"Battle Royal" by Ralph Ellison, a short story excerpted from the novel The Invisible Man, portrays the story of a young African American who is chosen to receive a scholarship and hold a speech to a gathering of the city's white male citizens. The meeting turns out to be a cruel battle between the invited blacks, all for the entertainment of the white men. The story itself, however, is an allegory representing white society versus black society and how they both support racism. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Throughout the course, the power that white men had over black men is extremely important. At first, powerful white males stand outside the ring, representing powerful white society. The black men inside the ring represent black society. Men who represent white society hold power over those who represent black society. The men in the ring are taunted and made fun of. At one point, white males call a naked white woman to approach black men. They are forced to look at it and desire it, but they can never have it. The woman is said to have a "small American flag tattooed on her belly," supporting the idea that she represents the American dream (1213). The American dream could not be achieved by blacks, and whites drove that idea. Furthermore, the white woman represents the idea that everyone should be attracted to the white race, even those of color. Black men were supposed to idealize white women, instead of black women. Another way white men secured power over black men is through money. The whole reason for the fight is the promise that the winner will be rewarded with money. At the end of the fight, when the winner is announced, the blacks are called to an area on the floor where coins had been scattered. Blacks will jump at the chance to get money, but the public is stunned. While the black men jump around trying to collect money, the white men laugh, amused by the pain they are putting the blacks through. The narrator describes the ordeal; “'Take the money,' called the MC. 'It's good American money!' And we snatched and grabbed, snatched and grabbed” (1218). White men feel superior by forcing blacks to fight for money. The white society, symbolized by white men, treats people of color as if they are inferior, supporting racism against blacks Along with white men taking power over black men, in the story, blacks try to take power from each other on the other .The narrator, considered the invisible man, considers himself better than all the other blacks around him, and he also says so; . In my own way I felt superior to them and I didn't like the way we were all crammed into the servants' elevator” (1212). Because the narrator is well educated, he thinks he is better than the other blacks to be like white men. He, in his own way, is racist. Black society, represented through other black men, seems to resent intellectual blacks. And intellectual blacks, represented through the narrator, seem to resent the rest of black society. During fights, blacks divide into groups to defeat each other, but they always end up fighting alone, because in the end there can only be one winner. The narrator describes the grouping; “It felt like all nine guys turned on me at the same time.”.