Shocked would be an understatement for my initial feelings about the ending of this book. I think a more apt name for the book would be “If She Hollers, Let Him Go” because of the pure wretchedness of this ending. Even though Bob is not a very good man, the audience is rooting for a happy ending for him after experiencing the torture of his mind and the racism of society. The world he lives in is diametrically opposed to the very idea of his happiness, but it is hidden under the facade of a peaceful coexistence. The collective white society thinks of their actions against the black population as nothing but a game, while in reality, they are stripping the humanity from the lives of these oppressed people. Games become physically deadly for Bob when Madge pulls her final trick and locks him in the closet with her to cry rape. Here the gender roles are reversed in the most dignity stripping way because Madge is wrenching Bob’s manhood away from him in a twofold: by exercising her power over him and physically trapping him with her and overpowering him. She wins the game in horrifying fashion and almost gets Bob killed, locked away for 30 years, and throws his weakness in his face with only one word.
The idea of Bob’s manliness is constantly intertwined with these different games being played by the different characters of the book. It is threatened by Alice’s relationship with Stella, by the mere presence of Tom Leighton, by the demotion from leaderman and subsequent loss of his job, and most prominently by the game of the Jim Crow laws. In the constant struggle for some semblance of control, Bob spirals deeper into this shattered perception of himself needing to feel like a man, but the game itself is stacked against allowing this perception to prevail. By trying to step out of his defined role in society, Bob is inviting these attacks on himself. Madge knows full well what kind of a man she was dealing with and adjusted her game accordingly. Even Alice knew what would threaten his masculinity best and brought him to her friends whose queer presence alone threatened his masculinity just like with Tom Leighton and his white male “superiority”. The problems of these games stem from the inherent racial bias, but most importantly the misconception that these actions are harmless. The book ends with the terrifying repercussions of Madge’s game, and our protagonist is shipped off to the army to die for his country that has done nothing for him in return. The game of life is a minefield when the game board is built for you to lose.