Consider the following quotes from Ellison’s “King of the Bingo Game” (1944):
“he felt vaguely that his whole life was determined by the bingo wheel”;
“the unlucky cards and numbers of his days”
“he felt that the man was making a fool of him”
“as the wheel increased its speed it seemed to draw him more and more into its power, as though it held his fate; and with it came a deep need to submit, to whirl, to lose himself in its swirl of color”
“This is God!”

Why do you think the protagonist/narrator discusses the wheel in these terms? What do you think happens to the narrator/protagonist at the end of the story?

The protagonist discusses the wheel in these terms because he is comparing him spinning the wheel to his life. He feels that the wheel represents everything that he is going through. The wheel is like taking a risk when one lets go of the wheel. When he lets the wheel go, there is a possibility that he will win something and then there is a possibility that he will not win. The protagonist feels as if his life is about his decisions to take the risks and if he will be lucky. He feels as if the fate is in his hands, as in whatever he does will help fate determine his future. I feel that the narrator realizes that taking chances is what is it about, and without taking chances he will never be able to succeed or fail. Therefore, he will think out his life, take in consideration of all the factors, and take risks.