Literacy Analysis

African Americans are fighting for their lives in a war that they do not even know exist. In Ralph Ellison’s short story, “Battle Royal,” this idea is made clear by the narrators struggle to be seen as an equal among the white men in the story. Ellison uses a white woman, a blindfold, and an electric rug as symbols to illustrate the struggles African Americans face.

   The narrator in "Battle Royal," by Ralph Ellison, is confused and disillusioned. He is black man trapped in a world of cruelty and social inequality with nobody to guide him. He is being ripped apart in two directions by the advice of his grandfather and by the wishes of the white society which he longs to please. While attempting to satisfy their wishes, he forgets what is most important- his own dignity.

it makes for a brilliant piece of literature. Ellison defines the character of the Invisible

The story “Battle Royal”, by Ralph Ellison is about a young black man who has to overcome racial inequalities. The story opens with his grandfather dying words and leaving the family with words that stick with the main character for life. The main character, whose name in not mentioned, is very intelligent and because of this the prominent white businessmen ask him to give a speech at a hotel. Upon his arrival, the white men put him through many humiliating acts for their enjoyment. There is a boxing match and also an electric carpet, but the boy preservers through them all. At the end he is finally given a chance to deliver his speech. Although the men are being inattentive, the superintendent rewards the boy

In one way it is symbolic of the African Americans' struggle for equality throughout our nation's history. The various hardships that the narrator must endure, in his quest to deliver his speech, are representative of the many hardships that the blacks went through in their fight for equality.

In the short stories “The Lesson,” by Bambara and “Battle Royal,” by Ralph Ellison, the authors use the idea of race determining the social structure in America where blacks are the socially inferior. In the short story “The Lesson,” by Bambara through fictional characters makes a serious social commentary. In the short story “Battle Royal,” by Ralph Ellison shows weakness and disorder of black identity in the early 1900s through the subjection of his young black narrator to a series of monstrous treatments by white man.

In one way it is symbolic of the African Americans’ struggle for equality throughout our nation’s history. The various hardships that the narrator must endure, in his quest to deliver his speech, are representative of the many hardships that the blacks went through in their fight for equality.

Ultimately, the narrator realizes because of racial stereotypes, people see him for how they want to see him; he decides to be invisible. During the battle royal scene, the black men, including the narrator, transform into the racial stereotype of a violent animal, “The boys groped about like blind cautious crabs crouching to protect their mid-sections, their heads pulled in short against their shoulders…” (23). The men don’t realize they are acting like servile savages because they are wearing blindfolds; they are blinded by the truth. In addition, when the African-Americans try to collect the fake coins on the electrified ground, again they

In Ralph Ellison’s “Battle Royal”, two different victims of the prominent white men are portrayed: the greater known victim of the African American boys and the lesser female dancer. Both of these victim groups are relevant to the story, however one gets more recognition than the other. In the story, Ellison identifies racism and bigotry exerted by the white men onto the African American boys in a fist fight and electric rug scene. Before the physical torture of the boys, Ellison brings attention to the sexism and degrading actions toward a naked female dancer. The evils endured by the boys and the dancer are equally bad in their own right, although the female dancer’s are subdued. The female dancer endured the derogatory ideas of the men, their forcefulness, and their different emotional traumas.

Ellison once said, “Our social mobility was strictly, and violently, limited” (German 2). The black society is portrayed in a special way in “Battle Royal.” The boxing ring of the Battle symbolizes the confinement of blacks in their society (German 2). The whites are always superior, and the blacks are constantly held back and left fighting. “The story’s title, ‘Battle Royal,’ suggests that the incidents described in the narrative are just one battle in the ongoing racial war” (Brent 2). There is constant controversy between whites and blacks, so far as it is described as a war. In the grandfather’s speech, he describes it as a war, and he states that he wants the narrator to “keep up the good fight.” He then explains how the narrator should do so; he orders him “Live with your head in the lion’s

The advantages Ellison sought out being invisible was his ability to remain undetected in society. Ellison no longer faced the realities of being an African American male in a well discriminatory society. In doing so, the author found the more he remain undetected, the more he could advance the realities of his life. Ellison could overtly tune into a deeper setting no other individual could endure and this gave him great understanding. Being invisible also provided great luxury as Ellison lived rent free in his so called “hole”. In addition to living rent free, he was also able to continue his battle against the Monopolated Light and Power Company. The ability to go unnoticed and trick the company was evidently Ellison plot to seek revenge.

Ellison’s Battle Royal, allows the man within the story and, even the realistic society to see things from a different perspective. Growing up Ellison had two loving parent, who seemed to want nothing but the best for him. However, Ellison father

The story I have chosen to write my literary analysis on is Battle Royale", a short story by Ralph Ellison, written in 1952. This short story is the opening of a larger novel written by Ellison it is a story about a young black man, who has recently graduated high school. During the course of this story the boy’s grandfather dies and leaves the young man with some last words that he did not initially understand but close to the end of the story the words meaning become clearer to him. He lives in the south and is invited to give a speech at a gathering of the towns leading white citizens. Then the young man is made to take place in a battle royale with nine other young black men. Where they are treated very poorly and forced to endure terrible hardships. After taking part in the battle the young man gives a speech in front of a predominantly white crowd where he slips and says something that disturbs the crowd, the young man quickly corrects himself and then is praised by the people as a good black young man. The argument that I will be trying to address here is did the young man make the correct decision by accepting the white peoples praise and not speaking out against the injustice he had just been forced to endure. The reaction of the main character in this story depicts how not speaking up against injustice or racism is sometimes the best course of action.

Ralph Ellison’s short story, Battle Royal, is mainly a description of the African American struggle for equality and identity. The narrator of the story is an above average youth of the African American community [Goldstein-Shirlet, 1999]. He is given an opportunity to give a speech to some of the more prestigious white individuals. His expectations of being received in a positive and normal environment are drastically dashed when he is faced with the severity of the process he must deal with in order to accomplish his task. The continuing theme of Battle Royal is that of a struggle for one’s rights against great odds. Instances of this struggle are found throughout the story. Ellison highlights the vastness of the problems faced by the

In “Battle Royal” the narrator has graduated from high school and has been invited to attend an event “Battle Royal” to celebrate his and other young Black men’s graduation. The battle royal is the event, where the narrator attends and thought he would receive some award, but it shows his blindness to the total humiliation towards black men during that time. Many cases in the story show how the black men were being committed to both degrading and humiliating acts, in the boxing ring during the battle royal. The young men were forced into a boxing ring and blindfolded “Then it seemed as though all nine of the boys had turned upon me at once. Blows pounded me from all sides while I struck out as best I could” (Ellison 292). The young men were a threat to the white men, and they are making them engage in such violent acts, trying to prevent their identity’s growth.