Ralph Ellison Battle Royal Summary

African Americans Struggle for Equality and Identity during the 19th Century According to “Battle Royal” written by Ralph Ellison
Social equality generally means the social state of affairs whereby all the people in the society have equal rights under the law. This includes the right to vote, physical security, freedom of speech and assembly, and the right to own property and to protect it. Based on this definition, social equality may have been unattainable during the 19th century for African Americans. Because of social inequality, African American were seen as beneath whites, which lead to racial discrimination and therefore struggle to advance in society. W.E.B DuBois and Booker T. Washington were two awe-inspiring African Americans that contributed to the great change regarding social equality. The short story “Battle Royal” is about a young African American male who is asked to be a guest speaker before a congregation of prominent white men. Before the protagonist gives his speech, he is made to participate in horrific and humiliating events to entertain
In this chapter, he establishes grounds for his theory on double consciousness. According to Seaton, double consciousness is the consciousness of alienation and exclusion, a false-consciousness, which is obtained when African Americans view and judge themselves based on white American ideals; he is judging himself based on a mistaken picture of himself ( ). Aspects of Battle Royal illustrate this concept of double consciousness. After the protagonist hears his grandfather’s last words, he is plagued by what is expected of him and what he wants to do. He was uncertain of the way he should act around white Americans. The narrator, to his dismay, pay attention his grandfather’s advice and becomes a meek black male, and is praised by most whites and his own community. This evidence is seen when the narrator