Whites And Blacks example essay topic

The first example of racism towards blacks is shown when they ten (10) young men are forced to compete in the infamous battle royal. The men are placed in a portable boxing ring, blindfolded and told to run across at the bell and give it to him right in the belly. If you dont get him, Im going to get you At the sound of the bell, the fighting begins and all the while the white people sit and watch the event unfolding before their eyes. To them, the battle is nothing more than pure entertainment and reinforcement to the belief that the blacks are animals whose self-worth is much less than their own. However, having these ten men violently beat each other is not enough. The black men are led to a rug filled with coins of all dimensions and a few crumpled bills scattered here and there, were the gold pieces.

Each of the men kneel around the rug and upon the instructions of the M.C., was told to GO. As the men grabbed for the coins, a shock is sent racing through their bodies. They were on an electric rug. The black men kept after the coins despite the pain that was sure to follow. All the while, the white men sat and watched in amusement at the sight of these black men enduring so much pain in order to get their prize.

After the white men had received all the entertainment they wanted from this, the black men were informed that the money on the rug was not real and they were escorted to the back and given the real money. Finally, the narrator is called to give his speech. As he stands in front of the room and begins his speech, he soon realizes that all of the men are still talking and laughing, but keeps going despite this. Although it seems impossible for the white men to have heard anything the narrator said, the narrator receives applause, a new briefcase, and a college scholarship at the end of the speech The white men in the story subject these black men to pain, suffrage, and humiliation for no reason whatsoever, other than to achieve a sense of power.

The conflict that exists between the whites and blacks leads to yet another conflict, one between the blacks themselves. While the conflict that exists between the whites and blacks is mostly mental, the one between the blacks themselves is much more physical. It seems as though the white men have more intentions for this gathering than just to get entertainment by humiliating these young, black men. Perhaps their intentions are to keep the blacks fighting amongst themselves so that they will not fight against the white men. At this time, whites are united while the blacks are pitted against each other. It would be impossible for one black man to overtake a town full of white men.

However, if many black men joined together, change does not become so impossible. The white men of the town, who are highly educated, have knowledge of this. In order to prevent anything from happening, they find ways to keep the black men against one another. The fighting of the men during the battle royal is perhaps the most obvious example of the battle occurring between the black men.

Once there are only two men left, the narrator offers to give his opponent all his prize, plus extra, if he will fake a knockout. His opponent refuses, saying Ill break your behind. When the narrator asks if he is doing this just for the entertainment of the white men, he replies, For me, sonofabitch! The reason for this mans hatred toward the narrator is never explained, but it can be inferred that the white men were successful in turning the black men against one another. Yet another example of this inner-racial turmoil is when the black men are around the rug waiting for the instructions in order to get their prize for the fight.

The narrator expresses his thoughts about how he would get the gold and the bills I would use both hands. I would throw my body against the boys nearest to me to block them from the gold. This simple thought can be interpreted to show that each of the black men thought only of himself. The white men are successful in their attempts; by the end of the story the black men are totally independent of each other. The battles that take place in Battle Royal are those which are of great importance and are faced even in this modern day.

It is easy to see that the two conflicts are closely related and, in fact, one is caused, or escalated, by the other. If there was no conflict between the white men and the black men, there would have been no need for the battle royal or the entire humiliating experience that occurs. In turn, the black men would not have been forced to engage in activities which bring hostility towards one another, but perhaps would take part in activities to bring them together.