“Battle Royal”, a story taken from the novel Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison, tells the story of a young African-American who is chosen to receive a scholarship and deliver a speech to a gathering of the town's white male citizens. The gathering turns out to be a cruel battle between the black guests, all for the entertainment of the white men. The story itself, however, is an allegory that depicts white society versus black society, and how they both support racism. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Overall, the power that white men held over black men is extremely important. At the beginning, powerful white men stand outside the ring, representing powerful white society. Black men inside the ring represent black society. The men who represent white society hold power over those who represent black society. The men in the ring are taunted and teased. At one point, the white men ask a naked white woman to approach the blacks. They have to watch it and want it, but they can never have it. The woman is described as having a “small American flag tattooed on her stomach,” which supports the idea that she represents the American dream (1213). The American dream could not be achieved by black people, and white people were driving this idea. Additionally, the white woman represents the idea that everyone should be attracted to the white race, even those of color. Black men were supposed to idealize white women, rather than black women. Another way white men gain power over black men is through money. The very reason for fighting is the promise that the winner will be rewarded with money. At the end of the fights, when the winner was announced, the black men were called to an area of ​​the ground where coins had been scattered. The black men jump at the chance to get some money, but the ground is electrocuted. While the black men are jumping around trying to collect money, the white men are laughing, amused by the pain they are putting the blacks through. The narrator describes the ordeal; “'Get the money,' the MC called. “It’s American cash!” “And we seized and seized, seized and seized” (1218). White men feel superior by making black men fight over money. White society, symbolized by white men, treats people of color as if they are inferior, supporting racism against black people. Along with white men taking power over black men, in the story black people attempt to take power over each other. . The narrator, considered the invisible man, considers himself better than all the other black people around him. He feels superior to them, and he even says it; “But the other guys weren't that interested in me either, and there were nine of them. I felt superior to them in my own way and I didn't like the way we were all crowded into the servants' elevator” (1212). Because the narrator is well educated, he believes he is better than other black people. He thinks he's good enough to be like white men. He, in his own way, is racist. Black society, represented through other black men, seems to resent black intellectuals. And black intellectuals, represented through the narrator, seem to resent the rest of black society. During fighting, black men split into groups to fight each other, but they always ended up fighting...