Blindness In The Battle Royale

“A great wave of humiliation and shame swept over me. Shame that I belonged to a race that could be so dealt with; and shame for my country, that it, the great example of democracy to the world, should be the only civilized, if not the only state on earth, where a human being would be burned alive.”(137) Because of that day, the narrator made a decision that he felt was best for him at the time, which was to let the world make their own perception of him. “I argued that to forsake one’s race to better one’s condition was no less worthy an action than to forsake one’s country for the same purpose. I finally made up my mind that I would neither disclaim the black race nor claim the white race; but that I would change my name, raise a mustache, and let the world take me for what it would; that it was not necessary for me to go about with the label of inferiority pasted across my forehead.” (139)

In this chapter, the invisible man’s grandfather tells him on his deathbed to not make the same mistakes that he has, and that he should be obedient to white men, but still hold hatred for him. This brings a flashback to the invisible man, when he remembers at his high school graduation, he was forced to participate in a barbaric display of violence, which displayed a mockery of black men by white men, and then proceed to encourage co-existence and kindness amongst black men toward white men.

The theme of “Battle Royal” by Ralph Ellison is “I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.” (Ralph Ellison) and through plot and setting we can see how it connects to the story. The grandfather's words to the narrator telling him to play it safe and follow all of the blacks rules to survive and during his speech where none of them were paying attention to him until he stepped out of line in their eyes, and told him to know his place. The setting shows this because the events in the story take place in a building a where a smoker is being held, an event for mainly whites who want to watch blacks fight. Even though the narrator is superior to the other blacks attending he is still not given any special treatment,

“It was people and commercials trying to make him feel like he didn’t even matter, trying to make him feel like there was something wrong with being black”. Chapter 1 page 8

When the ex-colored man proceeds to stand he is told to sit until the "others" are asked to stand. This scene shows the importance that is placed on classifying and separating within American society. He was oblivious to the concept of black and white until the segregation was forced upon him. From that moment on he was insecure about his identity; not knowing whether to claim himself as "white" or "black." Later, after witnessing a lynching of a black man he is conflicted with the shame that the black race would allow itself to be treated worse than animals and with the appalling idea that his country would allow a human being to be burned alive. Thus, he declares that he "would neither disclaim the black race nor claim the white race." He eventually decides to "pass" as a white man because it seemed like the more secure path. He is constantly insecure in his decisions and is always questioning the differences between the races. He feels trapped by the expectations placed upon each race. His struggles display the ridiculousness of classifying human beings solely by their skin color.

Invisible Man’s; “Battle Royal” is dark, and even if saying so may be redundant i feel as though it were necessary. All of Battle Royal’s time takes place is in a dark limelight lit pit hidden away god knows where. Throughout the chapter this pit is use to push the young black men out of the shadow of society, only be crushed by hatred and racism right back into it. Persisting even as far as they couldn’t even collect their “prize” without being tortured. To our narrator this

The narrator shows her prejudice against the boy when she points out that “he has the casual look of a mugger, alert under hooded lids.” this can also mean the way minorities have to be alert and watch their backs to not being taken advantage of. Another way she shows  her prejudice is by feeling trapped and uncomfortable being close to him like “two molecules stuck in a rod of light”. By saying “ And he is black and i am white, and without meaning or trying to i must profit from his darkness” the author addresses the way rich people sometimes take advantage of the minorities because of their race without knowing. When the narrator says “ there is no way to know how easy this white skin makes my life” she is evaluating how the boy’s lfw may in fact be more complex than she thought it was but comes to the conclusion that she may never really understand because she is not like him and will never

“Battle Royal” begins with a flashback of when the invisible man was just a boy, and he overhears his dying grandfather’s last words. As he is on his deathbed he states, “I want you to overcome ‘em with yeses, undermine ‘em with grins, agree ‘em to death and destruction, let ‘em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open.” (IN TEXT CITATION) His grandfather’s statements meant that he wanted his family to smile in the white man’s face and do what they say. In other words, kill them with kindness until they cannot take it anymore. These words stayed with the invisible man haunting him long into adulthood. Once in a while he would find himself doing exactly what his grandfather had asked and would feel an

The theme of the story “Battle Royal” by Ralph Ellison is showed in this quote “I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.” (Ellison). This quote means the narrator is invisible because he cannot branch out in the story, he is to act according to what the whites want and they refuse to see him act another way. Two literary elements that connect this theme to the story is plot and setting. The plot connects to the theme because of the grandfather's advice, and the narrator's speech. The setting of the story is shown by where the narrator presents his speech, which is the location where a smoker is being held. The theme of the story is “I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse

However, during a conversation with his grandfather the narrator's perception of what is moral and what the implication of his life style is is challenged. His grandfather suggest tell him that the proper way to live is to be obdeient in the face of the white people but to have disdain for them that you keep hidden. THe grandfather's way of presenting himself as a black man is more realisitic and aware. THe grandfather believes that it is important to appear to go along with what the white people say fro safety reason but to never forget what being a black person means and to keep that feeling of hatred and disdain as to never forget that as a black person, you are considered a second-class citizen and that you do not accept that

As the narrator finds his efforts complicated by the fact that he is a black man living in a racist American society, he struggles to arrive at a conception of his own identity. The narrator finds himself passing through a series of communities throughout the novel declaring a different idea of how blacks should behave in society. The narrator realizes that the prejudice of others causes them to see him only as they want to see him. The narrator says that he is invisible, which means that the world is filled with blind people who cannot see his true nature. The narrator forced the people to acknowledge him and to acknowledge the behaviors and beliefs outside of their expectations.

He didn’t have to “yes sir” and “yes ma’am” every white person because it was the status quo like his grandpa told him to do. At the end of the day, he was his own individual and that’s what everyone down south wanted him to understand. The job the narrator got injured at was a paint factory. The paint factory used black dope to create a pure white paint. It showed how black people became invisible as the white man came out on top. Unfortunately in the time of racism, the blacks were invisible but not blind. Before the exile from his home, the narrator was blind. Although the alienation was difficult, through adversities and tribulations, the pathway to the light became clearer. Even though he was unsure of exactly what he wanted, he was no longer blind and no longer blind. He was in his manhole underground waiting patiently for the answers he knew only he could answer. His experience from the deep sadness to the realization adds meaning to the book showing that even in racist times, one could get through it by knowing they’re an individual, their true worth and their own

So no matter what he does he remains “invisible”. He experiences racial conflict and discrimination from every angle, whites and blacks alike. One early morning as he walks through the streets of Harlem a woman refers to him as a “field-nigger” who is “coming up from the south and ruining things” (Ellison 328). She sees herself being part of a ‘higher class’ of blacks because she is assumed to be of both black and white descent. Although her and the narrator belong to the same race they are unable to reach a common ground based on the racial identities each aligned themself with.

Invisible man reveals a lot about America’s attitude on race, class, and activism. Invisible man uses the ironic alienation of it’s main character, known only to us as the narrator, to shed light on the complex and intrinsic hold racism has on the US, not only in the white community, but the black community as well. One of the central focuses of the book

Upon opening Ralph Waldo Ellison’s book The “Invisible Man”, one will discover the shocking story of an unnamed African American and his lifelong struggle to find a place in the world. Recognizing the truth within this fiction leads one to a fork in its reality; One road stating the narrators isolation is a product of his own actions, the other naming the discriminatory views of the society as the perpetrating force infringing upon his freedom. Constantly revolving around his own self-destruction, the narrator often settles in various locations that are less than strategic for a man of African-American background. To further address the question of the narrator’s invisibility, it is important not only to analyze what he sees in himself,