Warning: Use of undefined constant referer - assumed 'referer' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 102

Warning: Use of undefined constant host - assumed 'host' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 105

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 106

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 109
Battle Royal - College Essays

Battle Royal


"Son, after I'm gone I want you to keep up the good fight…Live with your head in the Lion's mouth"(174). In , by Ralph Ellison, the protagonist is dealt many expectations. The unnamed narrator is placed in a situation where he instantly must choose between his own dream of college and his grandfather's hope of equality. He remains unnamed throughout the story because he has no sense of self. Contrary to his grandfather's last words, he fights a battle within his own race, living up to the expectations of the white men and thus losing sight of his duty to stand up for his race as a black man.
Ironically, the boy fights a battle not with the white race, but within his own race. ...

Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers

we were all crowded together into the servants' elevator"(175). The boy undergoes a realization that he is, in fact, not a Booker T. Washington as he plans to be in life, but merely a common black man who is in disagreement with his own race. He comes to this realization after being victimized by the white men and forced into battle with men of his own ethnicity.
As a result of the ethnic battle, the boy ultimately lives up to the expectations of the white men. He expects to live with "his head in the Lion's mouth(174)" and undermine the white man with a covert retaliation, but unfortunately he slips his head out of the lion's reach just as the jaws slam shut, forcing him to become a traitor to his own race. The protagonist gives in to the white man by remaining docile to equal rights and actually urging his fellow African-Americans to file into the norms of society by accepting the idea of inequality. After the boy's speech, the white MC says, "Gentlemen, you see that I did ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.


Already a member? Login


CITE THIS PAGE:

Battle Royal. (2006, April 27). Retrieved April 29, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Battle-Royal/45066
"Battle Royal." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 27 Apr. 2006. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Battle-Royal/45066>
"Battle Royal." Essayworld.com. April 27, 2006. Accessed April 29, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Battle-Royal/45066.
"Battle Royal." Essayworld.com. April 27, 2006. Accessed April 29, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Battle-Royal/45066.
JOIN NOW
Join today and get instant access to this and 50,000+ other essays


PAPER DETAILS
Added: 4/27/2006 01:37:41 PM
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 779
Pages: 3

Save | Report

SHARE THIS PAPER

SAVED ESSAYS
Save and find your favorite essays easier

SIMILAR ESSAYS
» Battle Royal - Symbolism
» Battle Royal
» Ellison's "Battle Royal"
» Battle Royal
» Battle Royal Symbolism
» Battle Royal 2
» Battle Royal
» Battle Royale
» Battle Royal
» Battle Royal
Copyright | Cancel | Contact Us

Copyright © 2024 Essayworld. All rights reserved