Invisible Man - Battle Royal

The battle royal scene represents the entire novel and Ellison used the battle royal as inspiration for the rest of the novel. In many ways, the battle royal is representative of the system itself. Firstly, it is significant that the boys were blind folded at the beginning of the battle royal. Their physical blindness is representative of their multi-layer metaphorical blindness.  The boys are blind to the system itself and to what they believe the system has become. With the erection of black colleges and the abolishment of slavery blacks believe that society has progressed and become better for blacks. However the reality is that whites still view blacks as inferior and second class citizens. The boys are also blind to the true intentions of the whites. The whites pretend to help the blacks and act as if they want to help the boys but ultimately want to control the blacks for their own benefit. The true intentions of the whites are exemplified when the narrator accidently says “racial equality” in his speech and the whites become angered and stirred up. They do not want racial equality and they will not stand to hear a black boy give a speech about. They calm down when he corrects himself and says “racial responsibility” which shows that whites can tolerate blacks when the blacks are conforming to the values of the whites. The whites are also blind to the true nature of the blacks. By stereotyping all blacks into one category, the whites fail to see each of the boys as an individual. They are also blind to the true beliefs of the narrator who follows his grandfather’s words by agreeing with the whites but retaining his internal resentment for them.

The walls of the arena are symbolic of the confinement that blacks encounter within the system. They are stuck within the system and are unable to leave or change their situation. No matter what they do, they are unable to save themselves. By fighting within the battle royal, the boys further reinforce the stereotypical views that the whites have of blacks as animalistic and violent. The reality is that these stereotypes are forced upon the blacks and perpetuated by the whites. In order to survive, they must act violently, work within the system, and the blacks end up turning on each other. By fighting each other instead of the enemy which are the whites they do nothing to change the system and they remain in the metaphorical arena.

Another prominent image in the battle royal scene is the depiction of the white woman surrounded by the black boys. This creates the image of the eye and her tattoo of the American flag suggests that she represents blinded American values that are driven by sex and greed. Like the money that the boys couldn’t have because they electrocuted before they reached it, the woman is something that the boys cannot have. The scene is very sexual and relates to the animalistic nature of the battle royal/