Give the climax and epilogue from the story "Battle Royal." Support your answers with examples from the story.

“Battle Royal” is the title to chapter one of Ralph Ellison’s book Invisible Man.  It is possible to identify the climax to this chapter using a standard plot chart.  Let’s start by listing some of the major events that happen in the chapter.  The narrator is asked to give his speech to a group of prominent white men.  Once at the meeting, the narrator is told that he is going to participate in the battle royal.  The first “event” for the boys is being forced to watch a naked white woman dance in front of them.  This is followed up with a blind boxing free-for-all.  The boys are all blindfolded and forced to fight each other. 

A glove smacked against my head. I pivoted, striking out stiffly as someone went past, and felt the jar ripple along the length of my arm to my shoulder. Then it seemed as though all nine of the boys had turned upon me at once. Blows pounded me from all sides while I struck out as best I could. So many blows landed upon me that I wondered if I were not the only blindfolded fighter in the ring, or if the man called Jackson hadn't succeeded in getting me after all.

Then the boys are "paid" for their efforts.  The men place a bunch of coins on a rug, and the boys are expected to dive onto the rug in a mad scramble to get as many coins as possible.  The only problem is that the rug has been electrified.  

I lunged for a yellow coin lying on the blue design of the carpet, touching it and sending a surprised shriek to join those around me. I tried frantically to remove my hand but could not let go. A hot, violent force tore through my body, shaking me like a wet rat. The rug was electrified.

All of these events would count as rising actions.  It's finally after all of these events that the story gets to its ultimate climax.  The narrator is finally allowed to give his speech.  The men heckle him during the speech, and make him repeat parts of it over and over again.  At one point, the narrator accidentally says something about racial equality.  That gets everybody's immediate attention, and the men become quite enraged.  Fortunately, the narrator quickly covers for himself and claims it was a mistake.  He meant to say "responsibility" and not "equality."  

“Say that slowly, son!
"What, sir?" "What you just said!"
"Social responsibility, sir,” I said.
"You weren't being smart, were you boy?" he said, not unkindly.
"No, Sir!"
"You sure that about 'equality' was a mistake?"
"Oh, yes, Sir," I said.

The moment is incredibly tense, and readers know that unless the men believe his claim, all of the preceding events will seem like nothing compared to the punishment that he might soon receive.  It might not be an action packed climax, but it is definitely a tense moment.  
From there, the story quickly moves toward the falling action and conclusion.  The narrator is given his prize, he goes home, and falls asleep.  
The story's epilogue is the final paragraph that describes the dream that the narrator had that night. 

That night I dreamed I was at a circus with him and that he refused to laugh at the clowns no matter what they did. Then later he told me to open my briefcase and read what was inside and I did, finding an official envelope stamped with the state seal: and inside the envelope I found another and another, endlessly, and I thought I would fall of weariness.

The dream is meant to remind the narrator and readers about the earlier events of the chapter.  The boys that were forced to fight are treated like circus clowns, but his grandfather refuses to laugh.  He refuses to laugh because he doesn't see anything funny about white oppressors thinking that black people are nothing more than objects to be laughed at.  The endless series of envelopes is then conveying the message to the narrator that things like this will continue to happen for many years.