Theme, Theme And Themes InBattle Royal, By Ralph Ellison

After the battle in the boxing ring, the black men are told that they are now able to receive their compensation for the fight. The catch, however, is that their coins, gold pieces, and bills are all thrown onto a rug that is electrified. The narrator says, “We snatched and grabbed, snatched and grabbed. I was careful not to come too close to the rug now” (Ellison 9). The narrator later says, “I discovered the gold pieces I had scrambled for were brass pocket tokens advertising a certain make of automobile” (Ellison 13). These men were thrown onto an electrified rug and shocked for the amusement of the white men watching. The blacks simply wanted the money, the compensation for the torture they had endured that day. The rug in this story illustrates that African Americans are made to struggle and work extremely hard for the little that they receive in

   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.

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

Both narrators are young blacks who run into adults. The narrator from “Battle Royal,” identifies himself as a “ginger-colored nigger”(pg.1152) who has distinguished himself in school, and who has given a superb speech at

In Ralph Ellison’s short story “Battle Royal,” the experiences of a Black narrator, specifically those molded by the brutal hands of anti-black violence, paint a pessimistic outlook on race relations and the ability for marginalized individuals to overcome the oppressive structures embedded in civil society. To construct this commentary, the text employs symbolism to communicate the ways in which systemic and structural anti-blackness suppresses and oppresses Black communities.

Black men in America are in a constant state of one-sided battling. It has become a never ending struggle where they must continuously fight the odds set against them. Ralph Ellison conveys this message in his short story “Battle Royal” using two main literary devices. Learned diction is Ellison’s main tool for demonstrating this fight, using it as both a method of describing the intensity of the character’s conflicts and as a weapon to defend himself in his own fight. The other device is the author’s extremely frequent use of overwrought similes. For how else is Ellison to compare the fight he and every other black man has faced than by comparing it to what anyone else would know?

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

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.

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 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

The narrator in Ellison’s “Battle Royal” is the main character reflecting on his past told from his point of view. He is speaking in the first person as he reflects back on his life. Ellison uses the first person narrative to emphasize the irony of the innocence in the narrators mind during the course of the events as he relays them. He is relaying the story how it occurred; he is not making any judgments, just telling. As a reader we are able to feel how wrong his perceptions are.

Ralph Ellison’s “Battle Royal” is an excerpt from his book Invisible Man, and throughout out this short story Ellison tells a great story about a nameless boy. The story starts off with the narrator speaking about the life of his grandfather, and how he led people to freedom after the Civil War because he thought they were spate but equal. He tells us that later his grandfather lived a meek and quite life after he was freed. Now, the narrator lives a life just like his grandfather, submissive to the white population. Then, the narrator tells us about his high school speech. In his speech, he urges blacks to be submissive to whites because that is the key to the advancement of the black population. The speech is so popular that he is invited to present the speech at a gathering of the white population’s leading citizens.

“Battle Royal” by Ralph Ellison talks about a young, ginger-colored man, who feels contradicted on how he should act in a society where people of color are still oppressed, and at the same time where the word “equality” is a sensitive expression. The protagonist, who is remained nameless and “invisible” throughout the narrative, is the narrator of the whole story and he describes that, “He was an odd old guy, my grandfather, and I am told I take after him” (Ellison 1142). This points out that our young protagonist might have been a modest and timid person, because his grandfather “had been the meekest of men” (1142). Just before reaching his last breathe, his grandfather confesses about being a traitor and “a spy in the enemy’s country” (1142). To the protagonist, “It was as though he had not died at all, his words caused so much anxiety” (1143). His

The protagonist struggles with, what was said to his father by his grandfather and how they should live after he had gone. The grandfather left a set of instruction for the family to follow and to live by for survival, he said, “after I'm gone I want you to keep up the good fight” (p. 311)”. Some can say that the grandfather was letting them know, although they should all be equal, the African Americans are not at the same level as the more dominate race and need to act accordingly. He tells them “I have been a traitor all my born days, a spy in the enemy's country” (p. 311)” this was how he