Ralph Ellison Battle Royal Literary Analysis

In society years ago and even still today, black people and white people have been treated differently. Black people are usually seen to be under the class of white people. Many years ago the segregation of blacks and whites was more noticeable but now it is not as noticeable because many people do not see black people as being different, but there still are some who make a big deal out of it. Henceforth, “Battle Royal” is able to be seen as a marxist criticism by the label of the white society and the black society. In the beginning of Ralph Ellison’s “Battle Royal” the narrator is an African American guy who struggles with finding his true self. He talks about how he needs to find answers and how he accepts other people's answers but not his own. Finally, he realizes that he was the only one who was able to answer them. His grandfather's last words left an impact on him, making him feel

Before he had the chance to do this, the battle royals started. The participants in the battle royal were black, while the leaders of the battle royals were all white, showing that the white class had the most power. After the battle ends they were called to get their money that was sitting on a rug. When they went for the money they were electrocuted and found out that the money was fake. To show how cruel the white class was, they forced them to stay on the rug and try to get the money. Some examples of what the white men said is, “The men roared above us as we struggled” and “Go on, get it!” (1501). Where the white leaders put fake money on an electrifying rug and the participants were black, readers can come to understand that the white class thought of the blacks as a joke rather than actual people. Similarly, the battle royal could be considered an entertainment show for the