Cultural Identity

"Mines" and "Battle Royal" utilize tone to express their perspective on cultural identity. The speaker in "Mines" uses simple diction and a rough, negative tone which seems to be a result of a harsh life. She has a negative connotation of cultural identity, working in a jail where young people identify with their culture through crimes and tattoos she refers to as "scabs." In "Battle Royal" the speaker's tone is one of revelation and enlightenment having found he first must be an"invisible man" to truly find his identity. Through his diction it is clear he is an intelligent man who can clearly analyze and think, and with him it has been a journey and a process. He comes to understand that with being black he must participate in a game by submitting to the white race, "yessin' em to death" as his grandfather expressed on his deathbed. The difference in tones help's the reader understand how one character has a negative outlook on cultural identity while the other character follows a journey to finding his identity.