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.