Battle Royal
Compare and Contrast Essay
Christina M. Nelson
21 July 2014 Battle Royal is a short story that speaks about discrimination, immorality, and prejudice due to the color of an individual’s skin. While lying on his deathbed, the Grandfather tells his son to teach the younger generation of children how to behave in a socially acceptable manner; a manner that could be considered respectable in accordance with the white man’s way of life, this he declared with his last dying breathe. (Ellison, 1947). While reading this passage, I could literally visualize these events unfolding, and the overwhelming reaction of everyone that was present to witness this event. The Birthmark story takes place in a time where some individuals thought that spells and magic existed, and that alchemy was a sure way to cure any illness or imperfections of the body. In this time, even the most prestigious scientist thought that people’s illnesses could be cured by merely creating a concoction with the components of Mother Nature and with a little assistance from the spiritual world. Birthmark also centers around a hand shaped birthmark, on the cheek of a newly wedded woman, and the extent; she would go through to ensure her husband’s happiness. Some people saw this birthmark as a charm, while some were disgusted by it, like her husband. "Georgiana," said he, "has it never occurred to you that the mark upon your cheek might be removed?"(Hawthorne, 1843). Her husband in his obsession, being this magnificent scientist believed that he could remove the mark, but the deeper he dug, the more he emotionally hurt her. These two short stories speak about inequality, social discrimination and to what extent people are willing to please the one’s they adore. In the period that Battle Royal took place, societies overall outlook of African Americans was that each class should stay in their prospective places. Regardless of how educated an individual was or the position they held in society, it was
Christina M. Nelson
21 July 2014 Battle Royal is a short story that speaks about discrimination, immorality, and prejudice due to the color of an individual’s skin. While lying on his deathbed, the Grandfather tells his son to teach the younger generation of children how to behave in a socially acceptable manner; a manner that could be considered respectable in accordance with the white man’s way of life, this he declared with his last dying breathe. (Ellison, 1947). While reading this passage, I could literally visualize these events unfolding, and the overwhelming reaction of everyone that was present to witness this event. The Birthmark story takes place in a time where some individuals thought that spells and magic existed, and that alchemy was a sure way to cure any illness or imperfections of the body. In this time, even the most prestigious scientist thought that people’s illnesses could be cured by merely creating a concoction with the components of Mother Nature and with a little assistance from the spiritual world. Birthmark also centers around a hand shaped birthmark, on the cheek of a newly wedded woman, and the extent; she would go through to ensure her husband’s happiness. Some people saw this birthmark as a charm, while some were disgusted by it, like her husband. "Georgiana," said he, "has it never occurred to you that the mark upon your cheek might be removed?"(Hawthorne, 1843). Her husband in his obsession, being this magnificent scientist believed that he could remove the mark, but the deeper he dug, the more he emotionally hurt her. These two short stories speak about inequality, social discrimination and to what extent people are willing to please the one’s they adore. In the period that Battle Royal took place, societies overall outlook of African Americans was that each class should stay in their prospective places. Regardless of how educated an individual was or the position they held in society, it was