My Grandfather Essay

  The  screaming and angry comments are made from a personal state of mind. Parents do and go through more than what most teens could imagine. My grandfather was one. My grandfather, Jesse was a strong, emotionally and physically. Apart from all the laughs and smiles, he is one of the most adventurous men  Ive ever met. To be realistic, no one's life is perfect with only happiness. In his early years, life was pretty rough for him growing up. His life consisted of hard work. He was only human to manage through such horrible events he had to go through. Such adventures formed my grandpa into the strong man he was.

“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)

We were all humans until race disconnected us, religion separated us, politics divided us, and wealth classified us.” – Anonymous. In “Battle Royal” Ralph Ellison, displays that African-Americans being freed from slavery did not bring them equality to the white-superiors using allegory and symbolism. The grandfathers last words, the desperation of the narrator wanting to read his speech, the battle and the nightmare all represent what Ellison is displaying. The narrator opens to the audience explaining his grandfather’s last word to his father. Some of what the grandfather says is, " Live with your head in the lion's mouth. I want you to overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em with grins, agree 'em to death and destruction.” (2) The grandfathers last words show symbolism and appear to the narrator’s life throughout the story. What the grandfather is telling his son is to step on rocks and pebbles while he is with the white people. He is telling him to live with the fact that the whites can end him at any moment and to always say yes and nod at them. To always smile and never show anger for your life could get worse.

In the last paragraph of “Battle Royal” the narrator describes a dream he has of his grandfather and him at a circus where he reads a letter he finds within the briefcase the white men at the Battle Royal gave him. The letter reads, “To Whom It May Concern, Keep This Nigger-Boy Running (271).” It isn’t stated in this paragraph what the letter means, and the narrator implies he didn’t understand its meaning until after he attended college. This use of foreshadowing confronts the narrator’s current and future experiences with racism through the multiple meanings that can be implied from the letter. “Keep This Nigger-Boy Running,” could be a reference to the narrator’s continual attempts to adopt white cultural values and gain white acceptance, which can be seen as his running from his African American community and blackness. This statement could also be thought of as an allusion to runaway slaves during the pre civil war era, where the letter could be referring to the narrator as a runaway slave, possibly running toward college or some other place trying to escape from the racism and racial stereotyping he is subject to in his

As the narrator’s grandfather explains, he has been “a traitor for all [his] born days, a spy in the enemy’s country” because internally, he has continued to resist, while externally remaining “the meekest of men” (1211). Meekness is not a weakness but a necessary survival mechanism for African Americans: direct action will lead to more restrictions, so they must comply to receive any opportunity possible of moving up in society. The narrator understands that his compliance “[is] really against the wishes of the white folk” who “[are] fooled” but feels conflicted about whether to act to their expectations or his own desires (1212). However, the white community is more aware of African American resistance than he believes and actively suppresses it through a combination of debasement and concessions. When the narrator accidently utters social equality, a citizen reminds him that “[he’s] got to know [his] place,” highlighting that the white citizens are not only aware of racial inequality but will not do anything to change it (1220).

Several times the author alludes to the narrator’s naivety and ignorance of how he, as a black man, was viewed in society. The narrator first shows that he believes he makes his own decisions, when in reality he is manipulated by white men at the club, “Blindfolded, I could no longer control my motions.”(p.22). Moreover, he thinks that his perception of the world is clear and is confused at the lack of respect he is afforded, “I was unused to darkness.”(p.21). By foul actions of the men the narrator looked up to, his bright world is destroyed and all that is left is the darkness; a brutal realization of what it means to be black.

His words of wisdom were that in order to play the white man’s game you have to kill them with kindness, don’t give them any reason to beat you down. The narrator realized that early on in life that in order to make it in the world he would have to play the white man’s game, by smiling, using his manners, and killing them with kindness, to get where he wanted to go and what he needed to get ahead in life. After the fight was over when the narrator was giving his speech to the men, he slurred his words and said “equality” which brought silence. The man in the front said, you sure that bout ‘equality’ was a mistake?’ “Well, you had better speak more slowly so we can understand. We mean to do right by you, but you’ve got to know your place at all times.” (Ellison 213). The narrator had to swallow his pride and his beliefs for the moment. Now he understood what his grandfather was saying about being a traitor and a spy in the enemy’s country. He was playing their game, but ultimately he would win. He would overcome his obstacle and he would get an

The Narrator states “Live with your head in the lion's mouth. I want you to overcome em…” (180). The narrator lived in a time of a white supremacist and the grandpa advised him to play it safe. Follow all of their rules, and do not rebel against them. This allows us to see that blacks

The grandfather is referring to the fight that the two races are battling. His grandfather was a “traitor” because he did not fight the oppression put in place by the caucasians forcing them to “know their place”. This is the same reason why the narrator is popular among the influential men in town. The narrator does not fight the oppression, but instead makes do with what he

The words of Ellison’s grandpa when he passed away show that he was very impressive, intelligent, and conscious of the social equality of the black race. However, “His words caused so much anxiety. I was warned emphatically to forget what he had said” describes that his grandpa’s powerful and enlightened words last an instant and disappear immediately. His grandfather was very visible with his last words and behaviors how he acted in his way to express himself and to get over racial discrimination to the white people. His family was apprehensive and frightened of the grandfather calling himself a traitor and a spy to the white people, Ellison didn’t feel safe under his grandfather’s advice and was afraid of the curse.

Shortly before his grandfather passes away he asks after his son and utters some words to him “Son, after I’m gone I want you to keep up the good fight. I never told you, but our life is a war and I have been a traitor all my born days, a spy in the enemy’s country ever since I give up my gun back in the Reconstruction…” (Ellison 418) The young mans parents warned him to ignore his grandfather last words but he just couldn’t get it out of his mind, to the young man those words haunted him like a curse. The grandfather went on to say, “Live with your head in the lion’s mouth. I want you to overcome ‘em with yeses, and undermine ‘em with grins, agree ‘em to death and destruction, let ‘em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open.” (Ellison 418) The young man didn’t quite know how to interpret those words from his grandfather but at this stage he could follow only one of two choices. One to either follow his grandfathers life and not try to impress the white citizens of the small town; or the two, to follow the white men’s laws and desires and just live the life the white men believed that black men of that society should lead. This communications vastly about the generation the short story was written in and how the African American people of that generation felt as if they had to act a certain way to be accepted within the white

The grandfather’s death had a major impact on the narrator’s life. As the grandfather passed away he stated, “Son, after I’m gone I want you to keep up the good fight… Live with your head in the lion’s mouth… Let’em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open” (Ellison, 1495). These words seem to act as spiritual guidance for the narrator. Throughout the story the readers see the narrator refer back to these words. The grandfather dies with a legacy that haunts blacks regardless of social, political, and economic progress.

I think the person who has had the most profound effect on my life besides my parents is my grandfather. I never realized before how much of an effect he had on my interests and goals for the future. Years ago, he used to tell me stories about historical events and experiences he had fighting in Vietnam and my great grandfather fighting in World War 2. His vivid descriptions always made it so interesting and, in some cases, more light-hearted than what actually happened. To this day he still has more stories to tell me, and never fails to captivate my interest. In doing this, he opened my eyes to my biggest interest, history, and encouraged me to pursue this interest throughout school. I feel like it would help to give a short summary of his life and how it affected me.

My grandfather was a disorganized workaholic, a good listener, and a brave man. He was, according to one of his students, “… the Indiana Jones of linguistics.” I love that man because of what I have learned about him. I knew my grandfather when he was sick, but like many Parkinson’s patients, he had been changed by his illness, so when I knew him, he seemed more like a moving body than a person. When I was born, his sense of direction had already left, his muscles had already started to stiffen, and his coping abilities had eroded considerably.

“I can’t believe that’s true!” I exclaimed, my laughter echoing through the room. My grandpa and I had been chatting on the phone for the past half an hour. You would imagine a man his age would be boring and dull. However, he was quite the joker. At least with me, since I was, of course, his favorite granddaughter.