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He is failing to see reality in one way or another . In the story he is invited to repeat his valedictory speech in which he said that " humility was the secret , indeed , the very essence of progress" (449) before the white leaders of the town. These men, however, humiliate the protagonist and some other black youths by forcing them to engage in a "battle royal," a blindfolded fist fight in which the last standing participant is victorious and tempting them to fight for counterfeit coins tossed on an electrified rug. Even after being degraded, beaten up, used, and treated like an animal the narrator still wants to impress his abusers and he delivers his oration. During the speech the men ridicule him and only make it more painful to go through with it in the already disturbing circumstances. But he doesn't care . Blinded by his eagerness to succeed he gratefully accepts the briefcase and the
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Grandfather was telling him to conform to white people because in that time that was the only way to excel. But he also said that he , who was "a quiet old man that never made any trouble", was "a traitor and a spy. At the beginning of the story the narrator is not sure what the meaning of those words is . They haunt him throughout the story and eventually become clear in his dream in the end (epiphany). In the dream, he is in a circus where he does not laugh at clowns. His grandfather is there, and his briefcase contains an envelope, which contains an envelope, and continues with a nearly endless cycle. When he opens the last, it encloses a paper which his grandfather makes him read aloud. It says, "Keep This Nigger- Boy Running". The message points out that with all of his apparent success, the main character is run around, without meaning, by whites. He is living through their lives for their lives, and he has no real freedom or equality. The phrase "Keep This Nigger- Boy Running" echoes the grandfather's deathbed warning and advice. The grandfather heeds him to "overcome 'em with yesses" and "agree 'em to death", which is exactly what the affluent white men have done to the main
Grandfather was telling him to conform to white people because in that time that was the only way to excel. But he also said that he , who was "a quiet old man that never made any trouble", was "a traitor and a spy. At the beginning of the story the narrator is not sure what the meaning of those words is . They haunt him throughout the story and eventually become clear in his dream in the end (epiphany). In the dream, he is in a circus where he does not laugh at clowns. His grandfather is there, and his briefcase contains an envelope, which contains an envelope, and continues with a nearly endless cycle. When he opens the last, it encloses a paper which his grandfather makes him read aloud. It says, "Keep This Nigger- Boy Running". The message points out that with all of his apparent success, the main character is run around, without meaning, by whites. He is living through their lives for their lives, and he has no real freedom or equality. The phrase "Keep This Nigger- Boy Running" echoes the grandfather's deathbed warning and advice. The grandfather heeds him to "overcome 'em with yesses" and "agree 'em to death", which is exactly what the affluent white men have done to the main