Symbolism In Ralph Ellison's Battle Royal

Jonathan Crump
Jacob Melvin
English 101
17 September 2015
Symbolism In "Battle Royal"
During the early 1900's, the black community was forced to do the unthinkable to survive. The short story "Battle Royal" by Ralph Ellison shows many of these humiliating situations that the black community were forced to go through during this time period. "Battle Royal" was actually the first chapter of the novel, The Invisible Man. The Invisible Man was written by Ralph Ellison and published in 1952. There are many uses of symbolism in "Battle Royal". Symbolism is an important part of this story due to its historical nature. This essay will elaborate on three uses of symbolism within "Battle Royal":the invisible man, the stripper, and the electric rug.

In the beginning of this story, the unnamed narrator refers to himself as the invisible man.

He states that he had to learn what everyone else already knew. "It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with: That I am nobody but myself. But first I had to discover that I am an invisible man!" (1). By stating that he is an invisible man, he is referring to himself and the black community in general being overlooked by society. This is symbolism due to the fact that he is not actually invisible. His previous statement also suggests this as being true, because he "had to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with" (1). This statement by his grandfather also confirms that the invisible man is a symbolic term, "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." (1). The invisible man is symbolism showing the society's view or lack of the African American community. The stripper is a different form of

symbolism.
The stripper is a symbol of what a black person was denied during the early 1900's. Black men were seriously punished if they interacted or sometimes even looked at a white woman. "My teeth chattered, my skin turned to goose flesh, my knees knocked. Yet I was strongly attracted and looked in spite of myself. Had the price of looking been blindness, I would have looked." (3). This statement from the narrator is a clear description of what the white men are flaunting. He also states that these men threatened them if they did or did not look at her. The white men wanted the boys to see what they couldn't have. "Then I became aware of the clarinet playing and the big shots yelling at us. Some threatened us if we looked and others if we did not." (3). The stripper is an important symbol in the story as it describes the deprivations of the black community. The electric rug is also important as it shows the hardships of the black community.
The last example of symbolism within "Battle Royal" is the electric rug.

The electric rug is a symbol of the African Americans' hardship. These men had to go through humiliation and suffering just to make an honest dollar to support their families and themselves. "I tried frantically to remove my hand but could not let go. A hot, violent force tore through my body, shaking me like a wet rat. The rug was electrified." (8). The narrator speaks of the extreme pain he and the others had to go through just to get the money that they worked for. They are being humiliated just for the entertainment of the white men. "When he finally rolled off, his face was gray and no one stopped him when he ran from the floor amid booming laughter." (8). These points of symbolism have an important

purpose.
Symbolism is used in many works of literature in many different ways. In "Battle Royal", symbolism is used to show the many struggles of the black community and the inequality, that they as a community experienced. In this use of symbolism, Ralph Ellison wanted to get the message across to his audience in a creative way that they would understand. Why is this use of symbolism significant? It sheds the light on what it was like to be a black man during the early 1900's. It shows the struggle, humiliation, and pure hatred that this community went through. Most importantly, it reminds the United States of where we have been and where we don't want to be again.Works Cited
Ellison, Ralph. “Battle Royal.” The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer.
Boston: Bedford, 2011. 70-80.