Symbolism In Ralph Ellison's Battle Royal

Race relations in America is a very sensitive subject, and Battle Royal by Ralph Ellison captures several of the societal conflicts it presents. The central idea of focus is about the generational conflict about race relations between blacks and blacks, as well as blacks and whites. The main character provides reasoning for the internal struggle in his life, as he reflects on how the final words of his dyeing grandfather and the Battle Royal affected him`.

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 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

In the short story "The Black Ball" by Ralph Ellison, a father named John is desperately trying to hold onto his job as a hotel porter to support his child and initially ignores the entreaties of an eager white man who would like John to join a union. Ellison uses the symbolism of a child's toy to indicate the psychologically and economically constrained world of African-Americans. Despite his apparent intelligence, John has no hopes of finding an occupation other than menial labor. He is afraid to aspire to greater heights, and is saddened by the lesson he fears his child must learn in American society, that black is inevitably regarded as inferior to white. However, over the course of the story, John gradually learns that he must put his old fears aside.

The scramble for money on the electric rug is a turning point in the story. He finally turns his focus away from his upcoming speech, and he is only worried about getting the gold pieces off of the rug. He loses control of his bodily functions due to the electric shocks, which turn the boys into animals. They start clawing each other and biting each other to get to the money, while the men watch howling with laughter and amusement. This is another example of the black boys and their physical humiliation being used as a source of entertainment. The protagonist starts trying to think of ways to get one of the white men onto the rug, which shows that he is not in awe of them as much as he was before. This shows that he is beginning to think of revenge towards his white adversaries. These actions also hint that he may be subconsciously aware of a meaning to his grandfather's words.

The author of the story Battle Royal, Ralph Ellison was born on March 1, 1914 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, studied music before moving to New York City and working as a writer. He published his bestselling, acclaimed first novel Invisible Man in 1952; it would be seen as a seminal work on marginalization from an African-American protagonist's perspective. Ellison's unfinished novel Juneteenth was published posthumously in 1999 (biography.com).

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.

"Battle Royal" "Battle Royal," by Ralph Ellison was a very difficult piece of literature for me to understand. As a little background information, Ellison was very much into music (228). He was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on March 1, 1914 (221). Different themes are presented throughout this short story, which reflect different views that Ellison had at the time that he wrote this essay. One boy is invited to speak at local men’s club where he will deliver his graduation speech. As I go on, I will discuss the nature of the short story and how it affected me. The narrator’s view of this entire situation at the men’s club is kind of humiliating which will later set the stage for events that will

The native Africans' heritage and way of life were forever altered by the white slave drivers who took them into captivity in the 18th century. Along with their freedom, slaves were also robbed of their culture and consequently their identities. They became property instead of people, leaving them at the hands of merciless slave owners. Their quest to reclaim their stolen identities was a long and difficult struggle, especially in the years following the Civil War and the subsequent release of their people from bondage. In Ralph Ellison's 1948 short story "Battle Royal," he uses the point of view of a young black man living in the south to convey the theme of racial identity crisis that faced African Americans in the United States

Symbolism is an effective method authors can use to portray a deeper meaning beyond the surface of a story’s plotline. Different characters, settings, and objects can serve as a symbol that represents a bigger picture. Ralph Ellison does a great job using symbolism throughout the story “Battle Royal”. Ellison wrote “Battle Royal” in 1947 to show the different obstacles African Americans had to endure during this time period. Oppression and slavery were widespread during this time. Throughout the story the reader can identify situations that can be analyzed beyond the surface.

The short story “Battle Royal” written by Ralph Ellison is believed to be set around the mid 60’s in the south within the Jim Crow community. The narrator is a young, naive black male who on his graduation day delivered a tremendous speech, which caught the attention of his community. From here the young man was invited to deliver his speech at a high profile gathering of the town’s most respected white citizens. Unbeknown to him the opportunity to deliver his speech wasn’t secure and it wouldn’t come easy. Before he would have this opportunity he would have to fight against nine fellow black citizens of the town. Then go on to face more torture, as they

The excerpt “Battle Royal” from the novel Invisible Man connects to many other poems’ mood and tone from its era. Zora Neale Hurston’s short story How It Feels to Be Colored Me shows relation to “Battle Royal” by its overall tone. In the stories the main characters are both put into uncomfortable positions dealing with racism. Both Zora and the narrator of “Battle Royal” are determined to remain themselves to deal situation at hand. “I feel most colored when I am thrown against a sharp white background… But through it I remain myself” (How It Feels to Be Colored Me paragraph 7). The same tone is held in “Battle Royal”, “I will stand on the mg to deliver my speech…I tremble with excitement, forgetting my pain” (Invisible Man). Along the same

“Battle Royal” written by Ralph Ellison depicts the story of young African American man fighting his way through life. The way the protagonist got his scholarship was outrageous because he faced a huge struggle and discrimination. Being a brightest and intelligent man in the black community, the protagonist faced a lot of racism in white America. The protagonist lived in a society where white people had all the powers and the black people were their puppets. The protagonist had two choices to success in his life. One choice was to lead his grandfather’s life that was not to please white man and other was to follow the laws and regulations of white people. According to critic Liz Brent “young African-American men are being treated as trained animals – they are being taught by white society how to perform, how to speak, for the entertainment and edification of white people” (Brent 35).

The short story “Battle Royal” by Ralph Ellison was retrieved from The Invisible Man. The story was written in the 19th century when the time was not in favor of people of color.

Just let me be great! I am trying to be the best that I can be and it seems that it is never enough. In “Battle Royal” The main character experiences some things that will change his view of a black man forever. With the last words of his grandfather lingering in the back of his mind, he is confused and trying to find himself. He focuses on education and thinks this will be his way out but he has a huge reality check on the night he goes to deliver his speech. This Intelligent, respectful, and handsome young man is here to deliver his speech but quickly realizes it is not what he thought, while being beaten to a pulp he still focuses on his speech, and no matter what he does, he is still a nigga.