Social Equality In Ralph Ellison's Battle Royal

Ralph Ellison’s excerpt “Battle Royal” from his novel titled Invisible Man, explores what it means to be a black man who is powerless but still remains humble in the segregated society controlled by the white townsmen. The black men must conform to society in order to survive as they still remain blind to the reality of life. They are forced to please the very people who view them as the inferior race being humiliated, lowered and mistreated for their sheer enjoyment. The divide between these two races becomes evident at the mention of the term “social equality” creates a negative reaction from the white townsmen. The narrator must change his ideas to reality as he fights to survive in this “battle” where the prejudice is towards him. The …show more content…
The event was to take place in the main ballroom at a hotel; also taking place was the battle royal which was to have some of his schoolmates participate in for entertainment. When he arrives at the ballroom expecting a fancy galla to his surprise it is a “smoker”, a male only affair involving whiskey, cigars, and inappropriate behavior. The first event is the battle royal, a free-for-all fight between the young black men while they are blindfolded. Before the main event takes place a naked, blonde, white woman enters the room. Her presence is gravely felt throughout the room especially amongst the black boys who began to put their heads down reddened with shame and embarrassment. The narrator describes his reaction; “My teeth chattered, my skin turned to goose flesh, my knees knocked. Yet I was strongly attracted and looked in spite of myself. Had the price of looking been blindness, I would have looked.” In this instance the narrator responds to the woman’s entrance despite whatever the consequences might be. The participators in this battle royal also react to the arrival of the woman and through their embarrassment, the yearning of sexuality urges some of them to look and the threatening demands from the white townsmen forces them to look in awe or to ignore with shame. The narrator describes another boy’s reaction, “Another began to plead to go home. He was the largest of the group, wearing dark red fighting trunks much too small to conceal the erection… He tried to hide himself with his boxing gloves.” The dancer’s arrival brings about the questioning of the boys sexuality while embarrassing, ruining their innocence, and putting them in a delicate state confused whether to ponder over the beautiful parading woman in front of them or continue to fear the white townsmen. The black young men are not the only one’s fearful of the power these white townsmen possess but the