Symbolism In Battle Royal

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In Ralph Ellison’s Battle Royal, the narrator whom remains nameless is brutally forced to participate in grueling physical activities in which give white men pleasure to watch. This work is a powerful image of the struggles endured by the black men in the early 1900’s, who strived to become more than what white society perceived them to be. In this paper, I intend to argue the significance of racial inequality by examining the deeper symbolic meanings behind the white woman erotically dancing before the battle, the white blindfold used to cover the eyes of the battle participants, and the car advertised tokens given as the “reward” after the battle is completed.
Before the men engaged in the battle, a white woman was put in the ring to dance
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The white cloth is an essential form of imagery used in this story that signified the racial inferiority of the black culture. It instilled a sense of fear upon the men in the ring, serving as a constant reminder that the white people had been blinding the black for years. Along with being put in the ring to fight until they were only 2 men left, they now had to do it blind, which instilled a now even bigger sense of terror among the battle participants. As the fight began, white men screamed derogatory phrases such as “ginger nigger” at the narrator, whom though all this, was more worried about his ability to perform his speech for the white …show more content…
Beginning with the white woman dancing in front of the entire crowd, that was a clear symbol displaying the idea that this was something the black men were not allowed to have. White woman were meant only to be seen and imagined by the white man. An essential, and the most powerful form of imagery used to convey racial inequality was the white blindfold being placed on the face of the battle participants. This showed that for years, the white men blinded the black culture, causing a source of inferiority in which shaped their culture for years. Lastly, another form of powerful imagery shown was the car-advertised gold coins. It served as a constant reminder of racism going on at the time; economically, blacks could not “afford” to purchase the automobile. Ralph Ellison does a phenomenal job using people and objects to signify the inferiority complex associated with the African American culture. Although the words describe the torture endured by the black culture, it serves as a reminder to this country that equality is something that was fought for and is still being battled for

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