He endures so many obstacles in this short period of time. He had to fight in the battle royal and then he had to get electrocuted all because he wanted to give the speech that he hoped would get him the scholarship that would allow him to go to college. Even though he shouldn't have participated in the fight, the men didn't care, as the narrator recounts in the story: "I was told that since I was going to be there anyway, I might as well participate in the fight." battle royale to be fought by some of my classmates for entertainment. (Ellison 2) After the fight, the young men 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 in pain. (Ellison 3) All of this leads the narrator to finally deliver his speech. These obstacles he endured represent how far the narrator would go to get what he thinks is right. He complied with everything white men wanted just so he could get a scholarship. This also represents the fact that at that time black people had virtually no rights, white men had a say.