Battle Royal Ralph Ellison Character Analysis

Invisible man is the protagonist of the story. The character of Invisible man is not actually transparent. The name Invisible man comes from the fact that the protagonist is an African American in the 1930s. The protagonist is “invisible” due to the color of his skin. Invisible man is a round character. Throughout the narrative of Battle Royal we see many sides of the protagonist. His behavior alternates based on the situation he is placed into. As the character retells his story he admits that he has changed his perceptions from when he was younger. He was a new type of Black protagonist during this time. Compared to other popular black protagonists, Invisible Man was educated, articulate, and self-aware. (Seidlitz, “Ralph Ellison: An American Journey”)

Invisible man retells the last words of his grandfather, “‘Son, after I’m gone I want you to keep up the good fight. I never told you, but our life is a war

Here, he is still thinking about giving his speech. However, as the battle begins, Invisible man’s fear starts to seep through. When the fight starts, he admits to himself that he has no dignity at that moment. He has no dignity considering he is being overpowered by fists. He is tired and he is bleeding. Still, the speech forms in Invisible man’s mind again. He starts fighting back once he considers that maybe no one will take him serious after a beating like this. The protagonist starts thinking about his status and his self-respect again. The fighters are given money after the fight, however, the money is placed upon the rug. We see the protagonist get excited over the idea of the money. He forgets all about his self-respect as he grabs for the money. The rug is electrified, which causes him grand pain. Yet, he keeps picking up money. This shows us a miserly side of Invisible man. He seems greedy, picking up money in an indecent way. Later, he finds out that the coins barely had any