A Simple Square
A Simple Square
Imagine standing in a simple square, large enough for twenty men. Imagine coarse ropes on all four sides of that simple square restricting an easy escape. Imagine being stripped close to naked and then blindfolded so you can not see a thing. Imagine five hundred intoxicated, crazed men staring at you with the kind of hatred you can almost smell. Finally, imagine getting attacked from every direction within that simple square and attempting to fight back without even a hint of success.
In the 1930's white America fondly referred to this as a battle royal. Ralph Ellison suggests that this so-called battle royal is a microcosm of the larger crisis that is the oppression forced upon black people in the 1930's. In his short story, "Battle Royal", Ralph Ellison suggests how a simple square, a boxing ring can symbolically hold inside it the views of an entire nation. This boxing ring holds truths about black peoples' existence in the 1930's. It tells how they tried to fight a "good fight." It mentions how oppression can be set up and moved anywhere. "Battle Royal" explores the lack of education among black people. It showcases the isolation and despair that many black people felt everyday. The story even seems to suggest ideas about the future of racism and oppression in America. Through critical reading of the text, I will show that Ellison tells the story of every black man or women in America, but he does it with the eloquence of seemingly trying to tell the story of a boxing ring, a simple square.
"Battle Royal" begins with the main character overhearing his grandfather's last words on his death bed. The character hears him say, "Son, after I'm gone I want you to keep up the good fight" (196). This shows that early in the story a reference to fighting is established. His grandfather suggests that the black man's life is a struggle and it will always be. His grandfather evens goes as far as to say that "...our life is war..."...
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