t of its black war veterans is unveiled. This illustrates how America and the devices of capitalism have abandoned the worker to wither away.The men attending the Golden Day are all black veterans of World War one who most likely suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. Ellison depicts the abandonment of the worker as obvious as he uses the imagery of the veterans traveling down the road in seeming disarray.After being expelled from the college, Ivan journeys north to Harlem where he gets a job in the Liberty Paint factory. In this episode of the novel, he meets Lucius Brockway who is representative of a transitional stage of that limbo between his status in the South and to his growing involvement with the Communist party. Lucius Brockway has basically obtained his position through loyalty and accumulated knowledge. Perhaps calling him the perfect capitalist servant would fit the presence that he exudes.“But as I was saying, caint a single doggone drop of paint move out of the factorylessens it comes through Lucius Brockway’s hands.” (Ellison 210).After somewhat learning the basics of running the boilers from Brockway, Ivan takes his lunch break and inadvertently stumbles into a union meeting. He tells Brockway of the meeting and Brockway charges at Ivan with unabashed ferocity. The fight that ensues is one-sided and entirely on Ivan’s side. He then realizes that he has become somewhat of an agitator and this begins his spiral towards involvement in the communist party.Ivan’s involvement with the communist party extends to making speeches and whipping the masses into a hysterical frenzy. His involvement is somewhat shaky and the other party members always seem to have a nagging suspicion of him.This suspicion boils to a head when Tod Clifton is gunned down by the police. Ivan is called upon to deliver the funeral oration and in concurrence with the eulogy, the party erects a massive campaign to bring ...
