The Significance of a Yes Man

Alex Beller
9/23/08
814

On the surface, "Battle Royal" is a story which tells of a young African-American individual caught in an extremely bizarre and terrifying circumstance, in which he is brought to a meeting of influential white people to make a speech, and ends up being part of a Battle Royal between himself and other young black men. This Royal serves as entertainment for the white folk, whose actions continue to disgust the reader throughout the story.

The white men's treatment of the black men is comparable to how someone might treat lesser creatures, but the narrator endures, all the time considering how his grandfather, on his dying bed, stated how he wants his descendants to treat white people in what he calls, "our war," (627). His grandfather's wishes were to, "Live with your head in the lion's mouth. I want you to overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em with grins, agree 'em to death and destruction, let 'em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open," (627). The Narrator, whose name we do not seem to learn, is puzzled by this throughout his life, until the Battle Royal, after which it seems he has begun to understand, or at least experienced his grandfather's advice: please the white man, but only to get ahead, for you and him are still enemies.

During the evening the black men were subjected to several different pressures and abuses. While only brought to the event to fight in a large group as entertainment, they were forced to watch a naked white woman dance, which though to some might not sound so bad, puts them, being in the late 40's, in a very dangerous position in terms of looking at her or caught being "attracted." Once the uncomfortable sexual experience passed, the men were blindfolded and told to fight, continuing the testosterone satisfying rage that was the evening's entertainment. The Narrator was pressured to fight, even though brought in to be an honored speaker, which illustrates the blatant racism in the group of white men, for if an honored white speaker were to come to this meeting, he would be treated with respect, not asked to take part in a blind boxing match, or anything of the sort. During this physical abuse, verbal abuses also began, as things were shouted like, "let me at that big nigger!" or "Uppercut him! Kill Him! Kill that big boy!" (531). These added to the stress of the situation, during which the narrator was dominated by the nine other boys, who had teamed up and made a plan against him. After that session of physical abuse is completed, coins are thrown onto the carpet as tips for all the fighters, yet when the fighter's try to gather up the coins, the mat on which the coins lie electrocute the men. Physical torture in the search for entertainment is what these white men stooped to. Yet even the electrocution does not end the abuse, for after he fights, and is repeatedly electrocuted, the narrator, referred to only once as, "Sammy" is ignored and disrespected during his speech (534). Quite a day for a young lad. Yet through the abuses the narrator finally delivers his speech, after which he receives his scholarship. This moment is key to the entire story, for it demonstrates two points. The first of which is that the white men, saying that, "someday he'll lead his people in the proper paths" (535), didn’t think of the narrator the same as they did the other black boys, yet they treated him the same. The other was that his grandfather was right. Being the "yes man" would lead to recognition from the white man, but one still can't lose sight of the first point, that they will still treat you inhumanely.

A ladder of social class is something that can be seen in societies from the caste system of old, to American society today. After reading "Battle Royal," one must stop and consider the actions of every group in the story, and their place on the ladder because of it. The white men were vulgar, mean, abusive, and in complete control of society. The narrator had, "overcome 'em with yeses," (527), and he was moving up (had just received a scholarship). The people at the bottom of this chain of respect and power were the young black men, trying simply to earn some money. In terms of the levels of respect I personally would give each group, I say that society should be turned upside down.