Desiree s Free Enterprise And Ralph Ellison s Invisible Man

As observed throughout history and various societies, the notion of a â€Å"racial hierarchy† proves to be a superficial design which ultimately assigns value to a group of people based solely upon their skin color. As a result, certain groups are promptly associated with influence and supremacy, while others are disregarded in their â€Å"inherent† inferiority. Michelle Cliff’s Free Enterprise and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man approach this paradigm by facilitating their readers’ understandings regarding the debilitating ostracism associated with the social construct of â€Å"blackness,† as well as the metaphorical societal invisibility that is suffered as a result. In Free Enterprise, Cliff’s implementation of the motif of black invisibility is†¦show more content†¦This is most poignantly demonstrated through their enduring inquisition of whether â€Å"their names were called at holiday gatherings,† an unfulfilled cu riosity in regards to the simple recollection of their existences (Cliff 42). From an analytical standpoint, the colony is a metaphor for the dehumanization and erasure of black identity as a means of societal marginalization and disposal. Akin to Cliff’s work, Ellison’s Invisible Man approaches the nature of black identity through the novel’s discounted main character. A scene which ties into the concept of invisible â€Å"blackness† in the face of â€Å"whiteness† is one wherein the unnamed protagonist accidentally bumps into another man on the street, resulting in what one can assume to be a derogatory racial epithet directed towards him (Ellison 4). The invisible man demands an apology from the white perpetrator, a recognition of his humanity, but his black identity and the notion of white supremacy prevent it. Even in a position of considerable vulnerability, with â€Å"torn skin† and â€Å"lips frothy with blood,† the white man cannot bring himself to apologize, as this would be an acknowledgment of the black man’s existence, a disruption of the racial hierarchy (Ellison 4). The dehumanization resulting from the notion of â€Å"blackness† as inferio r results in the character’s societal confinement and fleeing from the outside world to his â€Å"hole in the ground,† an