Battle Royale

The title is reflective of the story's meaning because the term Battle Royale is generally associated with fights to the death. The Webster dictionary states the definition for Battle Royal as: "a fight participated in by more than two combatants; especially : one in which the last man in the ring or on his feet is declared the winner". The author used the series of situations in the story to illustrate the point that all through his life the narrator would be fighting, weather it be for things like his rights or protecting his well being, much like a Battle Royale. "Blindfolded, I could no longer control my motions. I had no dignity. I stumbled about like a baby or a drunken man." The author debilitates the narrator in some way in each scenario to demonstrate that through his life there will be times that he wont understand why hes fighting or will be involved in a unfair fight. He places him in situations against fellow African Americans and whites to show that he will be constantly in 'battle' with essentially every one he knows. There is actually a Japanese movie titled Battle Royale which has the same sort of premiss as the part in the story where the boys are all in the boxing ring together: "A group of students from Shiroiwa Junior High School in the fictional town of Shiroiwa are gassed on a bus. They awaken in a school on an isolated..They learn that they have been placed in an event called The Program, also known as Battle Royale...the students are required to fight to the death until one remains. Their movements are restricted by metal collars around their necks...". This parallel between the two stories further illustrates the meaning that the author was trying get across.