Such false identities have caused IM, and other blacks and minorities, to become disillusioned. The pipe makes references to the scene at the beginning of chapter two with the description between the "small white Home Economics practice cottage" and the "black powerhouse with its engines droning earth-shaking rhythms in the dark" (Ellison 119). The white economics house represents the modesty of the African Americans, which is what IM's grandfather told him to be careful about. It is used to create the necessary skills used in a home to help and care for white people, while the black powerhouse is symbolizes the rage and discontent of African Americans from the poor treatment they are forced to endure. .
The falseness of the pipe's exterior also alludes to the Optic White paint in the Liberty Paints plant in chapter 10. A black base is the essential ingredient, the foundation required for a glowing white luster, a color that so many white members of the plant are proud of, such as Mr. Kimbro. When IM picks the wrong toner, it turns the paint a gray tint. The dependence that the white people have for the black paint is a metaphor exposing how critical it is to have a balance of opposites functioning together in order to keep a society running like a powerful machine. Thus, although whites are dependent on the black paint/people, they do not receive credit when the final product is produced. They are an invisible component. The black and rust from the pipe, as well as the black paint base, tends to get overlooked by society due to preconceived notions of African Americans, deeming them to be useless and less valuable than others. .
Later in the book IM says, "If only I knew who it was." IM is upset, agitated, and feels suffocated by a society that does not see and recognize problems in his life. He expresses his disapproval of where he is placed next to whites in society.