While reading the opening chapter to Battle Royal, a novel I have never read, I was a bit confused. There are a multitude of scenes all regarding one male character. I ask the question, what is the point? The one part of the chapter that caught my attention was the American Flag tattoo. I have asked myself, why an American Flag? I take it as though Ellison is pointing directly at the corruption of American society at the time. It was a time during society, where as mentioned, equality was not an acceptable term. When the narrator is giving his speech, he repeats social responsibility, however, once he says social equality. This immediately grabs the attention of the audience. In American society equality was something to be fought for but hadn't yet been achieved. Having not read the complete novel, I am going to relate these two points to our current American societal problems.
Ellison concentrates on America specifically and the inequalities associated with it. Recently in America, we witnessed something never having been done before, an African-American President voted to office. Politically, yes, black and white citizens have reached a sense of equality. I ask the question, politics aside, how equal is America really. I moved to Sioux Falls from a small city in Arizona where half my high school population was of Mexican decent. Racial equality among students was difficult to maintain and there were constant power struggles. After reading Ellison's chapter, I'm forced to ask myself, will there ever be an equal America? I'm hopeful that one day race or color will not matter, but I'm asking you, what can we do to help?
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