"Battle Royal," by Ralph Ellison, tells the story of a young black man during segregation who struggles to discover his identity. The story begins with the narrator who remembers the advice that his dying grandfather gave to his son (the narrator's father) and his remembrance of a cruel betrayal that confirms the grandfather's advice. The grandfather divulges to his son how he has survived in the white man's world and counsels his son to agree with what the white man says and always answer with a compliant attitude. The narrator is then invited to give his high school graduation speech to leaders of his town, but the narrator arrives at the hotel and he is forced to fight a blindfolded "battle royal" with other young black men in front of white men. He finally gets to present his speech after fighting in the battle, but the drunken town leaders barely listen. At the close of his speech, the narrator is given a fine briefcase and a scholarship to a black college. In the story the narrator is in search for his identity during a period where black men were still look down upon.
Battle Royal, is mainly a description of the African American struggle for equality and identity. The narrator of the story is an above average youth of the African American community. He is given an opportunity to give a speech to some of the more prestigious white individuals. His expectations of being received in a positive and normal environment are drastically dashed when he is faced with the severity of the process he must deal with in order to accomplish his task. "I suspected that fighting a battle royal might detract from the dignity of my speech" the narrator says while beginning to question the importance of his speech and himself. His dignity is the last thing the white "leading citizens" are interested in. Then the young black men are "forced" to watch this attractive white woman dance in the middle of the ring, this in a time when being sexually attracted to a white woman is a taboo in the racist world.