Reader Response
Ellison's "Battle Royal"
In Battle Royal, Ellison shows us various things to bring our attention to the pain
the minority group suffered. In doing this Ellison shows us relationships between the
torment they felt to our feelings for them. When the boys enter the boxing ring, they are
shown off like animals. The woman dancing represents the sick pleasure derived from the
boys' torture. Ellison shows us a picture of the human mind, in seeing something to lust
after then watching young men being beaten nearly to death as a form of entertainment.
He does this to show us a view of human nature.
In oppression to the torment the boys developed a sort of counter attack. The
boys were so eager for the the fake money that they suffered electric shocks to grab it. I
think this sort of surprised the audience, beings that the boys never gave up the fight.
Diva Battle Royal during Wrestlemania 25 at Relian...
Boxing ring
Boxing Legends of the RingIt
was as thought giving up would have meant giving up much more than money or a boxing
match. It would have been a loss of dignity and pride, none of them wanted to lose that.
Also, by the time the boys were given the chance to chase the money, they were numb
from pain. I don't think the new torture methods were really affecting the boys. Their
bodies became somewhat immune to the blows after awhile.
My battle royal was a little bit different from the boys in the story. I did not really
suffer from outside torment. The battle I faced was mostly inside myself. People didn't
have to say anything and I would be judging myself and putting myself down. Like the
boys in the boxing ring fighting one another, I would have to fight with my own feelings to...