Equality
Equality is one of the most pervasive themes in Ralph Ellison's entire bibliography—and "The Black Ball" is no exception. In Ellison's short story, the protagonist of the story spends most of his life dedicated to fighting for equality for Black people. The short story is set directly after the Civil War, which was fought to maintain the institution of slavery. And despite the fact that the Civil War was won by the Union army, which believed in abolishing the institution of slavery, Black people remained unequal to white people after the Civil War, something which the short story laments.
Unity
Unity is one of the most important themes in "The Black Ball." In the short story, the narrator and protagonist make it one of his life's missions to unify the fractured relationships between the North and South (and Black and white people) after the Civil War. It is only after reconciling with each other and becoming unified, the short story argues, that people can be truly happy and productive. Otherwise, people can never be fully productive or unified.
Struggle
The main character of "The Black Ball," John, seemingly struggles through his life. Mainly, he struggles interpersonally as well as financially. John also struggles because he is Black, an attribute that made someone less-than-desirable and unappealing in the world. A fact, in fact, that ensured that John would struggle for the rest of his life. Most people struggle at some point in their lives. John's struggle, however, is different from the struggle that most people face. For one, most people did not have to contend with their skin color because they were white. Black people faced different standards, something which the short story attempts to tell its readers about it by warning readers against racism.
