Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. Many authors use symbolism to get readers to think about the overall message and theme of their stories. Symbolism gives deeper meaning to seemingly vague ideas. It offers readers the opportunity to delve deeper into the topic and allow new ideas to flow. Ralph Ellison used many symbols in his short film to show the continuing fight of African Americans for equality. Numerous research articles have shown the theme of equality in his story "Battle Royale" and how it is conveyed through Ralph Ellison's use of symbolism. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Ralph Ellison was born on March 1, 1914 in Oklahoma City, OK. He was an African-American writer best known for his award-winning novel The Invisible Man. The Invisible Man was published in 1952. The novel centers on a Southern civil rights activist who moved North and felt isolated due to the racism he encountered. Ellison wrote The Invisible Man on a farm in Vermont. The Invisible Man was on best-seller lists for weeks. The year after the publication of The Invisible Man he won the National Book Award. The story for which he is best known is Royal Battle. In the story Battle Royale a young man is haunted by the dying words of his grandfather. His grandfather tells him to smile in the face of his enemies but to remember the fight for equality. Encourage your grandson to do whatever it takes to achieve equality. The young man was considered intelligent for a black man and was allowed to give a speech for some of the city's most prestigious white men. The speaker was very nervous about attending this event because he wanted everything to be perfect for these white men. This symbolized that blacks sought confirmation of self-worth and achievement through white acceptance. At the beginning of the story the speaker aspired to be like Booker T. Washington. Washington believed that if blacks worked hard and were educated, it would help them achieve equality. However, Ellison countered that idea by demonstrating that a voiceless upbringing does not make a person of color invincible to injustice and inequality. He was considered special because he was intelligent and black, but he was not considered equal to white men. It shows how black people were immediately reminded of their place in society when the speaker arrived at the event and was forced to fight like his schoolmates. When it's time to prepare for the actual battle, he is stripped of his clothes and put into a fight wringer. When the young man was stripped of his original clothing, it symbolized slavery and how slaves were stripped of their land and culture. When he was forced into the ring he symbolized America. Ellison never implied that the young man was a fighter, so the ring was a foreign place that the speaker knew nothing about. The ring was the equivalent of what America was for slaves. He was blindfolded and told to fight other black men. They didn't know why they were fighting, all they knew was that they were told to fight and so they did. The blindfold represents the blindness of blacks at the time. They felt like they had no voice and were afraid to speak out. However, as the story progresses, readers see the determination in giving his speech. As he struggled, his mind was focused on the speech. He was determined to give his speech because he knew that