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In many works of literature irony plays and important roll in the story. In the short story Battle Royal written by Ralph Ellison irony is a key factor on the story. The narrator who is nameless is a young black male in the time slavery recently had been abolished. A time where blacks were free, but looked upon and treated with less than equality. The narrator was awarded for his conduct on the day of his graduation. He gave a speech when he accepted the award but he didnt believe a word he said.
He felt that the white folks didnt think of him any different then another black man, but no matter how he felt about his speech it was a great success. He was invited to present the speech in the main ballroom of the leading hotel in front of all the big names of the town. He got to the ballroom and was forced to enter in the nights battle royal. He was lead into a room with nine other boys to put on his fighting trunks and boxing gloves. Then all ten men were brought into a smoked filled ballroom with all the white men yelling at them and a striking blonde woman who walked around the ring in front of them. A bunch of the boys on stage were very embarrassed and tried to run off, but they were pushed right back inline with the other boys.
All ten boys were made to go through acts of humiliation before and after they had fought and were made to wear blindfolds during the actual fight. The boys were degraded and humiliated throughout the whole event and didnt once think they were being mistreated. They were scared of the white men and what would happen if they didnt cooperate. The boys had been brought in for only the amusement of the white men. The narrator at the beginning of the fight couldnt stop thinking about making his speech, but after getting punched several times he switched to the animal that the white men sees him as. After the fight was over the boys were led to an electrified rug with coins, gold pieces and crumpled bills and was told to go get there nights pay.
The narrator jumped on the rug and thought only about getting the bills and gold pieces. He was acting just like the white men wanted him to acted like. The boys had been misled, lied to and physically abused, but never spoke out against the white men. The white men knew they could do and yell what ever they wanted to the boys and get away with it. After all this the narrator forgot about what he was there for and left the hotel after getting paid. Then he was called back into make his speech.
He went through with it even through everyone was talking and wasnt paying any attention to him and his mouth kept on filling up with blood. When he finished he got a thunderous applause. He was given a calfskin brief case and inside was a scholarship to the state college for Negros. The irony in the story was that the narrator was awarded for his outstanding conduct and was looked as a future leader for blacks in his community. He was then forced to fight and was put through humiliating events. He was looked as a clown in the circus and was laughed and was used for amusement.
He thought the white men were helping him to achieve his goals and would get him where he wanted to go. What he didnt realize was that he was doing everything the white men wanted him to. They didnt take him serious and they never would, he will just keep on leading his people in circles. Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on White Men Battle Royal
