King Of The Bingo Game Analysis

The influence of power is greater than most people make think; power itself can either lift you or crush you. Before there is an opportunity to gain control of any or all situations, someone may not even realize how defenseless they are but the moment they finally have power, they feel unstoppable. The three stories, “King of The Bingo Game”, “Story of an Hour”, and “Gorilla, My Love”, explain how feeling helpless and powerless can make someone feel scared, act irrationally, or lose hope. Nevertheless, both the lack of or too much power can strip away our humanity.
In “King of The Bingo Game” by Ralph Ellison, it begins with the main character feeling exhausted, starved, and heartbroken. He has no food nor money for either himself or Laura leaving him weak and desperate. His last attempt to turn everything around relies on a game
of chance. Nothing is in his control. Fortunately, he wins but as soon as he gets a hold of the small piece of equipment that will decide his fate, any logical thought process is abandoned. The sudden moment of empowerment is too great for him to process reasonably which cause much of a scene in front of a large crowd that then attempts to get him off the stage as soon as possible. He hangs on to the only source of empowerment as long as he can; even when the guards chase him around the stage, he does not let go “But they had him before he could tell them so, trying to pry open his fist, and he was wrestling and trying to bring his knees into the fight and holding onto the button for his life,” (Ellison). Even though the crowd wants him to leave and pressing the button would give him the chance to win, he holds tight so he can keep the feeling of empowerment and control.
“Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, presents the idea the too much power can strip away our humanity by the main character Mrs. Mallard behaves. As the story begins, Mrs.Mallard’s sister informs her of an accident that killed her husband but rather than being struck with grief and sorrow as Mrs.Mallard’s company believes, she is internally thankful and relieved. The moment she learns of her husband’s death she realizes how powerless and unhappy she was in her relationship. However, now that he is dead, she is free. When she locks herself in the bathroom, she savors the new feeling and starts to plan her new life. This feeling gives her power, the power to control her own life, “When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free!’” (Chopin) Her feelings of empowerment dismisses her feelings of remorse for her deceased husband and any concern that those in her company may have. She can only focus on herself. Without much realization, her humanity slowly fades as the feeling of empowerment rises. The exhilaration caused by the sudden feeling of empowerment was so intense that the moment she found out that her husband was alive she died of shock.
In the third story, “Gorilla, My Love” by Toni Cade Bambara, it shows the young girl’s, Hazel, want of control.
Throughout the story, she encounters problems that continuously defy what her original goal was. The idea that things go the opposite way than she intended illustrates the fact she has little power and control. When things go her way, she can act mature but when the situation goes south, things can get out of control. As an example, when the movie manager refused to refund her money she lit the candy stand on fire. “So he ain’t gettin up off the money. So I was forced to leave, takin the mathes from under his ashtray, and set a fire under the candy stand, which closed the raggedy ole Washington down for a week.” (Bambara) The manager dismissed her complaints of the movie because she was just a child. Such a young child shouldn’t have any power right? Well, Hazel would disagree. If an adult does not treat her equally and give her a fair share of control in any situation, she becomes sad or even enraged. When Hazel feels inable of having power, she becomes blinded of other’s emotions and focuses on her own thoughts and
feelings.
The three stories are all very different but there is the common theme involving empowerment. “Story of an Hour” has a women that feels relieved and empowered that she can live the rest of her life without her husband, “King of the Bingo Game” is about a poor and desperate man that finally has the opportunity to get money, and “Gorilla, My Love”, a child that greatly desires to maintain power over of the things in her life . Despite the difference in plot, all three pieces create a feeling of intense emotion of empowerment shown through the each character’s actions and feelings. As a result, people need to properly balance how much power they have because having either too much or too little can cause a loss in humanity.