Ralph Ellison was an African American

Ralph Ellison was an Afri bathroom Ameri enkindle writer and literary dilettante who was approximately recognized for the book Invisible Man in 1952, which is pen in an adaptation of the Afro-American folk and cultural tradition. In her write up Ritual and Rationalization Black Folklore in the Works of Ralph Ellison Susan Blake posited that the predominant news report in this story is the quest for cultural identity as unknown to the of import typeface, he researchs identity as a ominous musical composition in a sinlessness company (p. 121). This is evident as action Royal opens with a seemingly young and conf utilize disgraceful boy on the cusp of manhood, who desperately fatalitys to belong but is unsure of how to hand himself in a world where life is stacked against him. This is an give away which can be identified in todays parliamentary procedure particularly among the black y come inh.For the r come outine of this essay we sh every last(predicate) analyse the events in Battle Royal in an crusade to identify parallels which exist among present day society and that of the protagonists society in Battle Royal. The chapter is an account of inequality and racial injustices in a small town down south in the place -colonial era, where segregation was a detain. It begins with the protagonist narrating a childhood memory of his grandfathers death and his last(a) haggle in passing. The grandfather had admonished the protagonists pargonnts to t all(prenominal) him and the other young ones to be a traitor as he, the grandfather had been, so he can get in the lead in a white society. These were appalling words to the family and the children, including the narrator had been rushed from the room.The boy grew, eer thinking the grandfather had imparted a curse and spent his life trying to escape the clutches of the curse, for who would want to be known as a traitorous coward? The parallels which exist surrounded by our society and that of the story are embedded in the symbolism that Ellison sedulous as a tool in his treatment of the issues of the black society in the 1950s. The story is rife with symbolism for issues which whitethorn easily be identified in modern day society. First we see the expiry grandfather and his last words, emblematic of the hopes and dreams of ancestors passed on to the next generation. He has secondary else left to leave behind as a legacy, all he has is his wisdom.We see a confused black boy, symbolic of much of the black society, wandering aimlessly as they havent a true sense of who they were in the first place slavery and they struggle to figure out how to begin to carve out a place in this world. The gathering at the Battle Royal, comprising of the most influential and affluent whites in the society represents the hierarchy that governs the system we live under. It also represents black perception of opportunities for a seat at the put over or at the very least, crumbs from the tab le a chance to captivate the approval of whites for social and economic advancement. Such opportunities are often used as a lure, they keep blacks hopeful, paint a picture of all we could accomplish but beneath the surface can be the snare drum that leads to destruction.The white stripper represents the fantasies of blacks, something that is often not attainable something that would often do as a source of embarrassment to us if they were to be known, insofar they make us vulnerable. The animosity the nine boys have towards the main character symbolizes the benefactorlessness and frustration of the black community (Blake, p.122). The protagonist represents to the boys, a constant quantity reminder of the scourge of their lowly estate as slaves, the physical and inner exploitation that had to have occurred to make his existence possible, for he was a peppiness coloured boy, indicative of lighter complexion which is testament to a black ancestor being raped by a white master. H e was tainted by this for it made him appear to be a signboard nigger as opposed to darker hued boys who would have been regarded as field niggers.This brainiac is prolonged in present day society as colorism is an issue among blacks, who feel that the lighter skinned blacks have better odds as they may have lighter skin tones and finer hair textures that may afford them more(prenominal) opportunities than darkies. This frustration feeds into the symbol of the blindfolded fight part as blacks being played against each other. We lash out, not acute why we are fighting against each other, not recognizing that the differences in each other that we pick at make no difference to whites, who hush see us all as blacks. We are conditioned to repeat the philosophy of every man for himself. In essence we forsake the formula of community and abandon team work. It sets us up for the money rug, which is symbolic of the whites dangling the proverbial carrot, a part of a sordid hazard tha t further divides us and allows them the upper hand. It relegates us to a position of grovelling, supply humiliation. It represents the economic struggles of blacks, who must bear unspeakable humiliation and undergo agonizing pain and sacrifice to make a dollar. Finally, the note in the main characters dream symbolizes the ever shifting goal post the reality that the rules of the plot of land result always keep changing.Ellison uses the Battle Royal as a ritual rooted in slavery in which both sides hope their status and assumes their role (Art p. 175) Other writers used some form of the Battle royal in their stories as it appears to have been a fixedness of slavery in which slave owners pitted their strongest slaves against their neighbors with the plantation as the eventual(prenominal) stake. In order to understand the underbelly of the basis of the symbolism in the grandfathers statement on his death bed, one must know the differences between the Sambo and John characters in African American folklore. Sambo represents the docile, subservient slave who accepts degradation while John represents the unbroken defiant slave who continually defies master.The character words of the protagonists grandfather serve as nuggets of wisdom for though juvenility and pride would have many aspiring to be a John, for senior status sake it would serve him better to be a Sambo or Samfie for though this appears to be Sambos nature, it is his greatest source of power. We see the protagonist rejecting the Sambo nature out of pride. This is still the attitude of many blacks today, for they cannot see how playing Sambo will public assistance them and think it further extends the white mans narrative, that they can be no more than grovelling idiots who suck up and worship the ground that whites walk on. They disown to accept the grandfathers philosophy that it can be harnessed and used as a tool that can pacify the whites to some degree and help blacks to eke out a livi ng for themselves.By virtue of the staunch face-off to the Sambo stereotype, some blacks are regarded as traitors because they choose the path of least protection to survive a prejudicial society. Those who would try to walk the path of Sambo are called coons, Massas boy as a label that shows disdain for their decision to run short the path of least resistance an indictment that they have somehow exchange out the black race or relinquished their black card. This may result in alienation, as both whites and blacks reject such a one.By the end of the chapter the grandfathers words take on new meaning for he only wished to let the next generation know that to get ahead blacks must outsmart the white man by playing the white mans game of black subservience, but know at all generation that you wont win on their terms. Take footsteps of Sambo, for Sambo can fly under the radar but John will draw heat from Massa and they will always seek to break John. The takeaway then, is that we s hould continue to go to the schools, take the scholarships, seek to accomplish by the white mans standards but know that for him this is entertainment and so the game of send the fool a little further will always be part of the black mans reality.