An African American Theory Interpretation on "The Battle Royal"

An African American Theory Interpretation on "The Battle Royal"

        "The Battle Royal" by Ralph Ellison is a short story about a young African American man who is being defined by society. The narrator is dealing with conflicts that white society oppresses him to. In the short story, the narrator describes himself as an "invisible man." The narrator talks about how he's not ashamed of his grandparents who were slaves. "I am only ashamed of myself for having at one time been ashamed. About eighty-five years ago they were told that they were free, united with others of our country in everything about the common good, and, in everything social, separate like the fingers of the hand. And they believed it. They exulted in it. They stayed in their place, worked hard, and brought up my father to do the same. But my grandfather is the one. He was an odd old guy, my grandfather, and I am told I take after him. It was he who caused the trouble." (Ellison). This is an example of African American Theory because it discusses passing down personal history and discussing family and further saying who his grandfather was and how he is told that he is like his grandfather. However, they aren't similar in the way of being troublemakers. 

        The narrator is having a battle with society. The African American Theory is related to "The Battle Royal" because of the racism in the story and how the narrator describes how society treats him and how his family was treated throughout generations. The narrator is invited to give his speech in front of local white businessmen. Before he delivered his speech, the white men said that he had to participate in a boxing match, called "the battle royal." The narrator and other black peers are forced to beat each other for the entertainment of the white men. This shows how black men are at war with white society, this is shown by racism where powerful white men put black men against each other for their entertainment, it portrays that they have power over them because black men are seen as nobody to society, such as what the narrator stated. This is also an example of Environmental racism, where people are put in harmful environments for others' excitement.

       The "battle royal" serves as a metaphor for the struggles that African Americans must face in society. The ring symbolizes the way that African American men have been pitted against each other by the power of white power, they're forced to compete for limited opportunities and recognition. Along with the blindfold that is placed on the narrator during the fight, it symbolizes the ignorance and the invisibility imposed on African Americans, and the difficulty to understand one's identity in a racial environment. Going with how Ellison uses the African American Theory in "the battle royal," the imagery of the white men's laughter and enjoyment of the black men's pain, shows how they dehumanize and objective the African Americans for the white elite. This is historical racism where white power is thrown at other's expense because they can do it to others, it highlights the brutal reality of racism in America.

       The conflict of the short story is racial inequality and oppression of black men. The main point of the story is that it's the narrator versus society. This is shown throughout the story with the fight between the black men and the laughter shown by the white men. Another example would be when the black young men were told to look at a woman who was "stark naked," some white men would threaten them if they looked, and others threatened if they did not. "And then she began to dance, a slow sensuous movement, the smoke of a hundred cigars clinging to her like the thinnest of veils. She seemed like a fair bird-girl girdled in veils calling to me from the angry surface of some gray and threatening sea. I was transported. Then I became aware of the clarinet playing and the big shots yelling at us. Some threatened us if we looked and others if we did not. On my right I saw one boy faint. And now a man grabbed a silver pitcher from a table and stepped close as he dashed ice water upon him and stood him up and forced two of us to support him as his head hung and moans issued from his thick bluish lips. Another boy began to plead to go home. He was the largest of the group, wearing dark red fighting trunks much too small to conceal the erection that projected from him as though in answer to the insinuating low-registered moaning of the clarinet. He tried to hide himself with his boxing gloves." (Ellison). This quote shows how the narrator and black men in general were against society, if you did look you would get hurt and if you didn't look you would also get hurt. This also shows how white power was put over black men's heads because they were scared of what they could do to them, the African Americans knew that the white men could ruin them.

        In conclusion, the narrator is in a constant battle with society. Ellison uses the African American Theory as a way to push what African-Americans deal with daily. African Americans are in a constant battle with white power and the way Ellison uses symbols and imagery to show the oppression of the narrator and the racial inequality in the short story. 

Sources: 

What is the central conflict in "Battle Royal"? - eNotes.com 

Is Capitalism Racist? | The New Yorker 

"Battle Royal" by Ralph Ellison - Short Stories - English Studies (english-studies.net)