Once he believed that the sight of her mouth on the dead man’s fingers would be the thing he would remember always” (16).
“Once he believed that the sight of her mouth on the dead man’s fingers would be the thing he would remembeQuestion: How does the setting in the novel relate to our world? How is it different?
Macon Dead III, Milkman, starts as a selfish, and non family oriented man, but throughout the book he develops morals, and a sense of selflessness, which is a huge change from his original character. Milkman is raised with a sense of materialism, probably aiding in the development of his original character towards the beginning of the book.
This is shown when Milkman’s father tells him “Boy, you got better things to do with your time. Besides, it’s time you started learning how to work. You start Monday. After school come to my office; work a couple of hours there and learn what’s real. Pilate can’t teach you a thing you can use in this world. Maybe the next, but not this one. Let me tell you right now the one important thing you’ll ever need to know: Own things. And let the things you own own other things. Then you’ll own yourself and other people too. StartingMonday, I’m going to teach you how” (55).
Macon dead tells his son right of the bat that you need to work, you need to make money, and you need stuff. This was destructive in the development of Milkman’s character and values. Another example of Milkman being molded into selfish is demonstrated when he Guitar Bains, a childhood friend, are having a conversation, “How come it can’t fly no better than a chicken? Milkman asked. Too much tail. All that jewelry weighs it down. Like vanity. Can’t nobody fly with all that shit. Wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down” (179). At this point in the book guitar and Milkman see a peacock, which can’t really fly, in Milkman’s inquiry about the bird Guitar teaches him that you must let things and people go in order to succeed.
Luckily Milkman changes, which I feel is needed to be done because somebody who does not have morals makes me question their humanity. An example of the person Milkman changes into is shown when Morrison writes, “Guitar looked at the cookie again, then back into Milkman’s eyes. Nothing changed in his face. Milkman knew it sounded lame. It was the truth, but it sounded like a lie. A weak lie too. He also knew that in all his life, Guitar had never seen Milkman give anybody a hand, especially a stranger; he also knew that they’d even discussed it, starting with Milkman’s not coming to his mother’s rescue in a dream he had. Guitar had accused him of selfishness and indifference; told him he wasn’t serious, and didn’t have any fellow feeling—none whatsoever. Now he was standing there saying that he willingly, spontaneously, had helped an old white man lift a huge, heavy crate. But it was true. It was true. And he’d prove it.” Guitar, Milkman’s best friend, was bewildered when Milkman told him he had helped an old white man. A man with a background of selfishness has suddenly decided to show compassion, willingly, despite previous moments in his life where he chose to not help his own mother.
The sudden change in scenery caught me off guard. I was happy to see Milkman’s transition, in my opinion, into more of a human being. I thought of the saying old dogs can’t learn new tricks. Milkman’s change discredited this belief for me.
Work Cited
Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York: Knopf, 1977. Print.r
The setting of Song of Solomon relates to a past world, not mine, or anybody younger than forty, but it does show a world people once lived in. The book spans through Milkman’s life, it explains his exploits and experiences from 1931 to around 1963. An important historical series of events that appeared in the book is the Civil Rights movement, which began in 1955. Milkman lives in a world full of racism and prejudice, which real people faced during this time period. Milkman, Freddie, the janitor, among others have a discussion after finding out about the death of Emmett till, an African American teenager who was lynched for whistling at a white woman. In the book there is a scene in which Milkman finds out about the death of Emmett Till. The reaction to this is both anger and humor.
The author writes, “what you mean, ‘where’? I got five says it’ll be in the morning paper. On the sports page? asked Hospital Tommy. Or on the funny pages said Nero Brown. No, man. Front page. I bet five dollars on front page. What the fuck is the difference? shouted Guitar. A kid is stomped and you standin round fussin about whether some cracker put it in the paper. He stomped, ain’t he? Dead, ain’t he? Cause he whistled at some Scarlett O’Hara cunt ” (80-81). While Hospital Tommy and Nero Brown are focused on whether the lynching would be put in the paper, Guitar is steaming at the fact that they are arguing over something so minuscule. The real reason they are talking about this, is because a boy was badly beaten and killed for whistling at a White woman. This is why Guitar gets so upset when Tommy and Brown are subtly joking about it being in the paper. The author tied an historical event into the lives of the characters. For this reason the novel relates to our world very deeply.
Work Cited
Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York: Knopf, 1977. Print.
Question: Is the main conflict between sharply differentiated good and evil, or is it more subtle and complex? Sharply differentiated means that it is easy to see the contrast and the characters are clearly good or evil.
The book explains how Dead once had great love for his family, leaving me to believe that he was fundamentally good. Songs are musical compositions that usher in a sense of joy and happiness, Song of Solomon sings a dark tune of hatred and discontent. Macon Dead, a wealthy African American man, sings this sad tune. Macon Dead III is born February 19th, a day after his mother was the first black person admitted to Mercy Hospital, because a man had jumped of the roof claiming he could fly and died.Question: Is the main conflict between sharply differentiated good and evil, or is it more subtle and complex? Sharply differentiated means that it is easy to see the contrast and the characters are clearly good or evil.
The book is written very subtly, it gives you hints as you read it does not spell everything out for you. For example, Dead got his name from his father, Macon Dead Jr., who got his name from his illiterate father who got his name from a drunken Union Soldier who signed his name incorrectly on Macon’s identification papers. This information was presented in a very complex fashion, and as a result was hard to read for me.
It is hard to tell whether Dead is evil or good. The book explains how Dead once had great love for his family, leaving me to believe that he was fundamentally good. An example, of Dead’s love for his family is is demonstrated when the author, Toni Morrison, writes, “Once he believed that the sight of her mouth on the dead man’s fingers would be the thing he would remember always” (16). Dead once thought that his wife’s lips would be something that would always linger in his mind.The book explains how Dead once had great love for his family, leaving me to believe that he was fundamentally good. Songs are musical compositions that usher in a sense of joy and happiness, Song of Solomon sings a dark tune of hatred and discontent. Macon Dead, a wealthy African American man, sings this sad tune. Macon Dead III is born February 19th, a day after his mother was the first black person admitted to Mercy Hospital, because a man had jumped of the roof claiming he could fly and died.
The book is written very subtly, it gives you hints as you read it does not spell everything out for you. For example, Dead got his name from his father, Macon Dead Jr., who got his name from his illiterate father who got his name from a drunken Union Soldier who signed his name incorrectly on Macon’s identification papers. This information was presented in a very complex fashion, and as a result was hard to read for me.
It is hard to tell whether Dead is evil or good. The book explains how Dead once had great love for his family, leaving me to believe that he was fundamentally good. An example, of Dead’s love for his family is demonstrated when the author writes, “Once he believed that the sight of her mouth on the dead man’s fingers would be the thing he would remember always” (16). Dead once thought that his wife’s lips would be something that would always linger in his mind. Dead III faces conflict with his father, Dead II, when Freddie, the janitor catches Ruth breastfeeding Dead III when he is much too old. Ruth kept these moments with her son a secret for fear of judgment. With this Dead III develops a nickname, Milkman. Most people are either too afraid or don’t care enough to approach Milkman’s father. His father hears the name and has some idea of where it had come from, but instead of confronting Ruth, he keeps his knowledge of his wife’s “bonding time”, with milkman, a secret ushering Dead III into a deeper period of hatred for his family.
Work Cited
Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York: Knopf, 1977. Print.
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