Chapter 23 Summary

The narrator is downstairs in the bar when a group of men tries to invite him into their argument about Clifton's death. The narrator does not get involved, has a drink, and leaves. Out on the street, the narrator is approached by different groups who are moved to action by the shooting. The narrator runs into Ras the Exhorter's men, and he is challenged by Ras to explain what the Brotherhood is planning to do about Clifton. The narrator cannot really explain anything, and two men begin to follow him and beat him up a bit before an onlooker intervenes. The narrator walks on and decides to buy a pair of dark green sunglasses behind which to hide.

As the narrator is walking along, he is approached by several people who mistake him for a man named Rinehart. The first person to do...