Rising Action/Climax/Resolution
Rising Action
After his life is turned upside down from his expulsion from college that the Narrator becomes involved in a variety of vices. It is through his interaction with Mary that he gains some sort of conviction for social upstanding, and for that reason he becomes involved in politics.
Climax
The climax is the death of Clifton. The result of an internalized turmoil in the politics of racial progress and the racialized violence that has occurred. He must then alone orchestrate the funeral, out of respect.
Falling Action
Following the drama of the death of Clifton, riots ensue. In addition to these riots, Ras calls for the lynching of the narrator, and the police are on his tail. His immediate reaction is to retreat back from where he came from: the sewers. This signals that the cycle of racialized tension now only progresses.