The Royal Race

Most of Battle Royal is concrete. A black boy feels honored and superior to his fellow black classmates, because he is asked to recite a speech at a white men’s smoker, but the white men only want his oration merely as an act in their circus, and force him to watch an erotic dance and take part in their Battle Royal. The narrator takes part in this fight so that he may deliver his speech latter on in the night and further gain the respect of the white men. While this plotline is interesting, the themes of racial superiority and the limitedness of the American dream are enforced by the imagery of the nation’s colors and the presence of smoke during the dancing and fighting scenes.

Representing the American ideals, negative red, white and blue imagery is dispersed throughout the story. The white oppressors are described as being ‘lily-white”, having blue eyes, and red faces. Though Ellison describes the men a “lily white,” suggesting purity, their red faces, due to alcohol consumption and excitement from watching the boys’ struggle, actually mocks their self-righteousness. The erotic dancing female, having blonde hair, blue eye shadow, red lips, and an American flag tattoo, represents a perverse version of lady liberty. Her tattoo is placed on a sensual part of her body, mocking the very ideas it represents. Enchanted by her performance the corrupted men’s inner beast is revived, as they proceed to hunt and toss their meat about the room. Their superiority of this delicate creature prepares the reader for their treatment of the black boys, whose eyes are immediately suffocated by the white bands like those of the American flag. The boys are literally and figuratively blinded by the white race. The red blood and blue light motifs emphasize their blindness to the fact that in the white man’s society the American dream does not pertain to them. Both colors literally cloud the narrator’s vision; through his blindfold the only distinct color the narrator sees is the blue light, while once he is knocked down, red slowly disperses over the band. Consumed by the idea of reciting his speech in front of the only people fit to judge it, the narrator is naive of the white mans’ corruption. They reduce the black boys to their ancestral status of savages. Upon removing the white cloth, the narrator has a slight epiphany, and directs his opponent to fake a loss and offers him the prize. It is the black boys’ first attempt to work as cohesive unit. Up until this point the white men have been able to weaken the boys by plotting them against each other, leading them to believe that they were being looked highly upon for doing the white man’s will. Their failure to compromise is the struggle that they will continue to face as a divided race, as the homogenous American colors are not strong when separated. Ellison mocks America by disrespecting the nation’s colors.

The white cigar smoke is emphasized during the most perverted scenes in the story as a symbol of white superiority. The smoke “clings” to the girl’s seductive body, just as the men’s “beefy fingers sink into her soft flesh.” Though the girl appeared to be unaffected by the smoke, her terrified and disgusted eyes reveal her true animosity towards the white men; therefore, she must have been forced to dance, or she is in desperate need of the money amongst the white man’s world. Both the men and the smoke are omnipresent, stifling her integrity. After being blindfolded, the narrator, also subjecting himself to the white man’s will, feels as though the smoke is a dagger piercing his body. This imagery foreshadows the narrator’s realization of the men’s indirect abuse. With each blow the smoke proportionately cuts off his ability to breath, just as the white men suffocate his race. Even when the narrator realizes that he can vaguely recognize figures, enough to be successful in the fight, the smoke is also visible, distorting his vision. A member of the pack shouts a bet against the narrator, who has to actually ask himself if he should lose the fight in order to submit himself to the white man. Rather than fight against the while man, he fights for him. Amorphous smoke has the ability to spread wherever it pleases, and if enough if present, suffocate its victim, just as the white men have uniformly asserted their superiority.

Ellison uses the American colors to reveal the white man’s corruption, and the smoke to reveal his superiority. The story hints at the narrator’s future ability to see the vivid colors, but his vision remains foggy; though, the fact that he is haunted by the dream and becomes invisible, a step above visibly abiding by the white man’s wishes, gives the reader hope that he will rise above the suppression and fight for, not against, what he believes in. (878)




What does the imagery of the circus represent?

What was the significance of the electric rug and fake gold coins?

How come the boys work against each other? Does it have to do with the cash prize or it is something deeper?

How do you feel about the narrator at the end of the story? Pathos? Resentment?