King of the Bingo Game

“‘If this was down South,’ he thought, ‘all I'd have to do is lean over and say, “Lady, gimme a few of those peanuts, please ma'am,” and she'd pass me the bag and never think nothing of it.’ Or he could ask the fellows for a drink in the same way. Folks down South stuck together that way; they didn't even have to know you.’”

This passage underscores the protagonist’s dislocation and the difference (or perceived difference) between Northern and Southern culture. The scenario heightens the protagonist’s isolation; even though the people around him are Black, he does not feel a sense of community. On the contrary, as he expresses later in the story, he often feels ashamed by the behavior of other “Negroes.”

“The man moved impatiently beside him, and he tried to involve himself in the scene. But Laura was on his mind.”

Ellison dramatizes the protagonist’s inner conflict by showing the contrast between the protagonist’s environment and his preoccupation with Laura. His mind exists in two places at once, and he is never fully able to inhabit either of his realities. His outburst as he spins the wheel occurs when the reality of his life with Laura overtakes his experience in the present moment, which leads him to appear insane to the onlookers and drives his emotional stress to the breaking point.

“It was strange how the beam always landed right on the screen and didn't mess up and fall somewhere else. But they had it all fixed. Everything was fixed.”

This passage expresses one of the story’s main themes, which is that the game—and all society—is fixed. The metaphor symbolizes how something can be made to appear one way when, in reality, it is different. In this case, the camera and screen setup have been carefully measured and calibrated to create the effect of the picture appearing onscreen, but the preparation was done behind the scenes, making the effect seem like magic.