Character Analysis Of Milkman In Song Of Solomon

my daddy, and who ought to have been soft-shoeing it and chuckling with me” (Morrison, 19).

Milkman experiences many changes in behavior throughout the novel Song of Solomon. Until his early thirties most would consider him self centered, or even self-loathing. Until his maturity he is spoiled by his mother Ruth and sisters Lena and Corinthian because he is a male. He is considered wealthy for the neighborhood he grew up in and he doesn't socialize because of this.

In the opening chapter of the 1977 novel Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, the author presents a distant relationship between Macon Dead and his estranged sister, Pilate. Macon is shown staring into the window of his sister’s house, watching Pilate, her daughter Reba, and granddaughter Hagar. By simply observing them from the outside of their house, he demonstrates the complex relationship between himself and the family members he is watching. Morrison conveys this conflicted relationship through his use of setting, musical motif, and symbolism behind “Dead”.

Growing up is a journey, to be specific it 's a journey in a maze. We go around in different directions in hopes to find out who we indeed are. Left to right in every direction we run into things that change our mindset and by the end of the maze, we are entirely different people. Most mazes have doors; open one door new beginning, shut another end of that chapter. Specific events in life alter our young minds, and we tend to grow from these experiences. Personal and social encounters come our way and turn us into adults. Milkman in the novel Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison goes through various incitements and awakenings that force him to change his ways and enhance his

People often admire and yearn for the natural state of bliss a child has due to their ignorance of what 's going on around them. Although it is said that ignorance is bliss, but it is not always a good thing. As an adolescent, that bliss works to your advantage, but as a person gets older it only hinders your growth. Most times one does not know that they have remained stagnant until it has become known. In the novel Song of Solomon, by Tori Morrison, Milkman was unaware of his current state until it was made known to him.As a result, he unconsciously came of age through inner and external revelations.

Milkman is about to leave his family behind when Macon Jr. informs him of a green bag in Pilate’s home that is full of gold. Milkman and his best friend Guitar Bains go to Pilate’s house to steal the gold so he and his father can become wealthy. Guitar can be described as an extremist and is part of the Seven Days organization. When an African American in the community is murdered, members of the Seven Days retaliate by putting a white person to death the same way the African American was murdered. As Guitar’s grandmother said to him, “A nigger in business is a terrible thing to see. A terrible, terrible thing to see.” (Morrison 22). This was intended towards Milkman’s father and what type of a business man he was; always being selfish and greedy for wealth. This is how Milkman realizes how his race plays a role in society. Pilate is Milkman’s aunt who treats him as her own son and is protective over him. Unfortunately for Milkman and Guitar, they did not find gold but they found Milkman’s grandfather’s bones. This triggers Milkman and he finally leaves his home in search for gold in an old Pennsylvania farm.

Guitar Bains has been Milkman's best friend since they were children. The two share many memories and through them developed a strong bond. As Guitar and

Just like his father, Milkman tried to be blind to the racial issues that go on in his world. Being self-absorbed with his life doesn’t believe certain racial issues affect him. He comes from a wealthier family than the people in his community. When Milkman started working for Macon Jr., he started hanging out with Guitar more. This is when we see the obvious difference in their mentalities. In Chapter 3, Guitar and Milkman are in the barbershop and the men are talking about the murder of Emmitt Till. While Guitar and the other men feel passionately about the subject, Milkman tunes out the conversation and believe that it doesn’t affect him personally. As they grow up, Guitar continues to fuel a hate for white people and join a group called the Seven Days. This group performs any violent acts against whites to avenge the injustices caused against African-Americans. There are only seven men in the group and each

In Morrison's novel, the father sees love as ownership. After Milkman begins working for him, he is "delighted. His son belongs to him now and not to Ruth(63)." In addition, the father wishes for his son to focus less on education and more on the "American Dream". He tells Milkman, "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(55)." Milkman's father did not have any respect for college graduates. He believed that "college was time spent

Initially, Milkman’s journey leads him down a path that resembles cultural influences of mainstream America. This is the same direction in which his father, Macon Dead, Jr. navigates his life—seeking wealth, prosperity, and likeness to White Americans while remaining undisturbed by the problems inherent to his community. Milkman tries to imitate this characteristic of his father’s until he grows older and realizes that one of his legs is shorter than the other which requires him to walk with a limp. At fourteen, “Milkman feared his father, respected him, but knew, because of his leg, that he could never emulate him” (Morrison 63). Once again Milkman’s sense of identity is stumped and while he tries to imitate his father, he becomes different, nonetheless, in his behaviors.

As people grow up, they shape their opinion of themselves as well as their opinion of others around them. These opinions morph over time into self-worth and value. In Toni Morrison’s “Song of Solomon,” her characters all carry great amounts of influence on one another. Ruth Dead, mother of the protagonist Milkman Dead, lives her life passively and often finds herself at her father’s grave pondering about life. When Milkman approaches her one day about her habits, she responds with a story about his upbringing and her own. Throughout this conversation (p.p.g 124-126) Morrison defines character as being composed of the type of influence one has on others around them. This is explored through Ruth’s changing perspective on her own character as well as the qualities of Pilate and

   Song of Solomon tells the story of Dead's unwitting search for identity. Milkman appears to be destined for a life of self-alienation and isolation because of his commitment to the materialism and the linear conception of time that are part of the legacy he receives from his father, Macon Dead. However, during a trip to his ancestral home, “Milkman comes to understand his place in a cultural and familial community and to appreciate the value of conceiving of time as a cyclical process”(Smith 58).

In Chapter 12 of Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, Milkman makes an offhand comment on the children playing the game depicting his family’s history, reporting: “The boy in the middle… (it seemed always to be a boy) spun around with his eyes closed… pointing” (Morrison 299). Like the boy at the center of the circle, Milkman blindly points his attention and “hog’s gut” in the direction of the women around him, causing them nothing but pain (216). His behavior is symptomatic of the possessive masculinity he exercises, courtesy of his father and in direct competition with the softer masculinity his aunt Pilate offers.

All that Milkman knows of his family's roots are the facts that they originated in Virginia and his grandfather was killed on his farm in Pennsylvania.  He knows nothing of his ancestor's struggles with oppression and slavery.  Therefore he does not understand or appreciate his African American heritage. When Milkman is in his thirties he does, however, learn of a story of the possibility of gold being hid in a cave in where his father grew up.  Milkman believes that if he finds this gold that he will have the wealth and power that he needs to be free of his father's rule.  What Milkman doesn't realize is that not only is he about to embark on a "gold hunt" for gold he is also on a "gold hunt" for his identity.

Although Milkman lived in the Twentieth-Century and is not physically a slave, he is repressed by his family. Milkman's parents love him; however, Morrison refers to their love as an "anaconda love" as they squeeze the life out of Milkman and leave little room for growth and maturity. Ruth Dead is so possessive of Milkman that she continues to breast-feed him long after he should have been weaned as "his legs [were] dangling almost to the floor" (Morrison 13). When Freddie caught them in the act, Milkman "had been rechristened