A significant symbol introduced to readers within Chapter 15, the bank itself depicts an inherent perspective of the Black community held by most White people during this era. In particular, the bank is composed of a “very black, red-lipped and wide mouthed Negro”, for which a hand is extended palm up from this figure (Ellison 319). If a coin is placed into the hand, and a lever is pressed on the bank, the coin is flipped into the smiling mouth of the African American. It is blatant that the bank was created to reflect the increasingly racist viewpoint that many people of the White community had regarding the Black race. They inherently saw African Americans as very ignorant, uncivilized human beings who had an innate greed for wealth that they could easily take advantage of. This specific bank …show more content…
After quarrelling with the woman, the narrator again attempts to throw the bank away, but the pile of broken pieces is brought back into his ownership by a man. This man intrinsically assumed the worst of the narrator and his actions, even exclaiming to him: “I hope they catch you and put your ass under the jail!” despite the narrator having no wrongdoings (Ellison 330). The simple fact that the narrator appears to be unable to dispose of this offensive bank, especially as a result of various White people bringing the broken pieces back into his possession, exhibits the symbolic idea that the White community had no desire of letting African Americans rise above their stereotype during this time. It was an obvious benefit of powerful White figures of the era to have inherent control over African Americans, for which the label of them being excessively greedy and uncivilized made it increasingly easier for them to establish their self-proclaimed