The following day, the narrator travels to Long Island to begin working at Liberty Paints. The factory is adorned with patriotic imagery and bears a sign that reads, “KEEP AMERICA PURE.” At the office, Macduffy interviews the narrator, who assigns him to work under a supervisor named Mr. Kimbro. The narrator is then directed to a locker room to change into work attire. During the tour, the guide mentions that “coloured college boys” like the narrator are being hired as a countermeasure against the factory’s union efforts.
As the narrator arrives at his new workplace, he overhears a man cursing loudly on the phone. The source of the commotion is revealed to be Mr. Kimbro, who introduces himself brusquely before setting the narrator to work. Kimbro takes the narrator to a room filled with various paints and explains that instructions will only be given once. He demonstrates how to mix ten drops of a black substance, referred to as “dope,” into each bucket of white paint, which the narrator must then stir and test by painting a sample. Kimbro emphasises that the narrator should follow orders without questioning.
Initially, the narrator complies with the instructions, curious about the widespread use of the “Optic White” paint—whether it is for government projects or even his college campus. Kimbro inspects the work, approves it and notes that the paint will be used on a government monument. He then instructs the narrator to refill the dope from the tank room but neglects to provide detailed guidance. Left to figure it out alone, the narrator encounters two indistinguishable black tanks and selects the dope that smells similar to the original sample.
Upon testing the paint, the narrator notices that the samples are sticky rather than smooth. Panicked, he hastily mixes the remaining buckets before Kimbro’s return. When Kimbro discovers the problem, he identifies the mistake as the narrator’s use of paint remover instead of the correct dope. Furious, Kimbro berates the narrator for relying on smell and remarks that the paint fumes make scent unreliable. Though Kimbro calls the main office to report the narrator, a replacement is unavailable, so he grudgingly helps the narrator fix the error.
Instead of being dismissed, the narrator is reassigned to work in the basement under Lucius Brockway, a wiry, elderly black man. Initially, Brockway claims he doesn’t need an assistant but reconsiders, remarking that this is the first time he’s been sent another black worker. Sceptical of the narrator’s motives, Brockway suggests he’s been sent to replace him. However, Brockway insists that he is indispensable to the factory and assigns the narrator to monitor gauges and wipe them clean to prevent overheating. The narrator is intrigued by Brockway’s pivotal role in the factory despite having no education. He speculates that Brockway has been there since the beginning, and is probably the only one who knows the way the basement works. Brockway functions like an engineer, though he is paid like a janitor. The narrator notices that the basement is not simply an engine room, but that paint is being made there.
In the basement, the narrator assists with tasks such as shovelling materials and adjusting valves. Brockway, defensive and mistrustful, eventually reveals that he is responsible for creating the “vehicle” of the paint, which is crucial to the factory’s operations. Brockway boasts that Mr. Sparland, the factory owner, ensures his continued employment because the factory would falter without him. He also shares that he coined the slogan for Optic White: “If It’s Optic White, It’s the Right White.”
When the narrator leaves to get his lunch, he accidentally interrupts a union meeting in the locker room. The union members ask the narrator who his foreman is. When he tells them that it’s Mr. Brockway, the union men become enraged and try to throw the narrator out of the meeting. Some men call the narrator a “fink,” a name for an anti-union informant. The union members ask if the narrator would like to join the union. Before he can reply, several members object, calling the narrator a fink for working with Brockway. The union moves to give the narrator a trial session with the union in order to investigate whether or not he’s a fink. The narrator immediately becomes angry with the superior posturing of the union men. After accepting him against his will, the union leader lets the narrator collect his lunch. The union leader tells him it’s nothing personal, but the narrator leaves without saying a word.
The narrator returns to the basement, where Brockway immediately asks what took the narrator so long to get his lunch. When the narrator begins to explain that he ran into the union, Brockway explodes with anger. Brockway is vehemently against the union and tells the narrator to get out of the basement immediately. The narrator tries to explain the situation, but Brockway tells the narrator he’ll kill him if he doesn’t leave immediately. The narrator reflects that he has been trained his whole life to “accept the foolishness of such old men as this,” but that today’s ill-treatment has crossed a line. The narrator begins to yell back at Brockway, and the two begin to fight. The narrator feels a stab and believes that Brockway is trying to use a knife on him. He elbows Brockway and hears the “knife” skitter away. Clearly bettered by a younger man, Brockway gives up fighting. The narrator insults Brockway for his ignorance and tells him that he’s acting crazy. The narrator curses both Brockway and the union. Brockway asks if he can collect his teeth, and the narrator realises that that was the “knife” from before: Brockway had bitten him.
Brockway explains his hatred for the union. He tells the narrator that they’re after his job and that even worse, the black men in the lab are trying to join the union too. The narrator says he doesn’t know anything about that and extends his hand for Brockway to shake. As they shake, they begin to hear hissing from the boilers. Brockway tells the narrator to go turn some important valves. Brockway tells the narrator to turn a certain valve, “the white one,” to stop the pressure, but when the narrator turns it the pressure only increases. When the narrator calls again for Brockway, he’s nowhere to be found. The narrator tries to turn the valve the other way, but quickly realises that Brockway is trying to kill him. An explosion engulfs the narrator like a great weight. Later, when he awakens, he can hear Brockway’s voice telling someone that the narrator wasn’t cut out for the job. The narrator is too dazed to respond.
Liberty Paints as a Reflection of 20th-Century American Society: The imagery of the Liberty Paints factory symbolically links patriotism to the idea of colour. It is implied that Liberty Paints has an idea of “pure” colour, meaning that certain colours are acceptable while others are not. The narrator begins to experience paid labour as an inhumane activity. Kimbro tells the narrator not to think, as he is completely uninterested in the narrator as a person. Kimbro is only interested in extracting the narrator’s labour. There is a direct symbolism to the narrator’s activity of stirring black droplets into white paint. The black droplets disappear into the white paint and make it more effective, a sign of the ways in which black labour is used to make white products. However, the black labour is seldom recognized.
Kimbro’s treatment of the narrator highlights the dehumanising nature of industrial labour, where workers are expected to perform mechanically without understanding their role. His refusal to provide clear instructions yet punishing errors reflects systemic exploitation. The narrator’s failure in the tank room underscores the precariousness of his position, where missteps are inevitable in a system rigged against him.
Lucius Brockway represents the older generation of black workers who navigate oppressive systems knowing their place in the white system. Despite the fact that he is indispensable to the factory, Brockway is content with his marginalised status.This further illustrates the way in which the factory system depends on the cooperation of unacknowledged black workers like Brockway. The white owners underestimate the importance of an employee like Brockway: they now take his skilful work for granted. Brockway’s coining of the Optic White slogan (in which “white is right”) illustrates his complicity with the white regime that ignores his work.
When the narrator stumbles into a union meeting, they try to throw him out. Although the union is supposed to fight for the equality of all of the employees of the factory, the narrator is struck by the union’s overwhelming hostility to him when he enters the room. The union is more interested in protecting the interests of its white members than in welcoming the narrator. Brockway is allied with the owners of the factory due to his age: he comes from a time in which a black man could never consider challenging the authority that had given him his job. Because of this, the union opposes his complicity, but it seems just as likely that they are wary of him because of the colour of his skin. The narrator is struck by the way in which the union completely denies his right to speak. Neither the union nor Brockway is interested in the narrator as an individual: to them, he is either on one side or the other. The mere mention of the union causes Brockway to turn against the narrator, as Brockway assumes that the narrator is part of a new generation of upstarts.
The narrator reflects that Brockway's behaviour is part of a black cultural history of complete deference to one’s elders. However, the narrator has been completely invisible at his time at the factory, and Brockway’s anger causes the narrator's own newfound anger to flare. For the first time since Bledsoe’s office, the narrator begins to speak his mind to his adversaries, helping to shape his identity. At the same time, Brockway is revealed to be a sad opponent: an old man crippled by a lifetime of service to the white bosses. For Brockway, the idea of joining the union would be unthinkable. As someone old enough to remember the time of slavery, he has been conditioned to remain subservient to whites. Despite winning the fight, Brockway is a tougher adversary than he seems. Unable to cope with the humiliation of defeat, Brockway deliberately uses his knowledge of the basement to injure the narrator. The earlier handshake, which had seemed to unite two generations of black men, proved only to be an illusion. Brockway is firmly entrenched in his way of life and will not change.
Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs)
What does the slogan “KEEP AMERICA PURE” at Liberty Paints symbolise?
A. The factory’s commitment to quality
B. Patriotism tied to racial purity
C. The narrator’s role in preserving tradition
D. The company’s environmental policies
Lucius Brockway considers himself indispensable to the factory because:
A. He is the only black worker
B. He created the Optic White slogan
C. He has unique knowledge of the basement operations
D. He monitors the labour union activities
What causes tension between the narrator and the union members?
A. The narrator’s refusal to join the union
B. The narrator’s association with Brockway
C. The narrator’s defiance of union rules
D. The narrator’s lack of knowledge about the union
What is the significance of the black dope being mixed into the white paint?
A. It reflects the contribution of black labour to white-dominated industries
B. It ensures the durability of the paint
C. It represents industrial advancements
D. It symbolises unity between black and white workers
ANSWERS: 1. B 2. C 3. B 4. A
Theory Questions
Describe the symbolic meaning of the Liberty Paints factory’s slogan, “KEEP AMERICA PURE,” and its connection to the narrator’s role in the factory.
Explain the dynamic between Brockway and the union, and how it reflects generational differences in attitudes towards race and labour.
Discuss the dehumanising aspects of industrial labour as experienced by the narrator at Liberty Paints. How is this reflected in his interactions with Mr. Kimbro?
