When Berry says that John will be behind the black ball, he means that he will fire John if this happens again. Not only is the boy blamed for the fault of a white bully, his father is threatened with being fired by another white bully. It is the simple innocence of Johns son which brings it to the surface, with his aspirations to drive a truck when older; he sees this as a possibility because he saw that a colored man drove the truck today. `Who did? He did not understand the larger meaning in the adults words. In spite of myself I had to smile. After a white, Instant downloads of all 1725 LitChart PDFs John replies that he is not black, but brown- and either way, it is mostimportant to be American. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1725 titles we cover. __________________ intense dislike. On his lunch break, John eats with his son, who plays with a toy truck and says that he wants to be a truck driver. Complete your free account to request a guide. `Not that kind, Daddy, this kind.`, `Ooh,` I said. Later, he points out a passing grain silo, and Mama breaks into tears. Copyright 1999 - 2023 GradeSaver LLC. The Black Ball engages with the themes of identity,racism, discrimination, hope and the struggle for equality. But something was missing, something usually behind that kind of drawl. His father died in an industrial accident when he was a young boy, so his mother took him and his brother to Gary, Indiana, where she thought they would find better opportunities. Johns son joins him at the window, too,asking if he can go out to play with his ball. That part wasnt missing. In "Hymie's Bull," the railroad serves as an allegory for the struggles and challenges that Black people faced during the Great Depression. The way that segregation determines lives becomes clearer and John has greater consciousness of it since his conversation with the union man. I had started at six oclock, and around eight I ran out to the quarters where we lived over the garage to dress the boy and give him his fruit and cereal. In both "Boy on a Train" and "Hymie's Bull," the American railroad serves as a powerful symbol of the harsh realities of racism and segregation in the United States during the early 20th century. `But its a helluva lot different.`. `What you looking at, Daddy?` he said. A smile couldnt change things between my kind and his. His father died in an industrial accident when he was a young boy, so his mother took him and his brother to Gary, Indiana, where she thought they would find better opportunities. Later on, he will bephysically bulliedwhen the white boy throws his ball inside the window of Berrys office who says this to his father: Well, if I ever see him around here again, youre going to find yourself behind the black ball. It presents aray of hope, but at the same time a tinge of sadness is registered as we realize that the sons bright naivety will soon fade as he experiences more and more prejudice. Racial Themes in Ellison's Black Ball Then, after a while he told me: `Daddy, that white man cant see very good, can he, Daddy?` You always kid, dont you, Daddy?` Ralph Ellison's Battle Royal: Symbolism Initially, the story seems to be about one black boy's struggle to get ahead in a predominantly white society. Refine any search. He doesnt understand why white people are so hostile to his family, but he suspects it has something to do with their color. The Black Ball Study Guide | Literature Guide | LitCharts This is a promising alternative to his current plan: to work hard and hope that his boss shows him mercy. The Black Ball Symbols Next Trains Trains "Boy on a Train" and "Hymie's Bull" are both set primarily on moving trains, which represent a core but elusive American ideal: the promise that migration can bring freedom and a better life. One witnesses the theme ofracismearly on in the story when the four-year old kid grapples with the issue of color and race. Your damn unions are like everything else in the country for whites only. `What are you doing today?` Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Mainly, he struggles interpersonally as well as financially. The Black Ball collects four of Ralph Ellisons little-known early short stories. Parker agrees, but he wonders whether Catti is playing some kind of trick on him. `Did the man I saw leaving wish to see me, John?` The Black Ball by Ralph Ellison Complete your free account to request a guide. `Yes, and then I can wear a lot of buttons on my cap like the men that bring the meat to the grocery. He was lean and red in the face with that redness that comes from a long diet of certain foods. Johns thought process shows how precarious his situation truly is. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. A little more from this guy andI would see red. Maybe there was a color other than white on the old ball. `Two months.` But Id begin telling him the rules later.. Parker cant understand them, but he finds them beautiful and moving. `Looks like you working purty hard over that brass.` Instant downloads of all 1725 LitChart PDFs When we got upstairs, I sat the boy in a chair and went looking for iodine to doctor my hand. Continue with Recommended Cookies. For example, although many people conceded that slavery was profoundly wrong, few were willing to campaign against it. While narrated in the first person by an African-American caretaker, it is perhaps his son who is the central character of the story. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. The Black Ball Symbols | LitCharts In "Boy on a Train," the wild horses galloping across the hills symbolize the sense of freedom and wildness that James longs for as he sits in the cramped, segregated luggage compartment of the train. He invites John to an upcoming union meeting and leaves. The idea of the Union wherein the hands could unite and fight for better conditions is also seen in the story. The next day, the other bulls wanted to lynch a Black bum in retaliation for the bulls death. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. The white children are foils for Johns son: they show how he is (and will be) excluded from mainstream American life due to the color line. I could see him turn slowly around and drag his toy, some kind of bird that flapped its wings like an eagle, slowly after him. resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss thenovel. `No thanks,` I said. That same night they lynched him and burned down his house. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. thissection. Everything you need for every book you read. Parker watches the barmaid pour a glass of beer and a . `I thought you had to stand up to truck.` Austere, controlling, and humorless, Berry represents the values of the American economy, which cares only about efficiency and profit. What ever caused you to give a damn about a Negro anyway? Instant PDF downloads. Johns sons dream of being a truck driver highlights this: truck driving has long been heavily unionized, and Johns sons story about the Black deliveryman indicates that the union might accept Black people. Verified answer. Critical Essays Symbols and Symbolism in Invisible Man Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. `He meant, son, that if your ball landed in his office again, Daddy would go after it behind the old black ball.`, `Oh,` he said, very thoughtful again. `Of course not, youre brown. Teachers and parents! (including. I always warned about the questions, even though it did little good. I gave him his food and settled into a chair to study, but my mind wandered away, so I got up and filled a pipe hoping it would help, but it didnt, so I threw the book aside and picked up Malrauxs Mans Fate, which Mrs Johnson had given me, and tried to read it as I drank a cup of coffee. `Whats the matter, Daddy?` he asked. The storys unnamed Black narrator explains how he left home in search of work during the Great Depression, only to end up freight hopping his way around the country, like so many other unemployed young men. As John muses, He was learning the rules of the game already, but he didnt know it. Johns quiet satisfaction at the beginning of the story has shifted; he has become more alert to the injustice of his position. Here, we see the physical ball and the endless game of racial discrimination come together in an instance where theliteral and the figurative fuse into one another. If John chooses to join the union and fight for better working conditions, he can also shape the world his son comes of age and works in. -Graham S. Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. I picked up the book to read again, and must have fallen asleep immediately, for when I came to it was almost time to go water the lawn. The choir sings the Welsh national anthem, then God Save the King, the Internationale, and finally, in Parkers honor, The Star Spangled Banner. Parker feels a dizzying combination of confusion, guilt, and pride, and then he starts to sing. The concern with race is very soon apparent, with the boys question, Daddy, am I black? The rest of the story explores the implications of that question, particularly for the boy and his future. This segregation was enforced through Jim Crow laws, which mandated racial segregation in all public facilities in the United States from the late 1800s to the mid-1960s. Interestingly, he is reading Malrauxs novel Mans Fate, recently published, about an attempted workers revolution in China. His grandfather told him to "live with your head in the lion's mouth. Mother is never mentioned; John seems to be bringing the boy up on his own, while working hard, up at six to do his mopping sweeping and dusting and emptying the trash before returning to give breakfast to his son. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. When John replies, But American is better than both, son.he is subtlyenforcing in his son the understanding that colordoes not decide a persons character. While the narrator exaggerates his importance as Norton's driver, the only power he has is that which Norton bestows on him. `My ball, my ball, Daddy. Theintimacy of the father-son duolends a greater depth to the intensity of discriminatory practices that these two individuals face. Struggling with distance learning? Similarly, hisrelationship with Mrs.Johnson(who is good to his boy) and thenewly forged relationship with the Union manwhich rests on a common cause goes on to show that one needs support of well-wishers to sustain oneself in a wholesome manner. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. John is working and Union man approaches him, saying theres one for black people; John doesn't believe and thinks man is being racist. The railroad hires brutal security guards, known as "bulls," to kick bums (freight hoppers) off the trains, and these guards often specifically target Black bums, often severely injuring or even killing them. Ralph Ellison, who was named after the writer and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, was born in Oklahoma City. He was quiet for a while; then he started rolling his truck again. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. For giving an alibi for an African-American accused of the rape of white woman, the man has had his arms burnt with a gasoline torch. The Black Ball: In a Strange Country Summary & Analysis Parker comments that he missed good beer on the ship, and Mr. Catti replies that Welsh ale was better before the war. The Black Ball Summary | GradeSaver Open Document. Although the narrator is driving, he is not in control and the car he is driving is not his own. But in the rest of this story, Ellison will test and challenge that assumption. Complete your free account to request a guide. Your email address will not be published. The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion. Between his work ethic and his comment about what it means to be American, he appears to believe that working hard to win white peoples trust provides his best chances of advancement in a racist society. Its uncomfortably hot, but soot will fly inside if they open the window. Me and him was trying to borrow some seed fifty miles away when it happened if it did happen. In Hymies Bull, an unnamed Black narrator who lives as a bum, riding freight trains around the U.S. during the Great Depression, tells the reader about watching, All four stories in The Black Ball show how, throughout most of the 20th century, white Americans used racist violence as a tool to terrorize Black people into accepting a subservient position in society. He then hands John a card, telling him the meeting will start at8pmsharp, and just as swiftly, he disappears. `Ill admit it aint much,` he said. The Black Ball Themes | GradeSaver In the evening, the narrator climbed atop the train to watch the sunset. I could see em plain.`. I stopped the polishing again to see what it was he was trying to get after. As I turned away I noticed that my boy had come to stand beside me. He sits on the sofa andlooks out the window, watching the children play while the nurse watches over them. Unlike the colloquial drawl of the man, Johns speech is formal. `No. Manage Settings He pessimism about his sons future is tempered by the union card in his pocket and the last words are ones of greater optimism Maybe there was a color other than white on the old ball.. Parker is dizzy and has a black eye because, as soon as he arrived in Wales, he came across a group of white American soldiersand they called him a goddamn n[] and punched him in the face. It also represents a moment when two social forces of class and color meet which, if they work together for the betterment of their members, may provide a challenge to the status-quo and may change the rules of the game. While doing his work, he notices a fellow watching him, slowly approaching him to start a conversation. Our Teacher Edition on The Black Ball can help. The wild horses serve as a contrast to the confinement and restriction that James and his family experience on the train. `John, is that your boy?` he snapped. Hymies Bull, Boy on a Train, and The Black Ball were completely unknown until after Ellisons death. Complete your free account to request a guide. As I came around the building past the tall new evergreens, I could hear the boy crying in just that note no other child has, and when I came completely around I found him standing looking up into a window with tears on his face. John assumes that the stranger wants his job, because the manager, Mr. Berry, has been firing his few Black employees and replacing them with white people. This stirs The Union man, who reveals his hands to showscarsall over them. The Black Ball | Summary and Analysis - Litbug Of course, when Johns son emphasizes that the ball is really white, not Black, he is also drawing attention to the fact that a white boy really threw the ball through Mr. Berrys window, and yet he is being punished for it. There were two others. It is only when the man refers to American race history that there is a change; he comments that John is unaccustomed to a Fellow like me offering a fellow like you something besides a rope. This sudden, direct reference to African-Americans being lynched by white Americans shocks John; he stops and sees the mans smile. Against the background of the black lives matter movement, Flint Taylor takes a look at the racist, A short history of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers - a radical union of black auto workers. " Behind the black ball " is an earlier version of the phrase " behind the eight-ball ," but it's also a reference to blackballing, or blocking someone's membership in a group. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. Thesescarred handsaresymbolic of the struggle for equality, physical wounds that represent unfair racial treatment. The Black Ball is a posthumous collection of four little-known short stories from the early career of renowned African American novelist Ralph Ellison. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Mr. Berrys response to the situation is obviously unfair, because he punishes Johns son for something that he didnt even do. I closed the book and looked at the boy a long time. It is on a much less significant scale, but like the story of the union man, there is no time to listen to excuses; guilt is assumed and reprimand is swift. (This move is no doubt the inspiration for the first story in. Doesnt he know we arent afraid to fight his kind out this way? He is aware of the history between my kind and his. Much like Mama in Boy on a Train, John struggles to balance work and family as a single Black parent living under Jim Crow. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. Across the street a group of little fellows in bright sunsuits were playing on a long stretch of lawn before a white stone building. `Yes.` PDF downloads of all 1725 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. The narrator of the story is presumably a black man. The narrator remembers how he saw a white bum named Hymie kill one of the bulls. They made them scars with a gasoline torch and run me out the county cause they said I tried to help a nigger make a white woman out a lie. Ralph Ellison's The Black Ball. John lies to the man, gives non-committal answers and turned [his] back to him. `Daddy, am I black?` It is set over the course of a single day in the life of a black single father named John. The Question and Answer section for The Black Ball is a great `I guess not.`. `Oh, Im trucking.` LitCharts Teacher Editions. A fat white butcher groped Mama when she first boarded the train, but she knows that she cant do anything about it: a white mans word will always count for more than a Black womans. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. It was near time for him to arrive. `Well, I got them scars in Macon County, Alabama, for saying a colored friend of mine was somewhere else on a day he was supposed to have raped a woman. `Oh-that.` `You do?` Handswas also a term used for workers working under big firms and employers. Johns apparent lack of concern with race is revealed as an act for his son in the encounter with the union activist as he polishes the brass later. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Submitted by Reddebrek on July 9, 2018 But John is not able to concentrate, his mind filled with thoughts. `Will I play with the black ball, Daddy?` Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. He promises to do so. He stood there watching, and I could feel his eyes in my back as I polished the brass. when youre bad I dont kid, do I?` Anonymous "The Black Ball Symbols, Allegory and Motifs". It was near twelve oclock. An essay written in 2018 and updated in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, Article about the diminishing numbers of African-American workers in trade unions, which is dropping, Cleo Silvers, a former organizer with the League of Revolutionary Black Workers, discusses racism in. I noticed his hands were scarred as though they had been burned. In the first story, Boy on a Train, a little boy named James leaves Oklahoma City with his mother and his baby brother Lewis in 1924. We may say that it is witnessing his sons incident that was his deciding factor to bring hope for his future and his sons, and cast a vote to for free and more equal life. His son is still crying, but after washing his face and steeling himself, he asks his father what Mr. Berry meant by black ball since his ball ismore white than black. The white mans joke about the rope, which is a reference to lynching, might appear to be in bad taste. But American is better than both, son.` Unlock with LitCharts A+ Active Themes Quotes The black ball short story. When did Ralph Ellison write "The Black `Daddy,` the boy called softly; its softly when Im busy. Why, I thought, doesnt he go on in and ask for the job? But now, Daddy is gone, and life is not much better than it used to be. `What you really mean is that youll get in here and bounce me out. He was smiling again. But the narrator narrowly escaped. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Then he asked if he could go out and play with his ball, and since I would soon have to go down myself to water the lawn, I told him it would be all right. Here I thought, is where he tries to put one over on old `George.`, `You see, I come from the union and we intend to organize all the building-service help in this district. Perhaps he was telling the truth; I didnt know. Within the short story Black Ball by Ralph Emerson the idea of racial discrimination and prejudice is amplified by the way that the narrator portrays his life and his views.The blackness is represented in the story as something to be ashamed of in this story, by including things like his fear of the white man, the way his son interprets things around him, and his uncertainty in regards to the . Like the tobacco billboards and grain silo in the first story, the black ball means different things to adult and children characters, and thus shows how they have different levels of understanding about American racism. This was the language casually used at the time, sometimes without direct ill-intent (as seen throughout Hucks narration in Mark Twains. Ten I went out into the alley in back of the garages to see if he was playing there. Alabama Law Scholarly Commons The threat to John is clear, despite his and his son's innocence. `But,` he said, `Ive got something really worth a lot; that is, if youre interested.` The Message of the "Black Ball" Essay - 820 Words | Bartleby Ralph Ellison, out of the symbols in the novel, used a few very clever ones. Thus, one witnesses the struggle for equality inboth the social fault lines of colorand class, as well as an individualspersonal and public life. He stood there smiling with the sack in his outstretched hand. When he realizes that his son is probably just playing with the white boys, John is conflicted, just like Mama in Boy on a Train. On the one hand, he wants his son to enjoy himself and play, like any child should be able to. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. `If anyone should ask me, young man, Id say your face needed a good washing.`. Verified answer. Itll mean shorter ours and higher wages, and better conditions in general.` You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. And the more I move around, the more I see, and the more I see, the more I work.`. The theme ofrelationshipshas been portrayed in The Black Ball in both personal and public lives of the character. He was red in the face. By truthfully insisting on the mans innocence, they are guilty of making a white woman out a lie. This is similar toHarper Lees novel To Kill a Mockingbird, published 23 years later. Broadly, "The Black Ball" tells the story of one man's attempt to build an integrated union in the American South directly after the U.S. Civil War, which was fought primarily because of racism and the desire to maintain the institution of slavery. LitCharts Teacher Editions. You can help us out by revising, improving and updating Struggling with distance learning? Interestingly, he is reading Malrauxs novel. The segregation between races is observed later by John from his window and is a poignant example of the division enforced by both sides. The phrase comes from billiards and is a position from which it is impossible to make a successful shot, but it also carries connotations of 'black-balling', voting against someone to deny them a position or oust them from one they hold.