In the novel The Sellout, the main character and first-person narrator does not have a name. All readers know is that he is sometimes referred to as "Me" or "Bon Bon".
While growing up, the narrator lived in a small, poorer community outside of Los Angeles called "Dickens". His father, a social scientist of sorts, would help neighbors into living better lives, but the father and son duo remained in a state of unfortunate affairs themselves.
As a young boy, the narrator is quite confident about what will happen in his adult life - staying in Dickens, perhaps even with his father in his old age. However, no one's life story can continue without a conflict, and the narrator's father is suddenly fatally shot. This incident was likely because the narrator's father was black.
After receiving two million dollars in settlement from the police, the narrator tells himself that he no longer cares about being black anymore. The town of Dickens slowly disappears from the map, and the narrator becomes increasingly involved in "African American Affairs".
An elderly man named Hominy Jenkins is introduced into the novel, and he tries to hang himself. The narrator comes to the rescue, and saves Hominy from a horrible death. Hominy, of African American descent, starts acting like his slave to repay the narrator.
The case continues, and the narrator is increasingly harmful to people, especially those of his own race. He is accused of serious law infractions, and ends up in a Supreme Court Case titled, "Me vs. the United States".
