A film reenactment of the "Battle Royal" scene in Chapter 1 of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man offers readers a chance to compare the film version of the scene to the novel's depiction. The discussion questions ask readers to consider the significance of the episode itself and the changes made by the film producers.

Concepts

ralph ellison, invisible man, racism, discrimination, african american culture, african american history, famous african americans, literary analysis

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Include the resource as a part of a unit study of Ellison's novel
• Ask viewers to take notes about the differences between the video and the novel

Classroom Considerations

• The Battle Royal scene is brutal; presumes learners have completed a close reading of the first chapter of the novel and completed the provided text-dependent questions
• One of six Invisible Man PBS resources
• Although designed for grades 9-12, the novel is most appropriate for high school seniors or college-level classes

Pros

• Includes discussion questions and teaching tips

Cons

• None

Common Core

RL.9-10.3 RL.9-10.7 RL.9-10.10a SL.9-10.1.c RL.11-12.3 RL.11-12.7 RL.11-12.10a SL.11-12.1.c