The Curse

On page 16, the character remembers his grandfather's last words, which became a burden for the rest of his life:

"Son, after I'm gone I want you to keep up the good fight. I never told you, but our life is a war and I have been a traitor all my born days, a spy in the enemy's country ever since I give up my gun back in the Reconstruction. Live with your head in the lion's mouth. I want you to overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em with grins, agree 'em to death and destruction, let 'em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open. . . . Learn it to the younguns." (pg 16)

Through these words, Ellison offers a cause and a solution, in the grabdfather's perspective, to the inferior condition of black men. The first half of the excerpt has a couple of war metaphors, which represent the violent history of oppression that black people have suffered in the United States. The second half present the solution, which follows the principle of "If you can't beat them, join them". The grandfather lived his life being a spy for the white men and following his orders. He did so to survive, and he wanted his family to follow his example. By comparing the white men to the "lion", the king of the jungle, Ellison highlights the fear and sense of inferiority the black had towards the white.

The grandfather's riddle became a curse in the main character's life since he spend his first years behaving in such way that would please the white. By doing so, he won a scholarship to attend school, but he also silenced his thoughts and opinion.