He endures so many obstacles in that short period of time. He had to fight during the battle royal, then he had to be electrocuted because he wanted to give the speech that hoped to get him the scholarship that would allow him to go to college. Even though he wasn't supposed to take part in the fighting, the men didn't care, as said in the story by the narrator "I was told that since I had to be there anyway, I might as well take part in the actual battle to be fought by some of my men schoolmates as part of the entertainment. (Ellison 2) After the fight, the youths were told to come and collect their money, after which they realized that the carpet the money was on had been electrocuted, causing them to scream. of pain. (Ellison 3) All of this leads to the narrator finally giving his speech. These obstacles he endured represent how far the narrator would go to get what he thinks is right to be able to receive a scholarship. This also represents the fact that blacks in that period had almost no rights, whites had a say