Treason in "Invisible Man"

Book Review # 100540

English > Analysis
Literature > American

An analysis of perceptions of treason in the "Battle Royale" episode in Ralph Ellison's novel "Invisible Man".

1,671 words () | 2 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how analyzing the "Battle Royale" episode in Ralph Ellison's novel "Invisible Man" indicates that whether one is being a traitor or not depends upon whether one is a racist or a victim of racism. It concludes that when the grandfather in "Battle Royale" describes the life of blacks as a war and says he has been a traitor all of his life and a spy in the enemy's country, he means that his contempt for white racism makes him a traitor in their eyes.

From the Paper:

"The narrator's grandfather's bitter words of recrimination just before he died confused, bewildered and haunted the narrator for years. He failed to understand the context of his grandfather's defiant words and mistakenly believed that his grandfather was the one who was confused and haunted. His parents told him to ignore his grandfather's dying words, but as he begins to suspect that he always seems to be acting in accordance with his grandfather's belief that blacks should "yes" white people to death, he realizes that he has been running away from his true self, which is the ultimate treachery. "

Sample of Sources Used:

Ellison, Ralph. "Battle Royale." In Invisible Man. New York: Vintage, 1995.
"Ralph Ellison." Online. Available: http://lfa.atu.edu/brucker/Ellison.html. 21 November 2006.