An Overview of the Social Inequality in the Novel Battle Royal by Ralph Ellison

In Ralph Ellison’s Battle Royal social inequality is present with gruesome results. Ellison writes the story in first person format from the perspective of a young black male, in a time when racism was ever so present. From this perspective Ellison takes, the story is easily seen as being very ruthless. The setting is in a large ballroom full of racist clowns waiting for the humiliation of the negroes. The show consists of the Battle Royal, the collecting of chump change from an electric rug, and finally the delivering of his speech.

Before the boy delivered his speech he felt belittled and frightened by all of those who were attending the event.

On page 440 the superintendent announces “Bring up the shines gentlemen! Bring up the little shines!” This is said just prior to the men entering the ring. They hadn’t even entered the ring before they were hit with derogatory comments like this one and others. Again on page 440 we get the sentence “And all the while the blonde continued dancing, smiling faintly at the big shots who watched her with fascination, and faintly smiling at our fear.

These men in the ring were scared to death. They hardly even looked at the dancer in fear of punishment. The worst part of the entire thing has to be the electric rug. Nothing could make you feel like less of a person than getting paid fools gold while being shocked.

Ellison wants us to get into the mind of one who is treated like an animal of the circus, for the simple fact that he is colored.

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In this story it is easy to see where this guy is coming from and how hard he is struggling to be the silent “black boy.” It is a struggle to be the silent guy who will obey the white folk’s orders unconditionally. He wants to take a step up the ladder to equality, he accidentally said it in his speech. Yet he took it back in fear.