The idea of a completely equal social environment is impossible and this is proven through “Battle Royal” by Ralph Ellison. Cultural beliefs and differences will always prevent any possibility of social equality as described in “Social Equality” by Gunnar Myrdal. “Battle Royal” shows how cruel separation can be amongst races, but it also shows how truly impossible it is for the culture of the races to be equal because of white dominance. The representation of social equality in both pieces of literature is very connected through social dominance.
In “Battle Royal” the story focuses on a young African American man who is brought to a men’s club in hopes of giving his academic speech, but instead he has to literally fight for the chance to say what he wants to say (Ellison 1494).In modern society people still have to fight for the right to speak, but not exactly to the same extent. During the time period of “Battle Royal,” the characters were fighting racial segregation, but today it is more of a fight of social segregation. This social segregation is brought on by the idea that no one should have opinions other than what the majority of society believes, and these people are generally targeted after they say what they believe. In “Battle Royal” the young man has to physically fight to be able to speak what he wants, but when he has a slip of the tongue and says what the majority does not believe the crowd is quick to jump up and silence him (Ellison 1504). The white men in this story feel like they have to be dominant over the young African American man, to keep the purity of their race as mentioned in “Social Equality” (Myrdal 1515).
“Social Equality” by Gunnar Myrdal speaks of the issues of social equality and how an equal so...
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...in each literary work. The separation of races and the cruelty that goes with it is also highlighted in these works. Both authors have an intriguing view on social equality and how it is impossible and unnecessary, but acceptance is really the key to a better future. While racial segregation has weakened, “Battle Royal” and “Social Equality” are still evident in when they are applied to social segregation. The idea that people will never be equal will always be true, but if we just accept those around us equality isn’t even necessary.
Works Cited
Ellison, Ralph. "Battle Royal." Making Literature Matter. Eds. John Schilb, and John Clifford. 5th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. 1494-1505. Print.
Myrdal, Gunnar. "Social Equality." Making Literature Matter. Eds. John Schilb, and John Clifford. 5th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. 1513-16. Print.
Indeed, the narrator comes from a long line of black men who’ve felt the difficult struggles while trying to live alongside the white people. The protagonist speaks of his grandparents, who felt after the civil war, they were free, but on his deathbed, however, the grandfather spoke to the narrator’s father, telling the protagonist’s father that he himself felt like a traitor. He advised the narrator’s father to subvert the whites. The narrator recalls a speech he had given in high school—one that spoke of ways to advance as a black man in America. With great success, the protagonist is invited to deliver this speech to his community’s white citizens. Upon arriving, the narrator is told to take part in what is called a battle royal; believing its part of the entertainment, the narrator agrees to take part. The white men then blindfold the youths and order them to begin fighting each other. The narrator lasts until the last round, when he suffers a loss. After the men have removed the blindfolds, they lead the black men to a rug covered with coins and bills. The boys dive for the money, but discover that an electric current runs through the rug. Having endured the battle royal, and when it comes time for the narrator to give his speech, the white men all laugh and ignore him. When the narrator accidently says “social equali...
In every culture, there are the strong and there are the weak, the oppressor and the oppressed. Sometimes they are of the same race and sometimes not, but they all rely on a difference in power. Socrates, Frederick Douglass, and W.E.B. Du Bois each experience this power differential through the course of their lives. Socrates experiences this through his experience with the jury of Athens and his trial; Douglass through his life as a slave and his eventual escape. Du Bois experiences it through being a black man in the time of Reconstruction and being well off in comparison to other African-Americans at the time. Each man’s unique perspective on equality can illuminate why authority is so instrumental in the development of equality.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 2189.
Murphy, B. & Shirley J. The Literary Encyclopedia. [nl], August 31, 2004. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2326. Access on: 22 Aug 2010.
The African Americans fought hard to make themselves equal to the whites, some of the leaders for this were Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X who spoke on behave of their people to try and fight through racism so that it can end. Unlike the African Americans, the Jewish people listened to the Germans, they followed all of their rules to stay alive because they were in a more life threatening situation; neither races deserved the treatment that they received. The racial differences, mistreatment of humans, and injustices between these two stories are similar but different, both authors tried their best to explain as much as they could on what they were personally experiencing or even telling a story on someone else’s experience, but no matter what in the end we are all equal
Everyday, racism is perceived as one of the most negative aspects of society. When people think of racism, they obviously see hatred, evil , and ignorance. It has been a part of world culture since recorded history and , no doubt , before that. When one thinks of racism in the United States, invariably , though not only , the struggle of the African-American is singled out. That is the main issue Ellison so powerfully addresses in his short story "Battle Royal". In it the author allows us to see the world through the eyes of a young black boy who is struggling to succeed in a predominantly white society. The thing that is absolutely essential to our understanding of the story
...in a unique manner. Through his use of the extreme tasks subjected to the blacks of his story, he manages to convey the intensity of their struggle against cruelty and all its complications [Carlson, 2000]. His story deals with the topic of the fight against racism and as such is an attack on racism in general, no matter where it might be found. When a human being is underestimated because of his race, as is the case with the characters in Battle Royal, it is a disgrace to the entire human race; Ellison’s story tells of the great necessity to fight this evil at all times and under all conditions.
Ellison, Ralph. "Battle Royal." Literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry, and drama. 9th ed and Interactive ed. Eds. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005. 555-566.
The fight for equality and human rights has been and still is a continuous battle played out on many fronts ranging from struggles between ruling governments and the people, the definition of societal roles and status, and also within the home on a domestic and individual level. The legacy for these battl...
Charters, Ann & Samuel. Literature and its Writers. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. 137-147. Print.
Lamb, Kevin. "The Problem of Equality". The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies. v20, #4 (Winter 1995) 467-479.
John Perry Barlow once said, “Our identities have no bodies, so, unlike you, we cannot obtain order by physical coercion. We believe that from ethics, enlightened self-interest, and the commonwealth, our governance will emerge.” To me this quote means that race is an imaginary thing, and that there are no physical differences between any two people who are of different race. The only thing that is different between the two people is what they have learned, what they accomplished and what their interests are as individuals. Throughout history the issues between race, gender, and religion have always been seen as a social issue that has created great conflict between people. This topic is prevalent in Toni Morrison’s novel, A Mercy, which is set in the 17th century. The various voices in this novel show how conflict is stirred with the social issues dealing in that century.
We live in a world full of many societal issues. The aspects that determine whether one will have a successful or unsuccessful life is due to their characteristics such as race, gender, and social status. In the book Is Everyone Really Equal, Ozlem Sensoy and Robin DiAngelo’s exigence is to express the following issues and to encourage the reader to work upon changing the world through social injustice, oppression, power, and community.
Throughout history, wars over the meaning to equality have being expressed in different ways for the purpose to establishing one standard meaning of equality. The meaning to equal is a state of being equal. What it means to be equal between males and females is being treated with the same amount of respect based on qualification, skills, knowledge and the ability to acquire qualification, skills, and knowledge. The social and economic system has benefited greatly with the deontology theory in defining and developing gender equality. However, it has been a slow process. The meaning of equality between males and females has not always had a message of clarity. Miscommunication and misunderstanding of the meaning of equality between males and females has been responsible for tyranny. Happiness, fairness, and dignity has risen from social roles, poverty, and health reform that defined the message to the question of what it means to be equal and unequal among men and women using the deontology theory as this essay will demonstrate.
Equality is a concept mankind never is able to grasp correctly. Of course humans will always search for different solutions to create fairness, but factors such as human greed, ignorance of mass populations, and even biological aspects stagnates the process of equality. The oldest and most relevant discussion on equality lies with the difference of sex; man versus woman. Initially, men, because of their physical superiority, were given the prospects many women never even dreamt to have. Conversely, as time has progressed, women have fought this unfair treatment with demands of suffrage and similar rights to those of their male equivalents. Greatly enough, this generation has done an exceptional job in the challenge of overcoming sexism and inequality. However, will this search for equality ever end? When can we say we have created an equal race of men and women? The fact of the matter is that it is truly impossible to have equality between the sexes because of predisposed circumstances that are not easily controllable in the slightest bit.