Battle Royal Ellison Character Analysis

In the story Battle Royal, Ellison struggles with whether he should conform and accept his place in society or fight for equality. I believe he is haunted by the word spoken on his grandfather’s deathbed in which he calls himself a traitor and tells his son, Ellison's father, to always fight. Ellison feels guilty when he is rewarded for doing well as his grandfathers words are always in the back of his mind. Ellison is invited to speak in front of a group of the most important men in the community, when he arrives he is put to fight with a group of other young black men. Throughout the fight he all he can think about is giving his speech. He is subjected to endless ridicule before he is able to give his speech. I think it was important for