IndexIntroductionTopic AnalysisWorks CitedIntroductionMany works of fiction, poetry, and drama deal with all kinds of issues: war, duty, desperation, grief , love and many more. Some works are strictly fictional, while others contain elements of reality. In this article we will examine the two works, written in the 20th century, a time of war, violence and many inequalities. Before and after World War II, African Americans were targeted and discriminated against through housing segregation, transportation, and education. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Through many years and growing up, Ralph Ellison learned from cultural experience that inspired him to write many of his works, including The Invisible Man, which we will especially cover the chapter of the tale called "Battle Royale" . Another author present during the twentieth century was Lorraine Hansberry, her life experiences highlight too many of Lorraine's strengths, especially in her play A Raisin in the Sun. Racism is a theme that presents itself in both these works, and it's similar to the way each of these authors lived in these times. Topic AnalysisRacism and the civil rights movement have played such an important role in our nation's history and has been a driving factor in many literary works. Both Ralph Ellison's "Battle Royal" and Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" show the types of racism and segregation that African Americans faced during the civil rights movement. Before and after World War II, African Americans were targeted, being discriminated against. against through segregated housing, transportation, and segregated education. Before the Civil War, slave-holding states did not enact laws segregating their slaves. “However, whites made it illegal for slaves to learn to read, write, and control their bodily movements through coercion and surveillance by slave overseers, owners, and patrollers. When the Civil War overthrew slavery, questions of where African Americans would reside, what jobs and schools they would have, whether they would vote, and what public accommodations they would use suddenly became serious. (Honey 2018) During the Reconstruction era of the United States, the poor (including whites and African Americans) of the South struggled with the wealthy upper class of businessmen, merchants, bankers, and railroad companies to obtain the wealth that workers and farmers of the era could not create. The creation of “white supremacy” campaigns generated false accusations against African Americans who claimed they were responsible for crimes and rapes. Ignoring the meaning and intent of federal law, the Supreme Court in its Plessy v. Ferguson of 1896 asserted that separating people by “race” was a mere local custom that did not contradict the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal rights and due process under law. Separate could be equal, he argued for the right of states to enforce segregation. The Court also left in place state miscegenation laws, which prohibited marriage between members of different “races,” as well as state measures that effectively eliminated blacks (and often poor whites) from voting. (Honey 2018)However, African Americans later resisted Jim Crow laws and refused to follow them wherever and however they could. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded in1909 and fought tooth and nail to destroy Jim Crow laws. Eventually, a case reached the United States Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education and that case overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and determined that separate schools for whites and African Americans were inherently unequal. This decision helped pave the way for freedoms and desegregation removal. At the end of the 20th century, segregation was no longer in force, but the fight for equal rights for all citizens was still an obstacle to overcome. Ralph Ellison achieved many successes throughout his life, from being a cook during World War II to writing short stories. , Ralph's influence was present. Ralph Ellison was born on March 1, 1914 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His home state practiced segregation, but Ellison grew up without the oppression that most African Americans faced in the South. Growing up in Oklahoma City, Ellison was exposed to various elements of white and African-American culture. Ellison's mother often brought home popular magazines and music recordings that had often been discarded by her employers. While attending public school Ellison learned the fundamentals of musical harmonies and symphonic forms of music. He also learned about songs, dances and stories from European folk cultures. Ellison befriends many members of the Blue Devils jazz orchestra. “Ellison's broad cultural experience inspired him to join several classmates in proclaiming themselves Renaissance Men: individuals dedicated to transcending racial barriers through the study of art and thought.” (Gale 2018) In school, Ellison took lessons from Dr. Ludwig Hebestreit, conductor of the Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra. Through this education, music became Ellison's primary form of expression. Ellison also enjoyed reading literature. He read books by Harlem Renaissance writers including Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Claude McKay, and James Weldon Johnson. While at home he read all different types of books such as westerns, fairy tales and detective stories. As he traveled around town, and in barber shops, African Americans introduced him to folktales, Western legends about black cowboys, outlaws and Indian chiefs. After graduating from high school, Ellison went to the Tuskegee Institute but with no transportation funds, he hopped on boxcars. at Tuskegee. Ellison found employment at the college library which gave him the opportunity to increase his literary knowledge. “In the Daily Worker office on 135th Street in Harlem, Ellison met the writer Richard Wright in 1937. After engaging in a discussion about literature, Wright asked Ellison to write a review of Walter Turpin's These Low Grounds for the first edition of the short-lived periodical New Challenge. (Gale 2018) After writing his first story, Ellison became a regular contributor to the periodical New Masses and the Negro Quarterly. After being unable to enlist in the U.S. Navy, Ellison joined the Merchant Marines during World War II. During this period Ellison wrote the story "In a Strange Country", set in a Nazi prison camp. After returning to the United States he came up with the idea for the novel The Invisible Man, his book was published in 1954. “Few novels in postwar American fiction have been as celebrated, written about, and analyzed as Ellison's The Invisible Man. Many critics argue that this author's ability to delve into the chaotic and complex character of American society has made him an enduring figure in modern literature. (Gale 2018)Lorraine Hansberry dealt with segregation, being born in the 1930s, herfamily dealt with segregation as well as herself. Hansberry came from a family with a long struggle for civil rights for African Americans. Hansberry has written articles and essays on multiple types of topics including homophobia and the Cuban Missile Crisis, to name a few. For some she is considered one of the most acute observers and talented playwrights of the time. Hansberry was born on May 19, 1930. Her family was well known for its fight for the liberation of African Americans. Her family had moved to an all-white neighborhood, and as Hansberry left for school “…in the morning she found herself confronted by angry white men throwing bricks at her. A concrete slab nearly missed her head. His family had lived there for just a year when a lower court ordered them to leave. Her father fought the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and ultimately won in 1940. ("Lorraine Hansberry" 2011)Against her parents' wishes, Hansberry attended the University of Wisconsin. During his time at the University of Wisconsin, he became interested in writing after seeing some plays, Juno and the Paycock. As his thirst for writing grew, he became bored with teaching at university. He left college to work for the Freedom newspaper, edited by Paul Robeson in New York. He began writing political pieces as well as book and drama reviews. He became associate editor of the newspaper in 1952. That same year he went to the International Peace Congress in Uruguay because Robeson could not enter the country because the State Department had refused him a passport. During the convention, Hansberry learned more about issues such as poverty, dictatorships, arms races, and U.S. interference in Latin American countries. She was also able to meet women of color from other countries. In 1953 Hansberry married Robert Nemiroff, who she did not know at the time was homosexual. When he found out four years later, they had separated but still remained close. Nemiroff still maintains control over his published and unpublished works. Before his death, he entrusted Nemiroff with the revision of his opera Les Blancs. “In 1957 Hansberry wrote the play A Raisin in the Sun, about the bleak social conditions that force a black family to postpone their dreams until their own strength and pride help them strive for opportunity.” (“Lorraine Hansberry” 2011) Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun appealed to whites, many African American groups criticized it, saying it caused African Americans to merge with white culture. Amiri Baraka did not consider his work to be "true black art", but changed his mind in 1987. In 1964 Hansberry created another drama The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, however, it was not considered a success, many of the contents included in the show ha baffled his audience and left them scratching their heads. He disappointed his viewers, they wanted to see a sequel to his first play. Throughout his life Hansberry played roles in the civil rights movement, perhaps his greatest moment being when he met Attorney General Robert Kennedy. Hansberry led a strike because she was concerned about the oppression that most African Americans faced. At the age of 34 Hansberry fell ill with cancer, she also had a stroke which left her paralyzed, as well as losing her sight and speech. He managed to recover from the stroke but eventually became too ill from the cancer. Racism is a theme that presents itself in both "Battle Royal" and A Raisin in the Sun. Both authors had lived through the civil rights movement and racism is evident in each work. “About eighty-five years ago they were told they were free,united with the others of our country in everything that concerns the common good, and, in everything that concerns society, separated like the fingers of the hand. And they believed it. They rejoiced. They stayed where they were, worked hard and educated my father to do the same." (Ellison & DiYanni 'Battle Royal' 2008 342). With this statement, Ellison talks about a time when it was believed that slavery helped African Americans, that everything they did was for the common good and they never questioned it. Many times throughout history, young African Americans would find themselves in situations where they would have to fight each other or be against each other in one way or another. When the narrator exits the elevator into the hall, they were told to put on their "battle uniforms" (Ellison & DiYanni 'Battle Royal' 2008 343). They were each given a pair of boxing gloves and then led into a ring where they would fight each other. DuringDuring this fight, the narrator "...confronts himself with inanimate objects: a "ginger biscuit", a "jack-in-the-box", a "soccer ball", a "kitchen rag" and a “pocket dictionary” . Its self-imposed moniker even reduces it to the status of a non-object” (Tedesco 2001). an object or an animal, both become dehumanized or seen as beasts Because white men treat African Americans like animals, this shows a complete disregard for them to be treated as human beings, effectively dehumanizing them where the boys are treated like animals and not like real human beings, when the narrator reaches out to grab a coin on the carpet, the electricity shakes him "like a wet mouse" (Ellison & DiYanni "Battle Royal ' 2008 347) with each of the images shown Ellison shows more of the dehumanizing factor he wanted to convey as well as the blatant racism in the story perpetrated by the white men around them. The racism seen in Hansberry's play is a different form of racism but still rooted in the civil rights that many African Americans fought for. “The Murchisons are honest-to-God, really rich black people, and the only people in the world who are snobbier than rich white people are rich black people. I thought everyone knew that. I met Mrs Murchison. She's a scene!" (Hansberry & DiYanni 'A Raisin in the Sun' 2008 1306) Once Ruth started mentioning marrying George, Benetha left saying she wouldn't want to marry him because she didn't have any feelings for him and if if they made him get married, his family wouldn't like it. He then goes on to talk about hating people who are better off than them because those types of people don't like poor people. This tends to bring out an interracial conflict: they believe that George has money and that they are just like snobbish whites. This was another battle that many African Americans fought during the twentieth century, whether they should be happy for the communities that thrived during this era and see the differences between them and whites, or whether they should being treated just like white people are because they are better off than them because of their wealth. Although the wealth is not attributed to the sacrifices made by the families to get there, Georges' family is perceived as better than anyone else in the African American community like the whites that the African American community despises. Racism has played such a large role in our nation's history and has shaped many of the problems that may be prevalent in today's society. It is important to read the literature of the past, many people,5.