Ralph Ellison implements the battle royal scene to show the narrator used to be naïve; he desperately wants to please the “bankers, lawyers, judges, doctors, fire chiefs, teachers, [and] merchants” (18) who are at the town meeting. During this occasion, the first real glimpse of the white men’s cruelty is evident. The wealthy white citizens humiliate and torment the boys by making them brutally fight against each other while blindfolded. The blindfold represents the obliviousness of the narrator and the other boys because they do not yet realize the white men are just degrading them and forcing them to conform to the stereotype that blacks are violent. The narrator ignores the fact that the white men are abusing him like he is an animal.
While in the boxing ring, the narrator accusingly asks Tatlock if he is fighting “for them” (24). Even though Tatlock denies he is fighting for white people, the narrator ironically continues to try to win for “them.” He tells Tatlock,“Fake like I knocked you out, you can have the prize” (24). But why can’t the narrator end the battle royal by pretending to be knocked out and allowing Tatlock to win? The invisible man does not care about the money; he only cares about how the whites perceive him. If he wins the battle, the whites will like him better.
The battle royal reveals that the narrator used to be optimistic and believed he could be “a potential Booker T. Washington” (18). However, this is only the beginning of the mistreatment he would receive by the whites.
During the battle, the boys wear blindfolds. Although there is an actual reason for this there is also a symbolic one. They boys are too young to understand or “see” the real reason they are fighting. They boys fail to realize it is a matter of race. The boys are also blind to the electric rug and fake coins. The blindfolds the boys wear compare to the blindness of the white men who are observing the battle royal. The men don’t see the boys as individuals with lives that matter. Instead, they view the boys only as an object of their entertainment.
ReplyDeleteEllison wrote the battle royal scene not only to show how naïve the narrator is but to describe the pleasure the whites had by watching them. The whites' purpose of humiliating and tormenting the boys is just for mere entertainment. They were simply encouraging and commanding the boys to fight back such as saying "Slug him, black boy! Knock his guts out!" (11). If the narrator believes in listening and obeying to the whites for respect, then he is out of his mind. Just like you had said, "the narrator ignores the fact that the whites are abusing him." He can't seem to realize that the whites are treating them just like they would had when slavery had existed -- controlling them in every single thing and enjoying their misery and torture.
ReplyDeleteThe question of why Invisible Man did not suggest Tatlock pretend to knock him out is an interesting one to pose. It shows that even after all the cruelty the white men put the narrator through, he still aims to please them above all. Even during the blind-folded fighting, he allows himself to be bombarded with fists; the actual act of fighting seems an afterthought. He thinks about his speech and gaining recognition, and is surprised when it is only Tatlock and himself left in the end, because he was too distracted to notice. His thoughts seem more occupied by the white men's interest in him than the negative actions they are causing. This points back again to the fact that the narrator was looking to others to define his identity in this part of his life.
ReplyDeleteThe question of why Invisible Man did not suggest Tatlock pretend to knock him out is an interesting one to pose. It shows that even after all the cruelty the white men put the narrator through, he still aims to please them above all. Even during the blind-folded fighting, he allows himself to be bombarded with fists; the actual act of fighting seems an afterthought. He thinks about his speech and gaining recognition, and is surprised when it is only Tatlock and himself left in the end, because he was too distracted to notice. His thoughts seem more occupied by the white men's interest in him than the negative actions they are causing. This points back again to the fact that the narrator was looking to others to define his identity in this part of his life.
ReplyDelete