Stereotyping In 'Battle Royal And I Hated Tonto'

   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.

Throughout his letter, King talks about how unfair the white Americans were towards the black nation, he talks about the disrespect, unfair and unjust treatment the black community had received from the white Americans. In the letter King’s response is very moving and effective to the readers, he has achieved this by effective use of language, stylistic devices such as the use of imagery, similes and metaphors, and by using

James Baldwin “Sonny’s Blues” and “Battle Royal” Ralph Ellison are two stories by young african american men in the 50’s. Racial abuse was in abundance during this era. In both stories race has an important role however, in “Battle Royal” Ellison used race as the driving force of the story. In “Sonny’s Blues” Baldwin uses race as an important theme but is subtle as opposed to Ellison who directly addresses race as the issue. “Sonny’s Blues” and “Battle Royal” depicted the suffering of young black men in harlem, and illustrated the struggle of generation past and present; and the vicious cycle of the stereotype of african americans. African americans during this time endured in environment of hatred, but not only by whites but also by themselves, they hated who they were because they weren't white, in order for a person to be accepted in society or seen as valuable african americans believed they had to be white.

The 1987 film documentary Ethnic Notions directed by Marlon Riggs, identifies the evolution of African American cultural depictions through ethnic stereotypes and caricatures in American culture. I feel Ethnic Notions exposes the roots of false generalization from the beginning and presents a series of classifications for racial depictions that still are noticeable in today's society. These racial depictions identified with in this film begin in the mid 1800's and continue thought to the 1960's. I now after viewing Ethnic notions agree that there are generalizations and depictions that are exaggerated in American popular culture and entertainment.

In this story he was a young black man who recently graduated from high school and was given an opportunity to giving a speech to the towns established white leaders. To him, this was a great opportunity for him to become visible in the eyes of whites. He had high hopes of gaining acceptance that in turn would lead to a brighter future. He had no idea that the humiliation that he would have to go through in order to fulfill this opportunity. When he arrived, he was told that in order for him to give his speech, he would have to take part in the entertainment known as the battle royal, by being blindfolded and put into a boxing ring with nine other black men that he had went to school with and beat each other to a pulp. During the battle, not only did he have to deal with being beat up, he also had to endure the racial slurs such as, "Let me at those black sonsabitches; I want to get at that ginger-colored nigger. Tear him limb from limb” (Ellison, 4), that came from the drunken white men that he was trying to gain acceptance from. Although they allowed him to give his speech, they continued to humiliate him throughout his speech. It is amazing the lengths that one would go through to obtain

“Battle Royal” provides a realistic portrait of the difficulty of being a black person in a

In Ralph Ellison’s “Battle Royal,” the narrator begins with an old memory that haunts him; his grandfather’s last words to his family. Though the old man lived a quiet life in the shadows of the white man, he tells them to do the same, but also to not get undermined by them and be a “spy in the enemy’s country.” The speaker transitions to a specific night that he lived through the day after his graduation. Due to his brilliance and accelerated knowledge he is invited to a “smoker” event where all the topnotch white men go to smoke, drink, and for their peculiar entertainment. The event begins with young black men being rounded up as cattle and forced to witness a naked woman sensually dance for the men. As all men are aroused the white men

Ellison’s use of language helps imply the animalistic treatment of the young fighters (German). A writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, Michael Eric Dyson, is thoroughly amazed by Ellison’s wordplay by saying, “He spoke elegantly of the beautiful absurdity of the American identity (Dyson).” The choice of words Ellison navigate through America’s history of ideas (Dyson). The portrayal of fighters emphasize the fact that “blacks” were socially inferior. White’s would of never thought to view blacks in the same “league” with them. At this time, no one could imagine the battle royal happening with white’s fighting with an animalistic intentions, while rich, black men sat smoking cigars, cheering for brutality. By using nouns and adjectives, the description of the young fighting has a deeper, harsher connotation.

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

Prejudice, the chain of hatred and ignorance, has haunted our history at every step. In the twenty-first century prejudice and its destruction can be viewed in many forms of modern literature. Two of the most famous and rejoiced literatures that examine the theme of prejudice are Harper Lee’s realist fiction novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and Martin Luther King’s heart warming speech ‘I Have a Dream’. Both texts explore the theme of prejudice of white Americans on the Blacks in the racially tense times of the early twentieth century. Unlike Harper Lee, Martin Luther King goes a step further to persuade the audience that there is prejudice present and we should be motivated to stop this evil from blossoming in our world.

These signs of oppression are prevalent in “Battle Royal,” where the white citizens are described as “big shots” and “important men of the town” (Ellison, 1412). On the other hand, our narrator and his peers are described in degrading, derogatory terms such as “ginger-colored nigger” and “black bastard” (Ellison, 1414). There is obviously a dominant group and a “lesser” group within the community. Wright describes this domination as a “cycle of institutionalized white supremacy in America”

The subject of racism has been a lively topic for racial debate with scholars examining the treatment of various types of discrimination based on race, religion or gender in literary works as well as in the attitudes of the writers themselves. In some works critics have revealed racist attitudes that serve as underlying assumptions, while in Calling Me Home, racism is the chief theme.

In the story of “Battle Royal” there are several themes that run through the story, the most important theme is racism, with ambition and humility being secondary themes. The story begins with the narrator clarifying his grandparents were once slaves and “about eight five years ago they were told they were free, united with other of our country in everything pertaining to the common good, and in everything social, separate like the fingers of the hand” (Ellison 1). It was the grandfather that told the narrators father, “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 1). Told of his grandfather’s last word, the narrator endeavors to live up to the expectations of his grandfather’s powerful words spoken upon on his death bed. “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, le ‘em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open.” (Ellison 1). In the story, a young black man gives a speech on the day of his graduation, all the time thinking, “I showed that humility was the secret, indeed, the very essence of progress”. He remembered what his grandfather had said before he died, and he felt that humility worked. The young black man was praised and was invited to give his speech to the leading

“Battle Royal” is a story about a young man’s experience fighting in a battle royal. The story is told as a coming of age story containing flashbacks to lead up to different events within the story. In the story the narrator is a young man who is raised by his father and mother. He is introduced to his culture and his family background of slavery. His grandfather was a slave himself and on the day he passes away he mentions to the narrator’s father, “I have been a traitor all my born days” (Ellison 418). The grandfather describes how he was a traitor because he respected, agreed with, and understood whites. The narrator grows up with a sense of guilt with this comment from his grandfather because he is praised by the white men

Ellison 286). Then the character wakes up with his grandfather’s laughter in his ear. This relates to an earlier incident when the narrator was given a scholarship in an envelope. The narrator had gotten beaten and later received this envelope.The words “Keep This Nigger-Boy Running” essentially means for the narrator to keep going and the advice the narrator’s grandfather gave his working. If the narrator keeps conforming to the whites, the blacks can get a head in society and segregation can be limited or even abolished.