Battle Royal Symbolism

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Symbolism provides an indirect proposal to convey one’s feelings and state of mind. It offers an opportunity for the writer to deepen the reader’s emotional outlook of the characters presented in the story. Symbolism allows one to under stand the character in a deeper manner and unfold a hidden meaning of who the character is and what the conflict is in the story. From the characters, we can learn through symbolism more about them. In “Battle Royal” by Ralph Ellison, the young African American views himself as being praised and chanted by the white folks for a speech that he has delivered, but in reality he is being mocked. In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, a family vacation turned into a murder scene where the grandmother …show more content…

During the very start of the story, the protagonist stated, “All my life I had been looking for something and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I accepted their answers too…I was naïve. I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer”. During this scene, the character was blind to his surroundings, making him feel feeble and defenseless. The blindness that he faced during that scene symbolized his vulnerability. Along with the ten other boys and himself, they were all denied one of there most valuable senses when they were blindfolded, sight. When the boys began striking each other and grabbing at the air, they were allowing themselves to be the subject of an unknown force. The blood that was spilt during the match symbolizes the Protagonists guilt. As the protagonist went to go throw his punches, “In [his] mind each word was as bright as flame.” Because he was blindfolded, there was no pride or no dignity that he had. With each punch, he was not able to tell if he was bleeding everywhere or if it was his sweat. He was unsure if he was feeling guilty or if he was stricken with embarrassment and shame. Each punch symbolized the quilt that was held within and before he lost consciousness, the guilt finally overtook him. It was now splattered around him and choking him of all the dignity that he had left in

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