Upload
vokiet
View
239
Download
3
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Harlem Renaissance Themes,
Ralph Ellison,
& ―Battle Royal‖
The prevalent –isms found in
Harlem Renaissance literature
Definitions
• The work deals with:
– Prejudice
– Discrimination
– Racism
– Sexism
Ralph Ellison (1913-1994)
• Born in Oklahoma City
• Middle name is Waldo; his
parents named him after
Emerson, hoping he’d grow
up to be a poet
• Father worked in
construction and as a vendor
of ice and coal. He died
when Ralph was 3; after this
his mother supported herself
and her children by working
as a domestic servant.
Ralph Ellison (1913-1994) • With the help of a music
scholarship, studied at the Tuskegee Institute from 1933-1936. – The Booker T. Washington
connection
• Dropped out and moved to New York to study sculpture, but his plans soon changed again – Langston Hughes, Richard
Wright, and the Federal Writer’s Project
• Became an editor of The Negro Quarterly
• WWII 1943-1945, Merchant Marines
Ralph Ellison (1913-1994)
Man of many talents:
• Author—essays, reviews, short stories,
novels
• Scholar
• Teacher
• Jazz Trumpeter
• Free-lance Photographer
• Sculptor
HISTORICAL & SOCIAL CONTEXT
• Ellison and other Black writers used literature
and art to address racial prejudice and
hostility as well as to explore universal
dilemmas of mankind.
• Ellison once said, ―Literature is colorblind.‖
• Readers often view Ellison’s main theme as
exploring the potential for life-changing
events, but Ellison more or less mocks this
view.
―Battle Royal‖
• Taken from the first chapter of Invisible Man
• IM published in 1952
• National Book Award in 1953.
• As you read the story, think of the intersecting issues of race, class, and gender.
From Ralph Ellison's, Invisible Man
I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids --- and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me ... When they approach me they only see my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination --- indeed, everything and anything except me.
History--Battle Royals
History records that the battle royal is almost
as old as organized fighting itself. The
Romans, who practiced the Greek sport of
pancration (a combination of boxing and
wrestling) were the first to coin the term,
using it to describe a specific type of
spectacle in which several gladiators were
matched in one arena and made to fight
until only one remained.
History--Battle Royals
With a resurgence in boxing in 19th century
America battle royals once again became
a commonplace attractions, specifically
among black fighters. These events often
took place as preludes to larger, more
legitimate fights and were conducted in
"smokers", illegally staged and
unregulated boxing "shows" secretly held
in remote locations.
Debate Within the Black Community
• Booker T. Washington
– Assimilation
– Manual Labor
– Blacks must learn to live
within the racist order of
the South
• W.E.B. DuBois
– Criticized Washington
for what he viewed as
giving in and submitting
to the white culture
– Blacks must resist the
racist order of the
South
Which side do you think Ellison supports in ―Battle
Royal‖? How do you know this?
Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B. DuBois
The Narrator’s Speech
• Comes from a speech given by Booker T.
Washington at the 1895 Atlanta Exposition
• Also known as:
– The Atlanta Compromise Speech
– The ―Cast Your Bucket‖ speech
• Urged blacks to learn manual labor and
soothed the white community’s fears of
black rebellion
– Assimilation, cooperation
Conflicted Identity
• Ambiguity of Grandfather’s message
• Speaker’s confusion
• Intra-racial tension
– In the elevator with the other fighters
– Showdown with Tatlock
• The dancer
– American flag
– Speaker identifies with her
• The electrified rug
• His speech
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Charters, Ann, Ed. ―Ralph Ellison.‖ The Story and Its Writer 5th ed.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999. 448.
• ―Ralph (Waldo) Ellison (1914-1994).‖ 2000. 10 Mar. 2008.
<http://kirjasto.sci.fi/rellison.htm>.