Theme Analysis to "Battle Royal" by Ralph Ellison

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The Search for Identity and Understanding of the Black Race’s Place in the American Society as Portrayed in Ralph Ellison’s "Battle Royal."
The short story "Battle Royal" by Ralph Ellison, which appears as the first chapter of his novel Invincible Man is about a young man who is invited by a group of white men to give a speech about interracial relations between blacks and whites, but ends up being beaten up in a fight pitying black boys against each other. The narrator’s experience in the battle royal and the way he has lived in obedience to the white man’s wishes portray his struggle to live an authentic life and conform to what is expected of his black race. The short story depicts the narrator’s search for racial identity through his struggle to embrace his blackness and to be proud of his black heritage, as well as fight for social equality in a white dominated society. This essay discusses the exploration of the theme of racial identity and the place of the black people in the American society as portrayed by Ralph Ellison in the short story "Battle Royal."
The narrator begins the story by saying that he is not ashamed of his grandparents being slaves, but of himself for being ashamed of his heritage. This confession suggests a desire to accept and embrace one’s racial heritage. In the American society, the black community is regarded as inferior given its poverty and history of slavery. Understandably, it was easy for young black people to be ashamed of their roots in slavery. The narrator refers to this situation when he says that at one time he was ashamed of being a descendant of slaves. However, his coming of age is the realization that black is his race, and slavery is his heritage. He embraces this truth by deciding to become visible- to stop hiding from society by speaking in support of the welfare if the black people.
However, the narrat...