"Battle Royal"

"Battle Royal", by Ralph Ellison, explores the difficulties black men faced in the pre-civil rights era. Before the civil rights movement began to end segregation and to end the oppression of black men and women, American culture still viewed African Americans as inferior people. Throughout the South and in other American cities, blacks were still treated as if they were lesser citizens or even as quasi slaves. Ellison’s short story explores the effects segregation had on the black men and how dehumanizing racism truly is. Racism not only affects those who are targeted, but it also affects the source. "Battle Royal" exemplifies the degradation and dehumanization of society through the personal experiences of a young black man.

In the few opening paragraphs, we are introduced to the narrator through the recollection of his grandfather’s death. In the short sequence of events, the narrator first begins to question his outlook on life when his grandfather last words are, "Our life is a war and I have been a traitor all my born days, a spy in the enemy’s country" (2). Since his grandfather was an outstanding member of the community and in many ways just like him, the narrator cannot understand why the old man would chose to confess to such terrible deeds. Throughout the rest of his childhood, the narrator is uneasy about his success in the white community and his "desirable conduct". Every praise he receives the narrator can only think of his grandfather’s last chilling words. Yet after many years of absent submission to the white community, the narrator finally realizes first hand of his subservient role to the white men.

For many years after his grandfather’s death, the narrator is oblivious to his last powerful words. After his experiences in the hotel with the leading white members of the community, he soon learns that he is not an equal in the white community. When the young black men are first lead into the hotel, they are ushered through the elevators and rooms as if they were mere cattle. They are treated as if they are unwelcome foreigners as they cluster together when they enter the room full of drunken white men. To their surprise, the leading white town officials are all at the party and are drinking heavily. As they are further ushered past aggressive and jeering white men, the narrator recollects that, "I almost wet my pants" as he makes his way on to the stage and in front of the white crowd. Again, the black men are surprised to find a stark naked white woman right in front of their eyes. At the time, it was social taboo that black men should desire a white woman and the white men in the crowd threaten the narrator as he glances over her. As the woman starts to dance, the white men turn into animals as they attempt to grab her and carry her off. Although the men had acted so poorly towards the blacks, the woman’s abuse further shows how animalistic the drunken men are. Once the woman leaves, the men turn their attention back towards the blacks and force them into the boxing ring.

As the narrator is blind folded and forced to fight, he begins to see the power the whites have over him. The narrator is a mere spectacle and a form of sick entertainment for the white men. By forcing the blacks to fight, the men are exercising their control over every aspect of the black’s lives. Although they are free men, the whites attempt to display their superiority over them as they treat them like puppets. The blacks are told to fight each other, so without question the young men do as they are told. By forcing the men to fight each other for no reason, the whites are displaying their total control over the black men’s lives. Even as the narrator tries to reason with Tatlock to end the mindless fight, Tatlock refuses to even listen to the narrator’s bargains. Tatlock's only concern is to fight because the white men told him to do so. After the fight, the white men further dehumanize themselves and the blacks by forcing them to fight over a few dollars. As the men electrocute themselves fighting over the coins, the white men jeer and lash out against any of the blacks who do not participate. After the opening "festivities", the narrator is brought forward to give a speech. During his oration, the white men constantly laugh and yell over him. When the narrator talks of social equality the room falls silent. The white men begin to shout threatening remarks until the narrator explains that he only misspoke. Again, the whites show that even talking about social equality is not acceptable. At the end of his speech, the men award the narrator a scholarship and begin to praise him for his accomplishments. Even after all that had happened to him that night, the narrator was blinded by what appeared to be a token of appreciation. However, in reality the scholarship was only another control the white men believed they had over the narrator. The white men believed that they were the only ones that had the power to send him to school. If they chose too, they could help anyone they wished because they were in complete control. At the end of the night, not only were the blacks dehumanized by the white’s forced humiliation, but also the white men’s racist actions showed how cruel and animalistic men could be.

By the end of the short story, the narrator finally realizes what his grandfather’s dying words meant. For all of the old man’s life, he had been subservient to the white man’s control and did nothing to combat it. Just like the narrator, the old man never lashed out against the segregation and degradation he faced from the whites. The old man and the narrator alike were viewed as outstanding, quiet, desirable members of the community only because they submitted to the white man’s racism and control. At the end of his grandfather’s life, the old man finally regretted his complacence and hoped that his grandson would not make the same mistakes he did. After the narrator realizes that the white men had used him and that his scholarship is another control by the white men over his life, he finally sees that his life is second in importance to the white man’s desires. (1082)