Ralph Ellison Battle Royal Imagery

Imagery

“Live with your head in the lion’s mouth”(Ellison 238) is the first use of imagery in Ralph Ellison’s “Battle Royal.” In this story set in the south during the 1920’s Ellison uses imagery to convey how animalistic the relationship was between blacks and whites.

The imagery in the story explains how savage the culture was. Such as when the white men where howling at the woman dancing or how they were wolfing down buffet foods. “The young black men are also depicted as animals, subtly at first, as they are “crowded together into the servants' elevator” (like cattle) and “led out of the elevator” into the hall.”(German 3) The young black men were called several names by the white men, which truly showed how the white men felt about the young black men. The young men were called things like sonsabitches, coons, and crabs that are crouched over to protect its mid section. In the story the white men also treated the young black men like circus animals.

Throughout the story there are many references to the circus, which Ellison uses very well to show how the white men treated these young black men. The first use of imagery is one of the many great examples of this. When the narrator’s grandfather talks to him about having your head in the lion’s mouth it remind me of how at the circus the lion tamer would do this same thing to entertain the crowd. One of the young black men is referred to as a wet seal flailing in the air before the land back on the electrically charged mat. The circus imagery did not pertain to only how the young men were treated.

“The circus imagery is significant to the story in several ways. A circus is a grandiose spectacle presented for the sole purpose of entertaining masses of people. A circus is also characterized by a variety of acts and events designed to arouse the awe and fascination of the crowds.”(Brent 4)

Ellison depicts how the young men are being treated like trained animals. The young men must learn how to perform in...