Ralph Ellison
The Path of the White Men Versus The Path of the Grandfather
The narrator in "Battle Royal," by Ralph Ellison, is confused and disillusioned. He is black man trapped in a world of cruelty and social inequality with nobody to guide him. He is being ripped apart in two directions by the advice of his grandfather and by the wishes of the white society which he longs to please. While attempting to satisfy their wishes, he forgets what is most important- his own dignity.
The narrator's problem is rooted with his parents. They refuse to discuss his grandfather's advice with him, and as a result he never knows exactly what it means. One could see how it would be confusing to a young boy:
Son, after I'm gone I want you to keep up the good fight. I never told you, but our life is a war and I have been a traitor all my born days, a spy in the enemy's country ever since I give up my gun back in the Reconstruction. Live with your head in the lion's mouth. I want you to overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em with grins, agree 'em to death and destruction, let 'em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open (Ellison 430).
His grandfather followed this advice by saying, "Learn it to the younguns," (Ellison 430) and then he died. The advice was meant for the young children, and yet they were never taught its meaning. The narrator was left to ponder its meaning, and his confusion left his mind in constant guilt and disillusionment.
His grandfather had always been a model citizen. He was a quiet, meek man who always acted in a desirable way towards the whites. And then, on his deathbed, he called himself a traitor and a spy. What haunted the narrator is that he acted in the same manner as his grandfather did, and had always received compliments and praise from the whites in his society. And on the other hand, his grandfather referred to those acts as being treacherous. This brought about a feeling of guilt in the narrator. How could he maintain the respect of the
The narrator in "Battle Royal," by Ralph Ellison, is confused and disillusioned. He is black man trapped in a world of cruelty and social inequality with nobody to guide him. He is being ripped apart in two directions by the advice of his grandfather and by the wishes of the white society which he longs to please. While attempting to satisfy their wishes, he forgets what is most important- his own dignity.
The narrator's problem is rooted with his parents. They refuse to discuss his grandfather's advice with him, and as a result he never knows exactly what it means. One could see how it would be confusing to a young boy:
Son, after I'm gone I want you to keep up the good fight. I never told you, but our life is a war and I have been a traitor all my born days, a spy in the enemy's country ever since I give up my gun back in the Reconstruction. Live with your head in the lion's mouth. I want you to overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em with grins, agree 'em to death and destruction, let 'em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open (Ellison 430).
His grandfather followed this advice by saying, "Learn it to the younguns," (Ellison 430) and then he died. The advice was meant for the young children, and yet they were never taught its meaning. The narrator was left to ponder its meaning, and his confusion left his mind in constant guilt and disillusionment.
His grandfather had always been a model citizen. He was a quiet, meek man who always acted in a desirable way towards the whites. And then, on his deathbed, he called himself a traitor and a spy. What haunted the narrator is that he acted in the same manner as his grandfather did, and had always received compliments and praise from the whites in his society. And on the other hand, his grandfather referred to those acts as being treacherous. This brought about a feeling of guilt in the narrator. How could he maintain the respect of the