Weekly Outline
Week 1, 1/14 -- Introductions
Week 2, 1/21 -- What is literature? What is identity?
Week 3, 1/28 -- Narration, paper #1 due
Week 4, 2/4 -- Character, Setting, Symbol, Theme
Week 5, 2/11 -- Quiz #1, film
Week 6, 2/18 -- Poetry
Week 7, 2/25 - - Poetry, paper #2 due
Week 8, 3/4 -- Poetry
Week 9, 3/11 -- Poetry, paper #3 due
Week 10, 3/18 -- (out of class work on blog)
Week 11, 3/25 -- SPRING BREAK
Week 12, 4/1 -- Quiz #2 on poetry, Theory
Week 13, 4/8 -- Poetry paper #4 due, Theory, film
Week 14, 4/15 -- Theory
Week 15, 4/22 -- Theory, quiz #3
Week 16, 4/29 -- Paper #5 due
Week 17, 5/6 - Final Exam PARTY
In the beginning, I believed the story was about an individual who was a very good bingo player. The actual significance is that he is King of the bingo game because it is the only thing in his life he as full control over. Every right he has ever had has been taken away from him, he can not get a job which is his only source of making any money. He decides to play bingo and completely cheat the system since they have cheated him. He decides to use five cards as opposed to one to have a better chance at winning. He wins the game and when he spins the wheel to get his prize he is frozen because it is the only thing in his life he has ever had control over. His destiny is in his hands which he is not used to. Eventually the police show up and he lets go finding out he won the jackpot. It is too late though because he is controlled by the police and back to square one of being powerless. The story is told in third person and all of the main characters thoughts are expressed. The setting takes place in the 1940s which was during the The Great Depression, a very bad time for Americans.The bingo wheel has a huge symbolic meaning as the key to his fate. By pressing the button it will determine his destiny which is very frightening for him. His racial identity is one of the themes in this story, he is of African-American decent which was not a very popular race in the 40s. The rights were not equal and his whole life was controlled, once he finally has control of where his life can lead he does not know what to do with it.
ReplyDelete--Natalie Diciaula
At first, I thought this story was going to be just a boring story about bingo. It was about bingo, but it was not boring at all! It turns out, this guy is the master at bingo and it is one of the only things he has. He feels he has been cheated by society because nothing has ever gone his way. He has no job and barely has any money to take care of himself. The best way he makes money is by playing bingo and figuring out ways around the system. Where he plays bingo, if you get bingo you go on stage and spin the big wheel for the chance to win the jackpot. The jack pot is only like thirty dollars which doesn’t seem like a lot now but back then, it was pretty good. This story is told in third person and takes place in the 1940s about the time of the great depression. I think his bingo cards have a huge symbolic meaning because it is what he is good at and has found ways to do pretty well in it. His racial identity is African-American which has put a lot of bumps in the road for him since race was a very big deal in these times.
ReplyDelete-Stephen Stroop
I believe the title and symbolic relationship of the story “King of the bingo game” is very self-explanatory. He holds the fate of his wife Laura that is very sick and need money for Doctors and care in the bingo game. He feels very empowered and confident in winning. This man from the south that ventures to the north is in a movie theatre waiting for the bingo game, he wins the bingo game goes onto stage to win the jackpot if the wheel spins a double zero. He did not release the button so the audience and the game announcer got angry and knocked him in the head once he let go of the button it hit double zero’s. This story is narrated in third person. The setting takes place in the north, from what I perceived during the 1940’s-1950’s. The bingo wheel had a symbolic relationship to his life and his worries, when the wheel kept spinning he knew life was ok and so was his wife that need care and he did not want to let go of his dignity and happiness. His racial identity was African American, during the 1940’s African American race was in a very troubled state due to racism and what not and he is ready to let it all go and hope for the best in his life and not let anything get in his way.
ReplyDelete-Hampton Schaffer
King of the Bingo Game sounds like a serial killer novel. I expected to read about mass murder, rape and bingo games but instead I read about a man who had fallen on desperate times and seemed to want to try to get ahead by outsmarting his fellow bingo players. Our protagonist has found himself with a sick friend and no job and feels like this is the only way for to forge ahead. When he finally hits bingo and is called on stage to spin the wheel he freezes in his tracks and begins to scream out "I am Bingo King". I believe he suffered from a nervous break down. Judging from the crowds reaction people were pretty upset that he held the button that controls the spinning wheel for so long. Peoples temperament began to grow with anger as he held the button. It wasn't long before the gentleman was tackled by police and beaten in the head. I believe the setting is between the 30s and 40s in a time when black people were looked as less than equal. I think that the button shows immense symbolism. Especially since he felt a direct connection between the amount of time that he held the button and the amount of life Laura would have
ReplyDeleteI expected a bingo game to be somewhere in the story. The symbolism is that he has a small chance to fix his predicament.The story is about a man who is down on his luck with a sick wife or significant other. He needs money to pay a doctor to see her so he goes and plays bingo to win some money. The story is narrated in the third person. The setting is in the 1930's or 40's somewhere in the north part of the country. It's set in a movie theatre/bingo hall. I believe the bingo wheel has symbolic meaning. As long as he has that wheel spinning he is ok in life. His race as an African American comes in to play quite a bit seeing how they are in the time period they are.
ReplyDelete-zachary harder
When I started to read the “King of the Bingo Game”, I expected it to be about a very successful gambler who excelled at the game of Bingo. The symbolic significance of the title is that this man, of whom previously had little to no rights, finally gets to succeed in being a “King”, even if just for a fleeting moment. The story is narrated in first person, and it is about the main character explaining in a past tense about his life-changing Bingo win, and the suspense and control he had felt while waiting to hit the buzzer. The setting of the story takes place in a bingo hall of sorts. Where people gather to try their best to win money for a great sort of reasons. The stage in the bingo hall is glorious, it is where previous winners stood to try their luck at the giant prize of money! The images of his thumb being pressed down in anticipation of the ‘right moment’ express how excited he was for this meager prize. The role of body and racial identity was overwhelmingly present in this story. He came up from a poor southern lifestyle, his father was a slave, and he had no real attention or glamour in his lifetime; this bingo win allowed him to attain his peak of life in attention, control, and self-appreciation. Without this bingo win, he probably would not have realized that he is a special human being who deserves to be happy. Racism was rampant in this time, and he needed to feel equal in some way, and bingo does not discriminate.
ReplyDeleteI expected a story about a bingo game and someone who controls the bingo game, A monopoly of sorts in the form of bingo. The title is symbolic because in the story the protagonist is really a weak willed person who just wants a little success out of life. In the story a man cheats in Bingo and wins. But before he can collect his jackpot the police come and take him away. The story was written in the first person. The story’s setting is in a bingo parlor in a northern city. The images of cheating at bingo, at infuriating the crowd and the police arresting him all come to mind. Him cheating at bingo shows his desperation to win at anything. Him infuriating the crowd shows how the small amount of power he did manage to obtain went straight to his head .The police confronting him show his loss of perceived power and how he fritted it away. The role of body in this piece shows how quick to anger and to make fun of the other players were. They denounced him with impatience and even went so to far as call the cops on him.
ReplyDelete-Joshua McGlone
Going into this story I expected a very mediocre story on a man who loved bingo and who was very, very good at it. The simplistic expectation i with held about this story was quickly altered as I began to read. The story is about an African American male who is currently not winning in life. He believes that he is at his lowest place in life and doesn't know if he will ever be able to get out of it. He see's his only escape through a bingo game. The winnings from his bingo games could help pay for his sick wife and any other worries he currently had. The bingo game only consists of African american males from North Carolina which provides symbolism within the story. Once the man wins the bingo game other bingo players begin to become angered as he approaches the stage to spin the grand prize wheel. The man has finally gained some hope in life, but the other men are trying to bring him down. The third person point of view allows the reader to gain a different perspective on the situation unfolding. The African American male is represented in a negative light showing the connection of body and race. The action of spinning the wheel is the only thing that the man has control over in his life. He wants to savor this moment and take out of it all he can. The grand prize is only 30 something dollars but gives him the ability to change his life in a much bigger way. His race, and situation put him into a position of complete control from the outside world. Through bingo he is able to gain control of things that he never believed imaginable. Its crazy to think that such a small game can make such a big difference in a single persons life.
ReplyDeleteDemetrius A. Jones
ReplyDeleteMark Shealy
ENC 1102
February 4, 2015
King of the Bingo Game
Presumptuously assuming the tittle would follow a plot of a champion bingo player. I think the actual significance of the title is irony, simply because bingo cannot be conquered. In the
story a African American man, clearly poor is trying his luck in the bingo hall. However, the true meaning of why he intends to win so badly is finally made clear when he speaks of his wife in his thoughts. Eventually he hits bingo but still must complete a rotating ball challenge in which the ball must land on double zero. After realizing the odds of winning he does the unthinkable and just holds the button that controls the rotation of the machine. The audience at first gets angry then they seem to revere him as a true winner. Chased across the stage still holding the button he finally is tackled by an attendant and is instantly clubbed in the head; the ball lands on double zero. The story is narrated in first person through the mind of the bingo player. The setting not only appears to be a bingo hall but a game show as well. The desperation he had in saving his wife forever on the game show symbolizes himself as the bingo king. Even though he was a black male in the thirties he let nothing try and stop him from saving his wife.
Based on the title “King of the Bingo Game” I expected the story to be about a man that was very good at the game of bingo and his success that he has playing. The symbolic significance of the title is that it represents the power the man has while he holds the button down. The story is about a man that travels to the north to play bingo for the purpose of saving his wife from a terrible sickness that could kill her. He eventually gets bingo and the chance to spin the wheel. While holding down the button that controls the stopper of the wheel when released he realizes that for the infinite about of time he holds the button down he is in power, for that reason he decides to hold the button down as long as possible because then he knew his wife would be safe. The story is based on the early twentieth century time period. The picture below has significant meaning to the story because it represents the acts that occur with racial tension. The man sees himself as a poor black man from the south that has realistic hope of saving his wife and if only he was a white man he could support both himself and his wife.
ReplyDeleteJoseph Ledo-Massey
I expected this to be a story about someone who excels at bingo. The theme in the story is that a man who started with nothing can gain everything he needs in a matter of seconds, which represents chance. It is narrated in first person. The story is very suspenseful. This game is the first thing he has ever been able to control by himself because he used to be a slave. That significance of race in the story. It was a chance for him to feel equal.
ReplyDeleteAngela B
King of the Bingo Game sounds like a novel about someone who is really good at bingo and wins lots of cash from it. Of course that is actually the exact opposite from what it ended up being about. Its about a guy who is in need of money to save his wife Laura, he travels up north to compete in a bingo competition for the jackpot money. When he wins and gets to go up on stage he cant let go of the button so the wheel keeps spinning which gets the crowd upset. He suffers from a nervous breakdown and starts telling people he is "the king of bingo" Eventually the police come up there and force him to let go and as he gets hit in the head the wheel lands on the double zero. This story was told in a third person point of view. I think this has to do with race because the man is black and from North Carolina and the setting is in the 30's and 40's which is when racial tensions were very high.
ReplyDelete-Ryan Kay
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ReplyDeleteThe theme in the story is about the racial issues in the 40's. Discrimination was very intense. Due to this fact, he probably didn't have many chances to succeed or do anything for himself. He never did anything for someone else from his own will. This is why it was so important to get money for his wife.
AB
Just as the title "King of the Bingo Game" translates, I thought it was about a guy who was extremely skilled at the elderly's favorite game! However the symbolic significance of the title is that bingo is the only thing he has control over. He had lost his job so he turns to making money from bingo to support himself and his wife. He finds a way to cheat the game and get ahead of the other players. The more he wins, the better he feels and the more confident he gets. When he wins bingo, he goes up on stage to spin the wheel to get his prize. In order to get the jackpot he had to spin double 0's. He held the button longer than need be and the audience got upset by that. The police then pulled him away because he was holding the control for too long. The story is narrated in third person. The story takes place in the 1940's, during the end of the Great Depression and a time where African Americans were not viewed as equal citizens. I think that by him holding the button for so long it shows symbolism. This shows symbolism because the button determines where his life goes next. With the jackpot he has many more opportunities than if he would only win a few dollars. His racial identity is African American. It was especially challenging to be African American during the 1940's due to racism still being tolerated.
ReplyDeleteI expected the story to be about a man who was just a master at bingo. I thought the man would surely be old. It is about a man who is playing in a bingo event to help pay for his wife's medical bills because she is dying. He doesn't have a job to help out because he doesn't have his birth certificate, so the only way he thinks he can help out is through bingo. He ends up winning, comes on stage to spin the wheel for the jackpot, holds down the button which seems like for ever, the audience gets mad because he is taking for ever, police come in to wrestle the button out his hands, he drops the button, the spinner falls on double zero, he wins, as he is standing up on stage in awe, the curtain falls on his head and knock him out or kills him. Third person. Present tense. Him wanting to win so bad he ends up losing everything.
ReplyDeleteFrom the title, "King of the bingo game", I expected it to be a simple story of an older man. The significance from the title comes from the mans belief that he is God and can control everything by holding down the button for the wheel. The man is struggling with finances and needs money in order to pay for a doctor for his unhealthy wife. He hopes to earn the money by playing bingo, and when he goes to spin the wheel he becomes obssesed with the fact that he can control everything in his life by continuing to hold the button down. Eventually, authorities have to remove him and he is hit at the very end. The story is told in first person and takes place in the building where he is playing bingo. The wheel is a big symbol that presents the struggles in his life. The man mentions that his wife, Laura, will be okay as long as the wheel keeps spinning.
ReplyDeleteI assumed the story was about a professional gambler who excelled at cheating and finally met his match. A man sits in a theatre, waiting for a bingo game to begin. The man’s wife, Laura, is severely ill and incapable of working but they don’t have much money so they can’t get her the treatment she needs. His solution is to win the bingo game in order to afford medical expenses. The man is a great bingo player but he feels that he is constantly let down and he doesn’t receive the amount of money that his level of skill deserves. He decides that he is going to cheat by using 5 cards; more cards than any of the other players. The game begins and the man has matching numbers so he gets called on stage. On stage there is a numbered wheel in which the player must spin. If the wheel lands on double-zero, the player wins. The man presses the button to spin the wheel but can’t remove his hand from the button because, while the wheel is spinning, he feels that Laura is safe and secure. The wheel spins and spins until 2 policemen remove his hand from the button. The wheel stops on double-zero. The story is narrated in third-person. The story takes place in the early 20th century, likely around the time of the depression. The protagonist is an African-American. The story clearly focuses on racism and how, although the man is good at what he does, he’s never entirely compensated because of that fact that he’s black. It symbolizes the adversity African-Americans faced in a segregated society.
ReplyDelete-Daniel Dearing
Based on the title, I expected the story to be about someone that was a “king” of gambling in bingo. However, it was about a man that found himself facing tough times with low amounts of money, and feeling like playing bingo is his only option. He cheats in the game, and when he wins and has to press a button to collect his prize, he has a panic attack or something similar and doesn’t release the button. People get angry and call the cops on him, and he is beaten. It is written in first person, and the setting is not specified but is a bingo parlor. The button that he presses for too long has symbolic meaning, as he is holding the thing that will give him everything he wants and cannot let go of it. He needs the money to pay for his wife’s illness, so he might equate the button with her life and not want to give it up. The image of the main character yelling and antagonizing the crowd and getting beaten for it is symbolic of how he gets a lucky break for the first time in a while and wastes it. The role of racial identity is addressed when he thinks about how the other black people in the crowd are ashamed of him.
ReplyDeleteAllison McDowell
When I first read the title "King of the Bingo Game" I thought it was going to be about someone who won a bunch of bingo games, and maybe won a large sum of money. The man in the story is going through some though times, his wife is sick, he doesn't have a job and doesn't have a chance of getting a job. He felt that playing bingo was his only option, so it seems that he went to play bingo every week to win the $37 jackpot. Eventually he won the game of bingo, and when he went on stage to spin the wheel he didn't spin it because he felt like he was the god of the wheel and he could control it. He then went crazy of stage and was forced down. The setting of the story was in a bingo parlor. The wheel and the button definitely had a meaning in the story, maybe it was the fate of his wife. Race definitely played a role in the story, especially during the time it was set in, the 40's, was definitely a hard time for African Americans.
ReplyDelete-Shane Parent`
1. I think the obvious answer is to expect the story to be about someone who is really good at Bingo, but I think it is a metaphor for his life. We all know how Bingo works, you have to get certain words or numbers in a row and then you win. By the title being King of the Bingo Game, it could be his life is going the way he planned. Considering perfect lives don’t sell a story, I do think that his life is falling apart and there is just one bad thing after the other so he technically wins, but I don’t think anyone would want to win that type of Bingo.
ReplyDelete2. The story is about a man who travels to play bingo so he can get money to save his wife. Obviously, he gets bingo which allows him to spin a wheel that has to land on a double zero for him to win. He doesn’t let go of the button that controls the wheel because it gives him power over the wheel and this also agitated the audience. The police were called and they pull him away. When he finally lets go, the wheel lands on double zeros. He is amazed that he won and doesn’t notice the curtain is falling. It hits him on the head and he dies.
3. The story is told in first person.
4. The setting is in a bingo hall during the 1940s.
5. I think the wheel is symbolism of his future because if he wins, it will change everything for him. I also think him holding the button is symbolic for the power he finally feels and that is part of the reason he does not let go.
6. Race is a big part of this story because it is during the 1940s when racism was still present. I also think that added to the audiences’ frustration that he held the button for so long.
Christopher Bijou