King Of The Bingo Game By Ralph Ellison

Deborah Reber a famous poet once stated, “Letting go doesn't mean that you don't care about someone anymore. It's just realizing that the only person you really have control over is yourself.” Letting go of a loved one is never an easy decision to make because in reality, decisions will not keep the loved one alive. By allowing a loved one to be at peace, a person gives allows himself the opportunity to be at peace with whatever trial he faces. In “King of the Bingo Game” author Ralph Ellison includes the bingo wheel, the beam of light, and bingo button to act as symbolism, to show the trials he was facing in life.

Ralph Ellison’s “King of the Bingo Game” is the story about an unnamed black man, in the 1930’s, who is hoping to win the bingo game that is being held at the local cinema, in order win enough money to pay for his gravely ill wife to see a doctor. The central idea of this story is about race, and the inability for a person to be the master of his or her own destiny, when they live in an unfair and prejudicial system.

In Ralph Ellison's "King of the Bingo Game", the African American narrator, whose name is unknown, finds himself in a position where he has the power to control his own destiny for once, or so he thinks. The reader learns that he is from the South, but has come up North, and is taking his shot at a bingo game. He is broke, hungry, his wife is dying, and he hopes to win the cash prize of $36.90 to help her. He eventually is called up to spin the wheel for a chance at the prize, but he freezes, and doesn't let go of the button. This is despite the fact that he explained how a short, quick press can land a winning double zero. He calls himself the "king of the bingo game" and keeps holding down the button until two officers drag him off

I. The townspeople in “The Lottery” and the family members in “The Rocking-Horse Winner” are caught up in their passions.

"The Lottery", is a story about how people stick to tradition. It describes how painstakingly people do not give up tradition and would rather kill someone than give it up. In the beginning, all of the townspeople are gathered in the TownSquare just as they do every year on this day. All the man and women are

When he actually wins bingo the story goes from metaphor to reality. As he steps on stage the men on stage berate him with racial slurs, as does the crowd. They call him ?boy,? and say that ?he?s one of the chosen people.? People yell, ?Are you all-reet,? and the announcer says ?So you decided to come off that mountain to the U.S.? All of this confuses the man because he is so consumed with the desire to win the money that he can not understand they are making fun of him. He cautiously grins, knowing that they are probably making fun of him, but he is consumed with his own anxiety.

    "The Lottery," a short story written by Shirley Jackson, is a tale about a disturbing social practice.  The setting takes place in a small village consisting of about three hundred denizens.  On June twenty-seventh of every year, the members of this traditional community hold a village-wide lottery in which everyone is expected to participate.  Throughout the story, the reader gets an odd feeling regarding the residents and their annual practice.  Not until the end does he or she gets to know what the lottery is about.  Thus, from the beginning of the story until almost the end, there is an overwhelming sense that something terrible is about to happen due to the Jackson's effective

He delivered the famous “I Have a Dream” speech in which he expanded American values to include the vision of a color blind society, and established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history. He was then assassinated on April 4, 1968 in which is now a holiday to where he will always be remembered for his great deeds in solving equality between the blacks and whites. The Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 prohibited segregation and discrimination in employment and other areas.

Once the protagonist is given the button to control the bingo wheel he tells himself his plan “… give the wheel a short quick twirl. Just a touch of the button” (586). He held on to the button, tightening his grip, as the wheel increased in speed, it drawing “ him more and more into its power” (587). He finally held the power of the button given to him by the white man. This was his chance to attempt to break the grossly unfair set of rules established by the dominant white society. Instead of following his plan he continued to let the wheel spin, watching the numbers as they whirled by, he then burst out “This is God! This is the really truly God! He said it aloud, ‘This is God!’” (587). He experiences total power, he loves it. He controls the entire audience’s attention as he holds the button and feels more and more power. The wheel spins while holding onto the button, allowing him to be master of his own destiny a feeling new, scary and addicting to the

Accordingly the protagonist’s lack of maturity is shown in a lack of concern for the consequences of his actions combined with his belief that a bad reputation was all he needed .At the confrontation at

One of the man’s worst fears is to come across an individual who will harm him or his son. Having that fear flashed before his eyes cause him to show no mercy for any human. He does not care that the thief was left naked and cold, or on the verge of dying. The need to survive can place any individual in this situation where his only goal is to survive and to do so; he will even become a man willing to dismiss another person in need of aid. Also, the man and his son enter many

There are three characters in the story. The protagonist and his wife are struggling with their life and emphasize the theme of hopelessness. The protagonist is a nameless African American who comes from the southern U.S. At the beginning of the story, he is watching a movie of a woman tied down to a bed. He tries to enjoy the movie, but Laura comes to his mind. Laura is the protagonist’s wife, as well as the incentive for the man to win the bingo game. The man is powerless and hopeless in the society, “he gets no birth certificate to get a job and Laura ‘bout to die’ cause they have no money for a doctor” (242). Thus, winning the bingo game is the only way he can pay a doctor to treat his sick wife. He must win the game because it is his only chance to save her. After he finds he gets all the bingo numbers correct, standing on the stage to spin the wheel to win the prize. He feels compelled to press the button because there is a voice in his mind: “who held the prize who was the king of bingo (246).” The man wants to be the king and overcomes all the difficulties in order to control his own life. He hopes to keep the bingo wheel whirling forever, only in this way Laura will be safe and he has the imagery that “if she is not safe, the wheel will cease

The narrator of Ralph Ellison’s “King of the Bingo Game” is a scared but fighting man. The protagonist of this story is an African American man. He is from Rocky Mont, North Carolina. In the story, his wife Laura is ill and will die if they are not able to take her to a doctor. He is playing a game of bingo in order to try to win the daily jackpot, so he can take Laura to the doctors. He gets bingo and is called up to the front to spin the wheel, but when he goes up to spin the wheel he is not able to let go of the button. He is having a hard time letting go of problems that are occurring in his life. Ralph Ellison’s “King of the Bingo Game” is about an African-American who is trying to cope with many different conflicts in his life throughout one bingo game.

“King of the Bingo Game” and “Hills Like White Elephant” To begin, tone happens to be the common attitude shown throughout a piece of writing, and in this case it would be the tone of the story “King of the Bingo Game” and “Hills Like White Elephant”. In the story, “King of the Bingo Game”, I discovered that the tone was extremely sad. Sad defines this story well, because this man, who was remained nameless desperately tries to save the women who he loves, knowing that he doesn’t have a penny to his name to take her to the doctor. However, the end sense turns into a total surprise and he goes crashing down and realizes that his luck is no more.

Introduction and overview of the short stories, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell.