore, it is only after the narrator has shaken off “the old skin” (581), that he can declare that “the lethargy is over” (581). To get out of the hole, to return to the world, the narrator must learn from objects who he is not; he had to realize that “there is a death in the smell of spring” (580). To be reborn, as happens in spring, something else must die; To emerge again, the Invisible Man must leave the ashes of his former self behind.