What Is The Theme Of The Story Battle Royal

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Battle Royal by Ralph Ellison
The Battle Royal is a short story that is written by Ralph Ellison. It is a story that is set out in the South American region, at a time when racial profiling was rife. African Americans were treated with disdain coming from the slavery period where the African Americans were practically property to their white owners. Ralph had been born in the south and later on moves to Harlem in New York City. He compares the life that he had in the south and what he now experiences in the north. In the north, there is a bit of subtle differences relative to the fact that most of the whites seem to respect the African Americans unlike in the south (Ellison). However, it is clear that people judge the author on the streets relative to the skin color that he has. It is a story that amplifies the basic idea of an African American trying to fit in a society that is largely white. The author is very keen in bringing out the life of the protagonist in which is that of the African Americans with application of such figures of speech as symbolism.
The protagonist’s life is represented in quite a rich figurative language that is used by the narrator. One of the first instances that the narrator brings to the audience the figurative language approach is when his grandfather is giving him his dying words. He instructed by the grandfather to keep up the good fight. This is a signal to the state of war that the African Americans were involved in with the whites. The grandfather mentions to the narrator that the life of the African Americans is a war and he wishes that the grandson will do better than he did (Ellison). The grandfather paints a picture of a war that is taking place between the African Americans and the whites in the search for equality between the two races. War or the state of war is used to signify the struggles that the African Americans are going through. More importantly, it is used to bring out the significance and intensity of the two races. For the better part of the century the African Americans had been struggling to achieve equality and reduce the incidences of mistreatment. Where they were considered lesser beings (Ellison).
It is also important to note that even the title of the short story depicts a battle. This is to signify that there is some element of fighting that is involved in the story ideally, the title signifies the struggle for equality that are African Americans have to endure to get to the level where they are treated as equals. It signifies that this quest is quite a struggle and one that is also embodied by the fights that take place after school. The protagonist in this case are the African American that are in a bloody brawl and required to scrabble for pennies on a rug that shocks them. It is only then that they get the chance to give the famous spee...