Like a Bucket of Cold Water

Our character attends the towns meeting and is quite anxious and looking forward to giving his speech to all this important people. Therefore, while looking forward to this opportunity he never takes into account that white men despise black men and like to make fun of and mistreat them. He gets reminded of this cold truth when he is forced to participate in the "battle royal", an activity that consists of throwing several blind folded black men into a ring and make them beet each other up while the white men observe and insult them. It is when he is forced to participate in this violent activity that his tone turns from optimistic to gloomy, he goes from having an intellectual future to being a dog.

Nevertheless, he does as he is told because that is what he has been told to do all his life. But, as the reader we get an inside look into the deception that he feels to see the tables turn on him in such a way, he goes from a hopeful optimistic to a gloomy mistreated dog.