Literary Analysis On The Black Ball

Literary Analysis on “The Black Ball”

In Ellison’s “The Black Ball,” the author develops the narrator who is an African American who works in a lobby. He’s an educated man who’s doing lower class work. He and his son live in the garage there and they encounter several acts of racism throughout the story. Ellison uses the symbolism of a black ball as the battle that African Americans had to endure on a daily basis. We can find the examples of racism specifically in the beginning and the end of the story.

A boy who was older than John’s son bullies the boy by pointing out his race and framing him for something. The boy faces trouble with the other white kids who live in the community. “ “Well yesterday Jackie said I was so black.” ( The Black

Ball, page 344 ) This is a statement made by a boy who lives close to the lobby. We receive this statement without much context from John’s son. It’s problematic because back then, racial discrimination was so common that African Americans were lynched and beat to death. After his son behaves well all day, John permits him to go play outside. John soon after falls to sleep and wakes up sometime near four. He has no idea where his son is and searches for him. When he finds him, his son is sobbing and looking up to Berry’s private office window. An older had asked for his son’s ball, and when he passed it to him, he threw it into the window. Berry assumes that John’s son is to blame and scolds him instead.
John’s boss, a white man named Berry, is a prime example racist.

He only see’s John for his work and looks specifically at the materialistic things. For Berry to be pleased with John, the bronze must be polished before he arrives to work and he must keep the lawn watered. The boss only seems interested in his brass, his plants, and his money. The first paragraph puts heavy supports the statement. “I had rushed through the early part of the day mopping the lobby, placing fresh sand in the tall green jars, sweeping and dusting the halls, and emptying the trash to be burned later on in the day into the incinerator.” ( The Black Ball, page 344. ) And once Berry arrives at the office, he doesn’t even look at John. He looks at the work John has

done.
The final paragraph talks about the struggle that African Americans faced.

“ He had already played with the ball; that he would discover later. He was learning the rules of the game already, but he didn’t know it. Yes, he would play with the ball. Indeed, poor little rascal, he would play until he grew sick of playing. My, yes, the old ball game. But I’d begin telling him the rules later. My hand was still burning from the scratch as I dragged the hose out to water the lawn, and looking down at the iodine stain, I thought of the fellow’s fried hands, and felt in my pocket to make sure I still had the card he had given me. Maybe there was a color other than white on the old ball.” ( The Black Ball, page 352 ) He refers to the racism that his son will face as a ball game and that he, too, will grow tired from playing it. It’s a statement that has a lot of hidden resentment and an almost sad tone. John doesn’t want his son to face this prejudice, but he also sees some hope in this white

ball.
The story is ridden with racism and hope. John hopes for a brighter future with equality for his son, but for now, he’ll teach his son to avoid the questions and behave. Society wasn’t ready for John’s revelation. They were post-Civil War and just couldn’t handle the idea of African Americans being equal, which is a poor excuse, but an excuse none-the-less.