Characterization of the narrator

The narrator is the main character of the short story “On Being Crazy” by W. E. B. Du Bois. His appearance is not described, but the narrative reveals that he is a black man living in the United States. He is married (p. 4, l. 7) and he is a working man (p. 1, l. 7), but his job is not revealed. 

The narrator attempts to enjoy different common experiences, like dining in a restaurant, attending a concert in a theater, booking a room in a hotel, and traveling by train. This reveals that he might be a middle-class man who affords to do these things. However, he is denied access to these services because of his skin color and because the white people in the story are against “social equality” (p. 1, l. 5). The narrator, however, insists that he does not wa...