A Game of Equality

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King of the Bingo Game is a short story written by Ralph Ellison, first published in 1944. The key characters in the story are the game announcer, the King, and the dying woman, Laura. Laura is the embodiment of equality sought by African-Americans. The King represents the aspiring African-American. The bingo announcer represents the unobtainable status of the white man. The characters in King of the Bingo Game are used to explain the situation of African-Americans during the early 1900s. The bingo announcer in the story represents the unobtainable status of the white man. In the story, the bingo announcer is described as a “slick looking white man with a slick suit.” The man is on a stage, set above the audience, bathed in bright flashing lights. When the King enters the bingo announcer’s territory, the narrator says the lights “blinded him, and he felt that he had moved into the spell of some strange mysterious power.” The King’s knees tremble, the announcer’s pomade makes him feel faint, and he feels like he must quickly exit the stage before he makes a fool of himself. Jerry Watt...

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