Who would have ever imagined that in a book, so committed to religion, a Gorilla would emerge as the most powerful figure. Children lined up for miles, simply to shake the hand of Gonga Gorilla. The character, Enoch, whose work routine involved hurling pejoratives at zoo animals, even found himself paralyzed and frightened by the sight of Gonga. Flannery O’Connor’s book, Wise Blood, demonstrates that there is a social power that Gonga commands--a social power desired by Enoch. A social power that generates crowds, humbles the flagrant, and blesses humanity with firm handshakes. But, how can Enoch procure such power? Evidently, through violence. O’Connor‘s, Wise Blood, suggests that the cost of social power is violence to one’s own identity.…show more content… Moreover, key word choice decisions by O’Connor reveal the damage Enoch inflicts to his identity. The sequence indicates that Enoch “buries” his clothes, “pushes” dirt over the hole, “stamps” on the hole, and “threw” his shoes away from him. Furthermore, the text states that, “Burying his clothes was not a symbol to him of burying his former self; he only knew he wouldn’t need them anymore” (196). This statement is completely right, Enoch’s stripping and disposal of his clothes weren’t the “burying” of his former self, but the “murder” of his former self. Enoch doesn’t need his old identity because he is adopting a new one. O’Connor’s word choice is crucial in understanding the violence stripping imposes on identity because these words allude to an amount of effort being exerted by Enoch. Similarly, killing requires effort, and this similarity is what successfully connects Enoch stripping to Enoch slaughtering his identity. He must discard all vestiges of his old identity, and he does so by “burying,” “pushing,” “stomping,” and “throwing” his old clothes. Also, the act of stripping requires time and attention. For instance, Enoch becomes so absorbed in the burial of his clothes that he forgets his shoes are still on. Both time and attention operate as examples of Enoch’s exhausting effort. Once again, these words signify a necessary amount of effort exerted in the act of stripping. Killing…show more content… If stripping was the murder of his former self, than the act of putting on the Gorilla suit and transforming into Gonga, was the burial. Again, the description of Enoch entering the Gorilla suit doesn’t read as “vicious” at a glance, but upon closer examination, O’Connor’s uses of black and white imagery graphically illustrate the fatal blow and death of Enoch’s identity. First, juxtaposition is established positioning Enoch as “white” or “light” and the gorilla suit as “black.” Enoch is described as having “lean white legs,” and a “light head.” The gorilla suit is described as a “black heavier shaggier figure,” and having a “dark head.” The use of words like dark, black, white, and light are interesting because they allude to a black hole. Furthermore, black holes have such powerful gravitational pulls that even light can’t escape from them. In conclusion, black holes swallow light. If Enoch is light and the gorilla suit is black, then this sequence represents the burial of Enoch’s identity figuratively, and literally because, like light in a black hole, he is swallowed into the gorilla suit—or darkness. Enoch dies and Gonga is reanimated. What this sequence of Enoch first stripping and then changing into the Gorilla suit reveals is the cost of social power—death to your identity. Enoch, who laments that all people want to do is “knock you down,” realizes from his encounter
