Battle Royal
There are many symbols in Ralph Ellison's story "Battle Royal." Ellison's story is full of excellent symbolism of how African-Americans have struggled throughout history to fight for their equality. The narrator starts off the story by describing his grandfather's dying last words. In his last words, the grandfather expresses his wishes for future generations to continue the struggle for black equality. Ellison uses many symbols in this story to demonstrate the lack of black equality. Among these symbols are: the battle itself, the brief case from Shad Whimore's shop, and the flag tattoo on the stripper. The narrator of this story is under the impression that he is to give his speech he delivered at graduation to a group of white pillars of the community. Much to his surprise, when he arrives at the ballroom he is asked to take part in the battle royal before his speech was to be delivered. The narrator, along with nine of his classmates, was blindfolded, dressed in boxing gloves,
The narrator also believes that he has something to prove to the white audience. He begins to understand the struggles of his grandfather during slave times. By hearing these racist comments, the narrator realizes that the audience is not interested in what he has to say; instead, they are interested in ridiculing him and making a mockery of him. The stripper showed that she was more respected from the crowd than an educated black man that was trying to better himself. The school superintendent presents the brief case and scholarship to the narrator. It showed that the sky was the limit and that he was the only one in charge of his own destiny. After the fight the narrator had understood his grandfather's dying words that the fight is never over. The flag tattoo symbolizes how a stripper receives more respect and had more freedom than the narrator had. The narrator is then forced to hear a series of racial slurs from the crowd throughout the battle royal. The narrator shows throughout the story that the fight for black equality is not over. It was at this point that the narrator finally understood his grandfather's dying words, and they set him free. The brief case set the narrator free from his grandfather's deathbed curse. She did not have to do anything to get these freedoms or respect. Not only is he proving it for himself, he is proving it for his grandfather and the black race.
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,
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Acceptance Essays
