The theme of self-identity is a major one in the novel. The narrator is not accorded recognition and so he can declare 'l am what i am' while eating yam. The unnamed narrator is the protagonist in the novel. He is treated as a non-being by the system and so 'an invisible man' and retreats into an.\ underground cellar. He encounters eviction while still in search of his identity within the society. It is the narrator's first northern winter. he is restless and takes a walk in the cold weather. He chances upon an old couple being something'. The old woman keeps repeating: Leave us alone' and just look what they doing to us'. The crowd is surprised by the narrator's ignorance. While the crowd soothes, the narrator urges the people to behave like 'a law-abiding people and slow-to-anger people' and not resort to violence. The speech rouses the crowd. A much-inspired white girl shows the narrator an escape route as the police arrive. A fellow, Brother Jack, who thinks the speech 'a masterpiece of persuasion', catches up with the narrator and offers him coffee and cheesecake.