Ralph Ellison's short story "Battle Royal" depicts the confusion that fills the mind of a young black man trying to survive in a society where those who are white have all the power and those who are black are their puppets. This young man is torn between two choices on how to prosper in life. One choice is to follow his grandfather's life and not humiliate himself to please white men. The other choice is to be submissive and follow white men's laws and desires. The confusion that afflicts the narrator is made clear in the story. ellison expresses himself through symbolism and slang to communicate the abundant emotions that govern the narrator.
             . The grandfather is a device used by Ellison to foreshadow heavily the rest of the story . Appearing at the beginning and the end, the grandfather provides a lesson to the young narrator which his parents then tell him to ignore "Son, after I'm gone I want you to keep up a good fight. I never told you, but your life is a war and I have been a traitor all my born days, a spy in the enemy's country ever since I give up my gun back in the Reconstruction. 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 burst wide open Learn it to the younguns" These last words that his grand father speaks are the chain-breakers that set the young boy's mind free. What hit's him the hardest is finding out that his people are in an ongoing fight, a war for freedom and equality. And it is these words that guide him on the right path to the realization of who he is, and how he needs to start thinking and acting. However this path that his grandfather sets him on, is one that presents many mind-tormenting problems. How will his people treat him if he takes on a rebellious attitude? Also if he refuses to fight for his rights what will his deceased grandfather think of hi...