The Battle Royal

A detailed Summary of The Battle Royal


Ralph Ellison's "The Battle Royal," shows the relationship between the white and black community in the 1940s. Ellison has the narrator believing that he overcame the stereotypical black man when he is "invited to give a speech at a gathering of the town's leading white citizens" (579). Only to find out, he is just "part of the entertainment" (579). Ellison uses the events of "the battle royal" to symbolize the battles the black society had to endure while trying obtain "social equality" (586).

The Civil War gave blacks their freedom, but the white society did not allow the black society to embrace their new found freedom or the American dream. A white naked woman is used to symbolize the American dream, which the black community could partake of. Be fore the battle royal all of the fighters are ushered "to the front of the ballroom... [where] a sea of faces, some hostile, some amused, ringed around [the fighters], and in the cent


Blacks face many struggles in their own society. Ellison symbolizes the interracial fighting instead of become united with the battle royal. As all ten fighters are " order to get into the ring" they felt like "there was nothing to do but what [they] were told" (581). They "[climb] under the rope and [allow themselves] to be blindfolded" (581). The white men are ready "for the battle royal to begin," the main entertainment of the evening (581). The narrator states, "Quite a struggles was going on. Chairs were being kicked about and I could hear voices grunting as with terrific effort" (581). When the battle royal states the narrator hears " the sound of feet scuffling forward [then a] glove [smacks] against [his] head" (581). The narrator states, "Everyone fought hysterically. It was complete anarchy. Everybody fought everybody else. No group fought together for to long" (582). The white men find entertainment out of the fighters and their pain. The

Some common words found in the essay are:
Civil War, Royal Freedom, Battle Royal, Kill Kill, battle royal, american dream, black society, white society, black community, freedom white society, society black, white community, 581 narrator, 582 white, naked woman,

Approximate Word count = 648
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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