Chapter 1

1.     How does the Battle Royal illuminate to the narrator the differences between Blacks and Whites? 

à The narrator expresses the differences between Blacks and the Whites when talking about the battle royal by calling them names like “sonsabitches” and showing that they only take action if they don’t get in trouble for being racist.

2. What shocking surprises does the narrator have that night? 

à The narrator has to fight with someone who is bigger than he is.

3. How does the Battle Royal symbolize the narrator’s struggle for identity? 

 àThe Battle Royal symbolizes the narrator’s struggle for identity because while he is fighting, he is blindfolded. The other man that he is fighting is also black and the audience doesn’t care who he is because he is Black.

4. How does it symbolize the plight of Blacks in that time period in general? 

à During that time period, whites ridiculed blacks and used them for entertainment purposes only. Like the fight, it was a all white audience and blacks had to entertain them.

5. The narrator gives a number of speeches throughout the novel. This is the first. Study it carefully and write a brief summary. What is the topic and why is that topic ironic? 

 à In his first Speech, he talks about humility and states “On my graduation day I delivered an oration in which I showed that humility was the secret, indeed, the very essence of progress. (Not that I believed this -- how could I, remembering my grandfather? -- I only believed that it worked.) It was a great success. Everyone praised me and I was invited to give the speech at a gathering of the town's leading white citizens. It was a triumph for our whole community. This is ironic because, even though he was feeling shy on the inside, he was confident and felt like he was “Booker T. Washington”

6. In what ways are the Blacks at the smoker humiliated? Why do the White men take such pleasure in that humiliation?

 à The black man are humiliated because they are forced to do things they don’t want to do like fight in the Battle Royale and watching a women dance and get aroused.

 7. The narrator clings to the White man’s chair and thinks of tossing the man on the electrified rug. How does this scene symbolize the consequences of Black rebellion in a White world?

à This action symbolizes that even if Blacks do fight back, they will not get anywhere because the stereotypes made towards black will remain the same or get even stronger because of the actions they choose to show.

8. List all reference to the image of blindness.

à The blindfold and the blinding lights.

9. What is the significance of the narrator’s dream at the end of the chapter? 

à The significance about the dream at the end of the chapter is that the narrator is willing to do anything as long as he can find a way to stay.

 Chapter 2

1.How does the statue of the founder fit into the sight imagery begun in the Prologue?

 àThe veil represented the education that the black people had. If the veil was lifted it meant that black people would have education. If it wasn’t lifted it meant that they wouldn’t have education.

2. Look at the “Maxims of Emerson” handout. Are Norton’s comments ironic? Why or why not? 

 à It is ironic because in some of his beliefs, he supports white men.

3. Notice that Norton smokes a cigar. Does this connect him to other men of power? Who?

à It portrays him to have more power because back then, cigars were more expensive and only the wealthy people bought cigars.

4. Do you sense anything unnatural about Norton’s relationship with his daughter (on p. 51)?

àNorton says his daughter "too good.”

5. Norton seems amazed that Trueblood has “looked upon chaos and [is] not destroyed.” What do you make of this comment? 

àNorton thinks that  incest is an atrocious crime.

6. How might the clock in Trueblood’s dream symbolize the modern mechanized world?

à The clock symbolizes that time goes on and that time waits for no one.

7. Do you find any symbolism in Trueblood’s name?

 à The symbolism in Trueblood’s name is that he slept with one of his relatives.

8. Did you find the incest story disturbing? Why does Ellison include it? 

àEllison includes the incest story because it shows that even though they do do these wrong things, they are still human. The story was disturbing.