Battle Royal- Ralph Ellison

Abstract: In the beginning, the narrator describes his grandfather. He said that some people thought he was odd. His grandfather also stayed in his place in society when he was given freedom. On his death bed, his grandfather said how he was a traitor and that his family needed to keep up the fight. He wanted them to overcome them (whites). He then died. His grandfather's last word stayed with the narrator. He would always be haunted by what he meant. The narrator then goes on to become valedictorian of his high school. On graduation day, he spoke about how humility was the secret of progress. He was then supposed to say his speech the next night at a gathering of the town's leading white citizens. When he got there, he discovered that he was to fight in the battle royal before he gave his speech. When they got to the room to fight, there was a naked woman there. The boys didn't know how to act because some of the men told them to look while others told them not to. When the woman left, they began to fight. They were all blindfolded, and they then fought each other. Eight of the boys eventually left the ring, and the narrator was left to fight the last guy. He lost the fight. When they were done, they were told to pick up money off of a rug in the middle of the room. When they went to pick up the money, they discovered that the rug would electrocute them. Some of the white men would even push the boys onto the rug to see them squirm. The whole time though the boys would laugh. When they were done with that, they were all given their prizes. It was then the narrator's turn to speak. When he was speaking, people weren't really paying attention, and they would taunt him. The boy's superintendent then came up and gave the boy a briefcase. In the briefcase, there was a scholarship to a black college. The boy was extremely excited. When he got home, his family was excited too. The boy also did not let his grandfather's last words spoil his triumph which he usually let happen. That night though he had a dream. In the dream, the boy was with his grandfather. His grandfather gave him a brief case and told him to open it. When he did, there was an envelope. In each envelope, there were more envelopes. He then opened one. In it there was a short message that said, "To Whom It May Concern Keep This Nigger-Boy Running." When he woke up, the boy could still hear his grandfather laughing. This dream the narrator would remember forever. At time he said he had no idea what it meant. He first had to go to college.

Response: This story is very disturbing. It depicts the conflict that black people faced in their life. It was either to go along with the whites or to try to forge their own identities and not be oppressed by whites. This is very evident in the story. The narrator's grandfather said how he was a traitor. I think he meant that he was a traitor to his race and should not have let the white people oppress him. He wants his family to do a better job than he did instead of just trying to please white people. The narrator doesn't get this though. He wants to be just like his grandfather and be liked by the whites. When he goes to the fight and sees the naked woman this is evident. He is attracted to woman, but he shouldn't look at her because she is white and black men weren't supposed to look at white woman. He is also completely disrespected by the white people. He gives a speech about how humility will work towards progress, but in reality it won't. By not standing up for themselves, black people would have just been further oppressed and looked down upon by whites. The narrator did not get this when his grandfather told him to fight against whites. The narrator was treated horribly, but he was still happy when he got the scholarship even though the white people had just finished making a joke of him. It was ironic how he was speaking about how humility was important while he was being humiliated. I think when he keeps speaking even though people are laughing he is just adding more to the white peoples feeling of power over blacks. Also when he just keeps swallowing his blood, he is just swallowing his dignity. When he his grandfather gives him the briefcase in his dream and the note that says, "To Whom It May Concern Keep This Nigger-Boy Running," the boy doesn't really know what this means. I think that it means that white people want black people to always keep 'running.'By running, I think it means that they want black people to run away from trying to be like whites. They want them to accept that they are not like white people. It may also mean that no matter how much a black person may try to be respected by whites it will never work because white people will never accept them. That may be why the grandfather is laughing because he sees that is what the white people did to him, and it didn't work which is why he wants his family and his grandson to fight against them and not be a traitor to their race. This story could also be a reflection of the author's take on how society viewed him. Ralph Ellison was black, and he may have felt that society looked down upon him. He may have also felt invisible like the narrator did because no one really paid attention to him. He also could have felt invisible because white people thought that he didn't deserve respect and just looked over him.