African American Theory: “The Battle Royal” Final Draft

The Battle for Equality 

Illustration of the violent scene of "The Battle Royal"

        From the end of the eighteen hundreds to the beginning of the twentieth century, the African American community held notable figures that contributed to society concerning civil rights, and politics, and economic equality in America. A figurehead one can highlight for these traits is Booker T. Washington. He inspired, taught, and advocated for African Americans, and left a great legacy. In his works, African American author Ralph Ellison took his perspective on Washington's ideals. Washington supported equal economic opportunities for African Americans along with the chance to attend higher education. The lack of resources and opportunity due to oppression in the South caused these societies to be unstable. He crafted an eye-opening novel that addressed the social issues and conflicts one would face in that period through a dramatic conflict between white men and the narrator. Ellison develops the narrator in “Battle Royal”  to embody the traits of  Booker T. Washington's stance on equality for African Americans through concepts like conformity, self-effacement, and education.

Ralph Ellison

     Ellison introduces the idea of a “go along to get along” ideation early in the short story. The narrators grandfather final words stated, “‘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.’” (Ellison 335). This leaves the narrator with an inner battle to conform to the white man, counteracting prejudice. This opens up a conversation about internalized racism within the narrator. He feels inferior to his community because he addresses his behavior to the white folks and examines how the interactions made him feel confused. He made it seem as though he was tip-toeing around them, trying to prove himself through his success especially academically. This creates an image of low self-worth within the narrator. The narrator admits that conformity had a significant effect on him and led him to influence his behavior with white folks. Washington had a similar thought, “Washington felt that Negros could best succeed in America by conforming to the prescriptions of entrenched white authority” (Kostelanetz 8).

     Self-effacement is a recurring matter in our country's history. When one feels unimportant or not recognized they slowly lose sense of identity or importance. It is amazing what comes out of one's unconscious when one guard is down as a result of self-suppression or self-effacement. These opinions and ideations that makeup someone's personality and stances on subjects like equality can be disguised as compliance to those around them. People do this to avoid Everyday Racism, or acts of racism that occur regularly. The narrator's facade falls as he becomes disoriented and misspeaking, “‘What you just said!’ ‘Social responsibility, sir,’ I said. ‘You weren’t being smart, were you, boy?’ he said, not unkindly.‘No, sir!’ ‘You sure that about ‘equality’ was a mistake?’ ‘Oh yes, sir,’ I said. ‘I was swallowing blood’” (Ellison 344). African Americans were thought to have a social responsibility to stay in their lane for lack of a better word, and instead of equality, they found themselves attending all-black colleges, like the narrator was set up to. They had opportunities similar to white people, but not equal to. These private opinions are comparable to Washington's declarations in the sense that, “Recent work indicated that there was a drastic difference between Washington’s public pronouncements and his private activity” (Calista 240). This relates to the narrator in the way that he misspeaks and exposes himself in front of the white men. The narrator has opinions and stances but alternative opinions compared to what the white men think. And due to suppression and ridicule, he cannot share. 

Tuskegee University, founded by Washington

     Education was a greater conflict in itself for individuals like the narrator and Washington, to different degrees of course. Schools and colleges were places where Environmental racism took place. These places were heavily segregated based on race. Especially for people like Washington, education wasn't the most accessible, being that in his early life, he was a victim of enslavement. Through Washington's ambition, “His stepfather finally gave in to the gentle persuasion of Booker’s mother, and the boy was allowed to attend school in the evenings after he had finished his work in the mine” (Christian 28). This was his first step into his career in education as a professor and founding a university for African Americans. Even without equality, he was able to accomplish this through his, “appetite for learning” (Christian 23), and how, “Booker hungered for schooling even at this very young age” (Christian 23). Success and education didn't come without a price, similar to the narrator. The way the narrator needed to fight to prove himself and his success through his speech was tested by the fight between other boys his age to the white men. This was captured as, “I wanted to deliver my speech more than anything else in the world, because I felt that only these men could judge truly my ability, and now this stupid clown was ruining my chances” (Ellison 340). As well, “‘Gentlemen, see that I did not overpraise the boy. He makes a good speech and some day he’ll lead his people in the proper paths.’” (Ellison 344). This is moments before the narrator is gifted a scholarship for a school of all African Americans. Words to point out here is “his people”. This is the clearest form of segregation and inequality. The white man is separating the narrator's education and even success from a white person. 

    By addressing examples and making connections between characters in literature and figureheads from history one can draw an association and understand the relevance of topics like this. It is important to recognize people like Washington to see the indifference in the treatment of people who don't fit into our unfair social norms and how difficult their lives are because of something as insignificant as the color of their skin. After reading “The Battle Royal” and researching Washington, the world they lived in can be seen as foreign to today's standards in terms of equality. It is shown today through African Americans having equal opportunities in education, the right to protest and stand up for ideals, and diversity is more than welcomed in the workplace with any position from an economic standpoint.

    

Work Cited:

Kostelanetz, Richard. “The Politics of Ellison’s Booker: ‘Invisible Man’ as Symbolic History.” Chicago Review, vol. 19, no. 2, 1967, pp. 5–26. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/25294090. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024. 

Calista, Donald J. "Booker T. Washington: Another Look." The Journal of Negro History, 1964, https://doi.org/JNH2716459. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Christian, Mark. Booker T. Washington : A Life in American History, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/bloomsburguniv-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6721941. 

Ellison, Ralph. The Battle Royal. 1952. Using Critical Theory, pp. 335-46.

     VitalSource, online.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9780429889516/

     epubcfi/6/44[%3Bvnd.vst.idref%3DAppendix_2]!/4. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Work Cited for Pictures:

Battle Royal. Shortsonline, xpressenglish.com/battle-royal/. Accessed 18 Mar.

     2024.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Ralph Ellison". Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Feb.             2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ralph-Ellison. Accessed 19 March 2024.

Tuskegee Institute. Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, www.britannica.com/

     biography/Booker-T-Washington. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.