Symbolism In “Battle Royal” By Ralph Ellison
This paper makes an attempt to understand the essence of symbolism in Ralph Ellison’s ‘Battle Royal’. The idea is to explore the story and to find out the modes and elaborations used to represent certain ideas and related emotions (Feidelson, 1965). “Battle Royal” is recognized as the first chapter of Ellison’s “Invisible Man”, and represents a matured kind of narrative art about the advice that a dying grandfather gives to his son (that is the narrator’s father). This further leads to the remembrance of peculiar cruel betrayal confirming the dying old man’s advice ‘to kill the white man with kindness’. There are various levels of symbolic references made in the plot and certain aspects of these representations are explored in this paper.
Outline of the Plot
The plot deals with the subject of slavery as a practice followed during colonization. The pivotal theme of the plot is to depict the concept of ‘freed slave as an ‘Invisible Man’. The situation is about the battle of existence that was partially attained after Civil War. The crisis for identity and absolute recognition of individuality of a black American has been dealt with core minuteness; in the opening chapter of “Battle Royal”.
Symbolism in Battle Royal
Symbolism is the means to embody free associations of the mind with practical life (Wolf, 2009).Representations of symbols are expressed in “Battle Royal”, with varied contexts. The plot is very much clear about the symbolic representation of the war and conflicts between Africans and the Americans. The context of African-American struggle has been expressed for the establishment of equality demanded throughout the nation. A clear historical presentation and elaboration of various incidences makes the plot integral to conditions that prevailed during slave trading practices. The narrator’s quest to deliver an outrageous speech brings in the hardships and the aggressive reactions of the Black people against the Colonizers. The speech is a symbolic representation of the fight initiated by the African community for equality.
The symbolic representation of the speech delivered by a young man in front of some prestigious white individuals, portray the psychological development among the colonizers to listen to the colonized. At the same time as the young man undergoes harsh treatments, there is a realization of his adamant attitude to face hurdles to attain equality. This adamant attitude to face hardships symbolizes the tug between the African American people. The struggles and the fights for Liberty, Equality and Fraternity are well expressed through the speech. There cannot be any denial to the fact that the young man tried to deliver his speech in a positive and under normal environment, but was instigated to react by harsh behavior of the listeners. The way the young man faces and competes in the battle royal, is considerably phenomenal.
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