BATTLE ROYAL

Pilgrimage Toward Social Equality

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal

-Martin Luther King Jr , 1963

The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 declaring African 's freedom from slavery and officially making them part of the United States was mandated a century prior to Martin Luther King Jr 's historical speech calling for social justice and abolition of racial discrimination against African Americans . Between the two

historical periods , the black communities all over America have suffered subtle and savage forms of discrimination and oppression from the whites . The black community strived to seal their place in society amidst hostility and negative criticisms

One short story that very well illustrates their struggles is Ralph Ellison 's Battle Royal . The story provides a very descriptive narration of a black man 's pilgrimage to overcome oppression from an overly-racist community ruled by the economically-powerful white men and to find his opportunity to shape the destiny of his people

This aims to provide a vivid presentation of inhumane and savage oppression that the African Americans encountered in Southern America before gaining their voice and place in American society

Battle Royal was narrated in a first-person perspective with a nameless narrator . He suggests that twenty years back , he has been struggling to find his own identity through other people 's acceptance and affirmation He further explained that his dilemma...