Battle Royal
Everyday , racism is perceived as one of the most negative aspects of society . When people think of racism , they obviously see hatred , evil , and ignorance . It has been a part of world culture since recorded history and , no doubt , before that . When one thinks of racism in the United States , invariably , though not only , the struggle of the African-American is singled out . That is the main issue Ellison so powerfully addresses in his short story "Battle Royal". In it the author allows us to see the world through the eyes of a young black boy who is struggling to succeed in a predominantly white society . The thing that is absolutely essential to our understanding of the story is the understanding of this "rich" character . In this study I will try to analyze some of his traits (invisibility-lack of indentity , blindness) and his journey from idealism to a grim realism about the racism that confronts him in the story. All my life I had been looking for something , and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was . I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I , and only I , could answer . It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations
Some believe that through difficulty and oppression, people are truly able to find themselves. In my opinion . in the case of the main character in this short story , this is completely true and through his experiences he has been able to discover himself and the reality around him . He goes through that moment of insight , discovery , revelation by which his life is greatly altered ( epiphany ) . The black boy tries to accomplish his goal of succeeding in life by adhering to his grandfather's dying words : "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 , let 'em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open " (449 ) . Grandfather was telling him to conform to white people because in that time that was the only way to excel . But he also said that he , who was "a quiet old man that never made any trouble" , was "a traitor and a spy( 449 ). At the beginning of the story the narrator is not sure what the meaning of those words is . They haunt him throughout the story and eventually become clear in his dream in the end (epiphany) . In the dream, he is in a circus where he does not laugh at clowns. His grandfather is there, and his briefcase contains an envelope, which contains an envelope, and continues with a nearly endless cycle. When he opens the last, it encloses a paper which his grandfather makes him read aloud . It says, "Keep This Nigger- Boy Running" (459) . The message points out that with all of his apparent success, the main character is run around, without meaning, by whites. He is living through their lives for their lives, and he has no real freedom or equality. The phrase "Keep This Nigger- Boy Running" echoes the grandfather's deathbed
Some common words found in the essay are:
Battle Royal, Boy Running, ROYAL Everyday, battle royal, main character, black boy, nigger- boy, nigger- boy running, Nigger- Boy, agree 'em death, white society, contains envelope, agree 'em, overcome 'em, 'em death, short story,
Approximate Word count = 1188
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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