No.26 The Black Ball (Cambridge International IGCSE English Literature)
No.26 The Black Ball: The Black Ball analysis
The Black Ball analysis
In the exam, you will be asked to answer one question from two options. Both questions will be on a different text from the selection of ten texts in Stories of Ourselves Volume 2.
Because there are so many text options, make sure you read through the exam instructions carefully, and look for the questions on Stories of Ourselves.
The following guide to The Black Ball by Ralph Ellison contains:
- Plot summary
- Themes, ideas and perspectives
- Writer’s methods
- Key quotations
No.26 The Black Ball: Plot summary
Plot summary of The Black Ball
American author Ralph Ellison wrote the short story in 1937, and it was first published in 1967 in Flying Home and Other Stories. It is a semi-autobiographical first-person account of a Black father’s challenging day, working and raising his son alone in a racially-segregated America.
John works as a janitor for a luxury apartment block. This particular morning, he rushes back from work to get breakfast for his young son. The boy tells his father that one of the white children called him “black”. John says that he is “brown”, and, most importantly, American.
Back at work, while polishing brass door knobs, John thinks about his rude and petty boss, Mr Berry. He is approached by a man with “red” skin typical of the “deep South”. John is suspicious, but the man encourages John to join his union. To convince him of his good intentions, he reveals his scarred hands, and describes how a white supremacist mob set fire to him for supporting a wrongly-accused Black man, and lynched his friend. The union organiser gives John a card with the details of the meeting, and leaves.
At lunchtime, John warns his son not to play with his football at the front of the building because that is where the white boys play, but while he is asleep a white boy takes the ball from his son and throws it at Mr Berry’s window. Mr Berry confronts John and warns him that if the ball is thrown again, he will be “behind the black ball” (a threat to fire him, but a reference to disenfranchisement).
Later, when John goes to water the lawn, he reflects on his son’s future, and that he, too, will be blackballed, or excluded. Remembering the union man’s scarred hands, he looks for the card with the details of the union meeting and wonders if there is any other colour than “white” on his son’s ball.
Exam Hint In order to answer the question in Section B of the CIE Literature in English Poetry and Prose Paper 1, it is best to have a thorough knowledge of the story’s plot. This will help you to form a structural analysis, which means you will be considering how themes and characters develop (or not) through the story.
No.26 The Black Ball: Themes, ideas and perspectives
Themes, ideas and perspectives in The Black Ball
For top marks, you need to form a critical understanding of the text’s themes and ideas. This is best when it includes personal judgements and evaluations of the themes, ideas, and perspectives of the text. Here are some of the key ideas you will need to understand in Ralph Ellison’s The Black Ball.
What are the key themes in The Black Ball?
| Theme | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Discrimination | - The story describes the everyday life of a Black father in 20th-century America: - Through the first-person perspective, Ellison illustrates the wariness and doubt John feels all day - The story relates John’s cynical thoughts while he works as a janitor in an expensive apartment block where white people live: - He is suspicious of the white men around him, fearing their power to take his job or “put one over on” him - His concerns are proven reasonable when a white boy escapes punishment and John’s son is blamed |
| Hope | - The story’s intimate depiction of John’s relationship with his innocent son creates a poignant tone: - His son expresses his wish to “drive a truck” when he’s older - The story’s inciting incident comes in the form of a white union organiser who offers John a way to improve his conditions: - Initially, John’s resignation to his plight (and to his son’s similarly hopeless future) shows how injustice has led to passivity - The climax of the story initiates John’s desire for change: - He is threatened and his son is wrongly blamed - By the end, John entertains the possibility of hope for his son’s future, though his tone remains cautious and uncertain |
No.26 The Black Ball: Writer's methods
Writer's methods in The Black Ball
How does Ellison present his ideas and perspectives?
Ralph Ellison illustrates the results of racial segregation in early 20th-century America through his depiction of a struggling and fearful working father, and a tortured white civil rights supporter. The story advocates for solidarity and action to ensure a fairer future.
| **Technique ** | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Symbolism | - The story uses colour to symbolise race: - John’s son asks if he is “black”, and John replies that he is “brown” - In contrast, the man from the union is described with “red” skin, typical of the “deep South” - In descriptions of the man’s burned hands Ellison draws connections between fire and the “hell” of racial violence - Ellison uses juxtaposition to symbolise the idea of discrimination: - The symbolic “black ball” represents Black Americans’ disenfranchisement, while John’s white ball represents privilege - John hopes that there will be “a color other than white on the old ball” in the future - Ellison represents the idea of unionisation*** and change by referring to “trucks”, and his son’s desire to one day become a truck driver: - In contrast, John’s work polishing “brass” panels and doorknobs symbolises the idea of exploitation, and alludes to slavery |
| First-person narrative | - A first-person narrator, John, begins the story with present tense continuous verbs: - This emphasises his busy day and his manual work - He is “mopping”, “sweeping”, “dusting”, and “emptying” - John’s intimate monologue shows his distrust, which reveals his deeply-ingrained sense of injustice: - He describes his boss as a villain, “gazing into the brass like the wicked queen into her looking glass” - His dialogue with his son gives the story a poignant innocence: - “You always kid, don’t you, Daddy?” |
Exam Hint Examiners reward essay responses that recognise and appreciate ways in which writers use language, structure and form to create and shape meanings and effects. This means you should write about the way language choices, settings, and characterisations raise ideas or present the writer’s attitudes.
For instance, in the short story The Black Ball, Ralph Ellison illustrates how a father’s concerns for his son’s future initiate and motivate change.
No.26 The Black Ball: Key quotations
Key quotations in The Black Ball
The mark scheme for Section B of Literature in English Paper 1 asks you to showcase your knowledge of the story in the question. To do this, you should refer to the text through references and quotations. Remember, though, summarising, paraphrasing, referencing single words, and referencing plot events are all considered valid supporting evidence for your points.
The best way to revise quotations is in connection to a theme. Below you will find explanations and analysis of some key quotations from Ralph Ellison’s The Black Ball, arranged by the following themes:
- Discrimination
- Hope
Discrimination
Ellison’s story highlights the entrenched racism existing in America in the early 20th century through his depiction of an isolated and anxious Black janitor and his innocent son.
blockquote “Some people think so. But American is better than both, son” — John
Meaning and context
- When John’s son says that “brown” is better than “white”, John quips that some people think being “white” is better
- He adds that being “American” is more important than the colour of one’s skin
Analysis
- Ellison raises ideas about discrimination in 20th-century America, suggesting that being a citizen of America should not depend on race
- Ellison presents his protagonist as patriotic despite injustices to which he is subjected
blockquote “A smile couldn’t change things between my kind and his” — John
Meaning and context
- When the union man smiles at him, John is distrustful
- He thinks the man’s polite smile will not change racist attitudes or past oppression
Analysis
-
Through John’s monologue, Ellison presents cultural barriers between two strangers — “my kind and his”:
- Regardless of behaviour now, bitterness and doubt remains
-
Ellison may be alluding to slavery, as well as the Jim Crow laws, under which Ellison lived
blockquote “What ever caused you to give a damn about a Negro anyway? Why should you try to organize Negroes?” — John
Meaning and context
- John questions the union man as he finds his offer of help suspicious
- He says that white men have never seen reason to help before, and asks why is he trying to do so now, suggesting it is not his place to “organise” Black men
Analysis
- Ellison illustrates how John’s fear and anxiety manifests in a *cynical ****attitude
- His interrogative tone presents him as frustrated and bitter at the complicity of those who allowed racial segregation and oppression*** to occur
- The italicised and repeated word “you” addresses all white men, not just the union man
Hope
blockquote “Those hands were on my brain, and I couldn’t forget that fellow" — John
Meaning and context
- John thinks about the union man when he goes home
- He remembers his scarred hands, and how he got them
Analysis
-
Ellison uses a metaphor to convey John's distracted thoughts about the union man
-
He implies he cannot get the idea of the man’s burned, “fried” hands off his mind:
- This highlights the influence of the man’s tragic story, and foreshadows change
blockquote “You mean some unions don’t. It used to be that way, but things have changed” — The union man
Meaning and context
- John dismisses the union organiser’s advice to attend a meeting, telling him that unions are only for white men
- The union man corrects him, telling him that only “some” are racially segregated
- He says that racism within the unions is decreasing over time
Analysis
- Ellison’s union man represents the idea of change in America
- His correction “some unions don’t” contrasts John’s pessimism and suspicion
- Although John is sceptical initially, the union man’s optimistic words influence John, and contribute to his more hopeful attitude by the end of the narrative
blockquote “Maybe there was a color other than white on the old ball” — John
Meaning and context
-
The final line of the story presents a changed John:
- He thinks there may be a chance his son will have a better future
-
He says that maybe the “ball” thrown by the white boy, for which his own son was blamed, will become less “white” in the future
Analysis
-
Ellison’s symbolic “white” and “black” ball presents the idea of racism via a child’s toy:
- This highlights the significance of John’s son in the story
-
The ending illustrates how fatherhood helps to motivate action:
- John’s hope for a better future for his son encourages him to change
Sources
Wilmer, M (ed.), 2018, Stories of Ourselves: Cambridge Assessment International Education Anthology of Stories in English Volume 2, Cambridge University Press.
Was this revision note helpful?
Build on this topic