Race and Identity in King of the Bingo Game

Ralph Ellison utilized the issue of race and identity in many of his stories and "King of the Bingo Game" is no exception. Ellison did not stray from these topics in very many stories as racial inequality and a lack of identity are issues that have affected a mass population in our country. From the very beginning of the story we are thrown into a setting that is quite deplorable. The main character is hungry, thirsty, and tired. He is in a movie theater surrounded by people getting drunk and fantasizing about the woman on the screen. The race of the man quickly becomes apparent too.

Unfortunately, the character is unable to get a job because has no birth certificate. Not having a birth certificate basically means that a person is unable to prove who they are. Essentially, the main character in this story cannot even claim to be the person that he believes he is. Without a birth certificate the man has no official identity. The man also remains nameless throughout the story further reinforcing his lack of an identity. Never granting the main character a name, though, allows him to represent a mass population of the poverty-stricken and destitute. The story then continues to address more issues, especially that of race.

The main character describes the people down south, and his dialogue is that of an uneducated southerner. Soon, the character falls asleep and has an unpleasant dream. The dream involves him being a boy and walking down the railroad tracks. He is able to get off the tracks just in time, but the train continued to follow him down the street. As he looked back to see the train, he also saw white people laughing at him as he ran screaming. It is obvious at this point that the character may not have had an enjoyable childhood experience when it came to white people. Unpleasant dreams like this show that the man is unable to run away from his problems as the train continuing to follow him represents his problems.

The movie soon ends, and it is time for the bingo game to get started. The main character is so desperate for the jackpot of $36.90 that he is cheating by playing bingo with five cards. He is able to win and gets on the stage for his chance to win the jackpot by spinning a wheel with a button. Unfortunately, when prompted by the host of the game to tell him where he's from, the host only pokes fun at him. The, host who it is safe to assume is white, refers to him as "boy" and once he finds out that the character is from Rocky Mont, North Carolina, he continues to embarrass him. The host says, "So you decided to come down off the mountain to the U.S," (457). These actions taken by the host continue to show the lack of identity manifested by the main character. This statement made by the host makes it seem as if the man is not even a citizen of the United States and that his hometown of Rocky Mont is not important enough to even refer to it as a part of our country. The character is finally handed the button to spin the wheel and the story takes somewhat of a dramatic turn.

The main character begins to press the button and for some reason cannot let go. All sorts of emotions begin to run through him. He seems to be unable to let go of the button because he is scared of what might happen if he doesn't win. Laura will not be able to receive the medical care that she needs, and the man will be further devastated. The audience grows quite impatient as the character begins to have revelations while he is on the stage. He feels for the first time in his life that he is in control; he has the power. He even yells aloud, "This is God!" He goes on to say that he "held nothing against the host for being white and impatient" once the host tries to step in. It seems as if the man doesn't necessarily have a grudge against white people, but rather he sees them as a part of life that he just has to deal with. Then he addresses the crowd issue by stating that, "All the Negroes down there were just ashamed because he was black like them." He then states the he was ashamed of what they did also.

The crowd never stops becoming unruly and before long the host takes action by calling in the police. The police are always the answer to any problem that involves a black man during this time. Unnecessary force and police brutality seemed to plague this time period, but little was done to halt these actions. As the police grab him he is forced to let go of the button. Ironically, the button lands on the jackpot just at the police strike him over the head with a baton. It is a twisted fate for a character that had to constantly deal with poverty and the issues of race and identity throughout the story.

"King of the Bingo Game" offers a glimpse into a past filled with issues of inequality and race. This story is one small example of just an event that took place where an African American would have to deal with being discriminated against and not having an identity. This story written by Ralph Ellison conveys the issue of race and identity very effectively. Ellison is able to convey these issues effectively in many of his stories because he was writing about a time period that he had experienced and seen first hand.