Postcolonial Theory: The Battle Royal

Control & Race

                                                             By Trinity Druckemiller

NEW YORK – OCTOBER 1966: NOVELIST RALPH ELLISON POSES FOR A PORTRAIT IN HARLEM IN NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK. (PHOTO BY DAVID ATTIE)

      

            Introduction

    Racism and the thought of being superior to minorities is sadly still very prominent in today's world. A lot of us would think this is because of slavery, but it all started when the colonization of Europeans started in the early 1600s. With this, the Europeans believed themselves to be superior to other races. This series of events caused a cultural impact and with this, the study of postcolonialism came to light. In the short story "The Battle Royal" written by Ralph Ellison, the readers follow an unnamed narrator who goes to a party to perform his speech but unknowingly until he gets there, he must participate in a multiple-person brawl. Ralph Ellison uses the theme of control and race and the use of symbols in his story helping it tie together with postcolonial theory.

History

Using the definition in the textbook Using Critical Theory by Lois Tyson, Postcolonial theory says, “in an attempt to understand people from different cultures in terms of an important experience they all had in common: colonial domination by a superior European military force” (263). Postcolonial theory is the study of colonization and how colonization impacted cultures in the past, and now in the present day. Postcolonialism also ties into multiple other issues like race, sexual identity, religion, and more. In the article “Ralph Ellison on Race” by Grant Schreve he writes about how Ralph believed most Americans have always had this unreachable fantasy of America without black people. Ralph believed that the white American people could not understand the complexities or face the harsh realities of race in America which let white people continue feeling superior (Schreve). Ellison goes to show this as he sets his setting story in the Deep South 85 years later when slavery ended in America. The narrator of the story gets invited to perform a speech to the highest of the rankings of white citizens in the town. As he gets there, he realizes that other students from his school were invited and since he was already there to give his speech, he was told he should also be a part of the entertainment for the white men as well. Which was called the battle royal, a multiple-person brawl.

Postcolonial theory makes itself very evident throughout the brawl of the young boys. The narrator explains what he sees “We were rushed up to the front of the ballroom, where it smelled even more strongly of tobacco and whiskey. Then we were pushed into place. I almost wet my pants. A sea of faces, some hostile, some amused, ringed around us" (Ellison 337). The wealthy white men put all the young boys in the middle of a ballroom while blindfolded. This ties into postcolonialism as the wealthy white men put all the young boys into a ring and made them fight just for amusement. The men believed they were superior to other races, so they had the power to control those minorities. They treated the boys like puppets throughout the fight and still expected praise from the narrator after he was brutally beaten. Ellison showed the wealthy white men othering over the young boys, feeling superior, and not treating the boys as human.

Before the battle began, the white men in the seats set out a white woman prostitute for the boys to look at. The narrator vocalizes “Some threatened us if we looked and others if we did not. On my right, I saw one boy faint" (Ellison 337).  The white men used the prostitute as a symbol of control. Back then, interracial relationships were frowned upon and not allowed. The white men brought her out naked and dancing to arouse the black boys but also to show them what they could not have. This ties in with postcolonial theory as the wealthy white men found it funny and entertaining to show the power imbalances they had with each other. Making it apparent that they think they are superior to the young boys. In the journal Imagery in the Battle Royal Chapter of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man written by Norman German. The author explains that the white prostitute was also a symbol of “if you treat others like animals, both will become one”. The white men treated the young black men as animals, using them as entertainment while they fought until bloody. But when the prostitute comes out, it is not the black boys that start howling, but the white men. Even if the wealthy men were allowed to do so, it contradicts how they treat the young boys (German 394-395).

Furthermore, another journal named Postcolonial American Studies written by Malini Schueller talks about how postcolonial studies were not always clear when it came to America, as most people who studied it still believed in American exceptionalism, and that studies did not start conducting or deemed serious until the 1990s (Schueller 163). This ties into the story that even the people who questioned these things still believed America and the white people were no problem to minorities. After the battle ended, the boys were moved to a carpet filled with rumpled-up bills and gold. When given the signal all the boys dove towards the money trying to pick up as much as possible. The narrator proclaims:

“I lunged for a yellow coin lying on the blue design of the carpet, touching it and sending a surprised shriek to join those rising around me. I tried frantically to remove my hand but could not let go. A hot, violent force tore through my body, shaking me like a wet rat. The rug was electrified” (Ellison 342). 

The wealthy white men purposefully put the money on an electric rug to see the young boys struggle one last time before leaving. The coins are a symbol of control which helps tie with postcolonialism. Because even with the horrible trauma the boys and the narrator just faced, they still want money from the white men. Making it laughable and seem pathetic in the eyes of the wealthy men.

 Concluding

        Even with the evolution of America and the horrible past behind it. Sadly, racism is still a very big issue today. Ralph Ellison came out with his novel Invisible Man and changed a lot of race's ideologies or at least helped them open their eyes more. The Battle Royal ties together with postcolonial theory because the oppressors of the story were the colonizers who took away the main character's freedom. Ralph Ellison uses his theme of control and race to equate to postcolonial theory by using symbols that represent the superiority the white men believed they had over black people.

Work Cited

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Elam, J. Daniel. “Postcolonial Theory.” Oxford Bibliographies, 15 Jan. 2019, www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780190221911/obo-9780190221911-0069.xml.

 

German, Norman. “IMAGERY in the ‘BATTLE ROYAL’ CHAPTER of RALPH ELLISON’S ‘INVISIBLE MAN.’” CLA Journal, vol. 31, no. 4, 1988, pp. 394–99, www.jstor.org/stable/44321997. Accessed 5 Nov. 2022.

 

Pruitt, S. (n.d.). Why Ralph Ellison Never Published a Second Novel During His Lifetime. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/news/why-ralph-ellison-never-published-a-second-novel-during-his-lifetime

Schueller, Malini Johar. “Postcolonial American Studies.” American Literary History, vol. 16, no. 1, 2004, pp. 162–75, www.jstor.org/stable/3568015?seq=2. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

 

Shreve, Grant. “Ralph Ellison on Race.” JSTOR Daily, 2 Nov. 2017, daily.jstor.org/ralph-ellison-on-race/.

 

Tyson, Lois. Using Critical Theory : How to Read and Write about Literature. Routledge, 2021.