Ralph Ellison Character Analysis

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Ellison’s protagonist seems to suffer from psychological abnormalities that present themselves when he is placed in a precarious position. The narrator’s psychological ticks are most apparent in the battle royal scene in Chapter 1. In the scene, multiple black men are physically fighting for a prize that will be given to the winner of the bout. While most participants of the bout are thinking about how to dodge and duck punches, the narrator is concerned about when he’d be able to deliver his speech to important white community members that were sitting in the front row. When I first read the story, I thought Ellison’s character was just determined to give a good speech; however, after carefully re-reading the text I’m realizing that his desire