All that matters is that you felt safe.
-- William (Pages 3 - 56)

Importance: When Soot is a little boy, his father, William, teaches him the importance of being invisible. He wants his son to learn how to disappear himself as a means of self-protection. Soot sees this as a game. However, it is an extension and manifestation of William's fear for his son's life. After Soot successfully disappears for the first time, William tells him that it does not matter that he knew where his son was hiding. It only mattered that while he was hidden, he felt and believed himself to be safe. This dynamic speaks to the author's overarching commentary on invisibility and the Black experience, and the ways in which the Black individual must disappear himself in order to survive life in America.

I'm sorry. I haven't introduced myself. I'm an author.
-- Narrator (Pages 3 - 56)

Importance: Amidst the first person narrator's personal account, he abruptly interrupts...