Response To Battle Royal

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Professor Atkinson September 22, 2012 Response Paper BATTLE ROYAL Battle Royal is a short piece out of Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man. This piece exemplifies the segregation of blacks and whites throughout the mid-19th century. The writing takes the readers through some of the struggles faced by African Americans during this time period and explores the meaning of being black, staying humble and still living your life to your satisfaction. The time period in which this novel is portrayed in, was an era of turmoil for the United States, landing most of its aggression on the African American society. With a prevalent segregation between the black and white communities, particularly in the south, the availability of opportunity for African-American citizens to grow as individuals was diminutive. However, I strongly believe that the only ones to blame for this tragic oppression of freedom and individuality is the African-American society itself. The lack of racial unity among this community during this time period, as well as the naiveté, makes me believe that the African-American community should be held accountable for preventing themselves from succeeding…show more content…
I am the white Ralph Ellison. I say what people want me to say and believe to be acceptable. I act how society wants me to act and deem respectable. And I voice my opinions in writing, where the odds of anyone seeing it are slim to none. I can confidentially say that the only thing I am confident about is that I operate like a robot. I am an “invisible man” (woman) skating through college. I may not know the struggles of slavery and oppression of my skin color, but if you have ever seen the look on my parents face after pure disappointment I am sure I could imagine some level of feelings slaves have gone
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