King Of The Bingo Game Analysis

Slavery is indisputably one of the most impactful events in history that still resonates its effects today. This is shown evident in Ralph Ellison’s King of the Bingo Game, where the protagonist still feels the impacts of slavery even though he was not a slave. Throughout the text, the unnamed protagonist demonstrates the struggles of many blacks affected by slavery. He tries to change his fate with the bingo game, but realizes that he cannot change the course of his life that slavery had already set in stone for him. The protagonist in The King of the Bingo Game is never named which is significant in that he could be representative of any black American. The protagonist tells the audience that his name “had been given [to] him by a white man who had owned his grandfather” (Ellison 133). This is significant because in the text, it seems as though he wanted to forget his name, which he did. He renames himself as the “King of the Bingo Game” which evidently shows his desire for a new beginning and control. However, it is ironic in that he chose to be the master of the bingo game because it does not transfer as a powerful figure. This is a parallel to his own life, since he does not have much power in controlling his own life either, due to the impact slavery has had on him. Similarly, the movie was also a metaphor of the lack of control the protagonist had. He said he had watched the film
Although they are still of a lower class, the other blacks did not seem to struggle as much in their lives as the protagonist. Ellison created this character to criticize slavery, and show that even when slavery is abolished and slaves are freed, they still cannot resume to normal, everyday lives that white people have. The legacy of slavery is engraved into the paths of people like the protagonist, and no course of action can allow them to better their