In many works of literature irony plays and important roll in the story. In the short story "Battle Royal" written by Ralph Ellison irony is a key factor on the story. The narrator who is nameless is a young black male in the time slavery recently had been abolished. A time where blacks were free, but looked upon and treated with less than equality.
             The narrator was awarded for his conduct on the day of his graduation. He gave a speech when he accepted the award but he didn't believe a word he said. He felt that the white folks didn't think of him any different then another black man, but no matter how he felt about his speech it was a great success. He was invited to present the speech in the main ballroom of the leading hotel in front of all the big names of the town. He got to the ballroom and was forced to enter in the night's battle royal. He was lead into a room with nine other boys to put on his fighting trunks and boxing gloves. Then all ten men were brought into a smoked filled ballroom with all the white men yelling at them and a striking blonde woman who walked around the ring in front of them. A bunch of the boys on stage were very embarrassed and tried to run off, but they were pushed right back inline with the other boys. All ten boys were made to go through acts of humiliation before and after they had fought and were made to wear blindfolds during the actual fight. The boys were degraded and humiliated throughout the whole event and didn't once think they were being mistreated. They were scared of the white men and what would happen if they didn't cooperate. The boys had been brought in for only the amusement of the white men. The narrator at the beginning of the fight couldn't stop thinking about making his speech, but after getting punched several times he switched to the animal that the white men sees him as. After the fight was over the boys were led to an ...