I’m sending you down a fascinating alley of symbolism, game theory, and societal struggle. Ralph Ellison was a powerful writer, especially when it came to the ordeals of Black America. I love his work for its courage and honesty.
My recommendation this week is a short story by Ellison called “King of the Bingo Game,” in which a poor Black man tries to gain control over his impoverished existence by winning at bingo.
The bingo wheel represents the random forces of chance that control people’s lives, especially those of Black people in the early 1940s.
The protagonist, an unnamed poor man, gets caught up in a game designed to deny him any agency or control. Despite this, he plays the game incorrectly, and for a few minutes, he controls the game and the crowd watching, giving him an illusory sense of control.
Ellison is speaking out against the societal games designed to control people like his protagonist. I searched far and wide to find you a PDF copy of this short story online. I did find one, but the quality is poor. I’ve linked to that copy as well as a collection of Ellison’s short stories that includes this little masterpiece.
This is a short story recommendation from my weekly newsletter on May 8, 2024.
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