Response to bullying
We learn that Bliss accompanied and assisted Hickman's speeches as a child, leading to a considerable amount of bullying. In one scene, he is teased by a group of boys, and because he cannot fight he instead "reproached [them] with all the four horses galloping in [his] eyes." This powerful use of imagery references the bible, suggesting the warfare and the wrath of God.
Struggle and fret
Hickman describes life for African-Americans in America, using imagery: "They make life a business of struggle and fret, fret, and struggle. See who you can hate; see what you can get. But you just keep on inching along like an old inchworm." This imagery emphasizes the suffering of African-Americans, using words like "struggle" and "fret." He also uses a simile at the end to emphasize the slow journey towards true emancipation and freedom.
Emancipation
Hickman uses imagery to describe what happened after the emancipation, saying: "They chopped us up into little bitty pieces like a farmer when he cuts up a potato. And they scattered us around the land." In this description, he emphasizes the lack of concern or responsibility the authorities had for making sure African-Americans were provided for.
The Black Car
At the end of the novel, it is implied that Bliss dies and is taken to the afterlife. This is represented by a group of black men in a large black car, who take Bliss with them. Here, Ellison uses the ominous imagery of the car to emphasize death.
