Milkman Character Analysis

The Eye of the Sheep, written by Sophie Laguna is a strong example of how memorable texts can both disturb the reader as well as instil hope. The novel follows the story of the narrator Jimmy Flick, a young, unusual boy and his family. Laguna’s writing style and use of language throughout the text enables the reader to feel the pain and distress in Jimmy’s family without ever losing hope that things will work out. One of the ways in which she does this is through the use of Jimmy’s voice, as it allows the reader to feel the positive energy bubbling inside of Jimmy, while still witnessing the problems that Jimmy’s family have to deal with, such as his father’s drinking habits. Another way is the manner in which the characters are constructed. All the members of Jimmy’s family have multiple facets to them. They are all complex characters that have both light and darkness within them. Through these cleverly constructed characters, Laguna how even good people can do disturbing things. While reading the Eye of the Sheep, there have been multiple different perspectives that have enriched my own interpretation of this text, that again show different facets to the story.

Our actions and interactions with others and society are what define us. Society’s perception of an individual may contrast with that individual’s perception of self. Our actions and interactions with others create certain stigmas which may not change despite progression and change an individual has undergone. But however at the end of the day we are our own creators and we chose who we interact with.

Many connections to famous books or movies can be made to the Headless Horseman or the "Heissan" as he is referred to many times in the original "Sleepy Hollow". The Headless Horseman has a few key traits: engimatic, supernatural, and terror raising/feared. Only a few have ever come face to face with the Horseman, the nemesis of Ichabod Crane (main character) Brom Van Brunt has a supposed run in with the horseman and lives to tell the tale, while the village elders go off of stories. When his name is spoken townsfolk quiver at the stories and terror brought about by the mistery of the supernatural. This horseman is no ordinary horseman, he frightens the whole town, patrolling the church grounds where he is supposedly buried, he makes quick work of anyone who dares go near.

In Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, Pilate Dead is labeled as the forbidden aunt in the novel; Macon regards her of little worth by calling her a snake. Yet she possesses a mystical quality that holds other characters in the book such as Macon Jr., Milkman and Guitar “spellbound” (37). Milkman Dead lives a life of higher status than that of his destitute aunt, yet he is drawn to Pilate and intrigued by her outlandish characteristics rather than being let down by her lack of a comfortable lifestyle. The gravitating pull Pilate has on Milkman is shown when Macon Jr. forbides Milkman from visiting his aunt. She is more appealing to Guitar and Milkman because of “all those unbelievable but entirely possible stories about his father's sister/ the woman his father had forbidden him to go near/ had both of them spellbound” (37). Pilate is like the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Her eccentric ways and the mere fact that she is forbidden to Milkman makes her all the more tempting. It is because of her strange ways that she is first introduced to Milkman, planting a seed to his self-discovery. Pilate’s mystical influence on Milkman grows stronger from the time they first meet at her house to the end of the novel where her transforming powers lead him to realize that it is because of her satisfaction with her lifestyle that she does not need to fly. Pilate’s association with nature imagery, her connection to her African origins, and her love of others, push Milkman to come to

At the beginning of the novel Milkman visits Pilate's household on a regular basis. Seeing it a refuge from his exceedingly dull life, he involves himself in the lives of his relatives; especially in that of Hagar. Throughout his adolescence, Hagar brushes off Milkman's lascivious glances and displays of affection; however, as he matures, Hagar takes interest in Milkman and falls in love with him as she fulfills his sexual desires. Once Milkman's lust for Hagar abates, he chooses to unceremoniously dump her and seek others within his own social group to fill the void (or rather, for him to fill her void). Hagar, abashed, searches for Milkman's reasons for the sudden, unexpected change, but when she sees him with another woman her fury unleashes and initiates a colossal cascade of emotion that results in Hagar's monthly attempts to kill Milkman. Feeling that she deserves Milkman's love and attention more so than other women, Hagar rationalizes her actions with a very simple attitude: Milkman will either love me and include me in his life, or have no one at all. Hagar's need for Milkman's death soon vanishes, she cannot bring herself to murder the one she loves; however, this does not impede her from seeking other paths to Milkman's heart. Although Hagar's raging emotions result in

Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon focuses on Milkman’s life from the time he is born until when he reaches adulthood. Milkman, also known as Macon Dead III, has a mother who loves him so much she gives him breast milk until is 12 years old. Pilate Dead, his aunt, also nourishes him with love as he grows up. In contrast, Milkman lacks compassion and does not reciprocate the family members’ kindness and generosity. Both Milkman and Pilate have physical abnormalities that shape their character and affect their life somehow.

If had to choose a Character from the book Schooled By Gordon Korman to be my best friend it would have to Capricorn Anderson.I would pick Capricorn Anderson (known as Cap) because he is very nice and he is not like the usual boys at the school mean,jockey,and reckless.Capricorn is nice,friendly,and generous.Just like when Capricorn found a dead bird in his locker and in the middle of school he host a ceremony for the dead bird that some kids at his school put in his locker.Also Cap really loves his family and the foster home he had to go live in.Sophie is the daughter of the foster mom and her dad left her when she was a little girl.Every year she waits for him to show up at her door on her birthday.Well this year Cap was living there when

That this leap occurs over Pilate's body, whose lack of navel has already established her as a myth or a different reality's possibility, further disrupts any optimistically simple reading of Milkman's action as one of untroubled transcendence. Milkman's response to Pilate's death is personal and somewhat selfish. His immediate concern is that there must "be at least one more woman" like her (336). For him, Pilate is subsumed by his desire for what she has meant in his life. So, although he has learned history, in the end Milkman is unable to take that history past the level of personal need. Milkman remains very much the self-concerned individual whose realization of himself as a human collage of history cannot undo his desire to be shown one "true" path to power and understanding.

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.

After an argument between his parents unraveled, causing Milkman to act defiant to his father, influenced many contradictory feelings within himself. He had respected his father always, following his footsteps in order to place him. He never was forced to go to college due to his presence being a real help in his father’s office. Macon Dead wants his son to be like him and own things, rather than things own him. But ironically Milkman is being owned to be like him to his own liking and not Milkman. But now that Milkman stood up to his father, he did not apprehend how he felt in the situation, which emphasizes the fact how isolated and trapped his identity is. As he looks himself in the mirror, “ But it lacked coherence, a coming together of the features into a total self. It was all very tentative, the way he looked, like a man peeping around a corner of someplace he is not supposed to be, trying to make up his

Cory is naturally brilliant at sports due to his father skills. In his early years Troy played baseball as a result, Cory is now playing football. He was fantastic at playing football, same as his father was at playing baseball. That is why he was recruited. According to the reading Cory says “coach Zellman say the recruiter going be coming by to talk to you”(35). Cory was excellent at football, much like his dad at baseball. In order to be recruited he has to be skilled and get excellent grades. According to the reading Cory says, “I get good grades, Pop. That’s why the recruiter wants to talk with you. You got to keep up your grades to get recruited. This way I’ll be going to college”(36). He was a respectable student that received excellent

The narrator describes Pilate as “the woman who had as much to do with his future as she had his past” (36). Pilate helped Milkman become a better person because she taught him to care about others feelings. Because of Macon, Milkman only cares about money and himself. Also if it was not for Pilate having a green sack in her house Milkman would have never gone to Virginia and met Susan. When Milkman went back to talk to Susan “he was as eager and happy as he had ever been in his life” (304) because he was finally going to get the answers to his many questions. He felt like he was one step closer to finding out who he was and where the Dead legacy came from. Milkman thinks that “Susan Byrd’s house looked different” (320) but in reality it was his mentality that changed. His priorities changed from looking for the gold to learning about his family history because he saw a new value of life by spending time around the people in Virginia, and by realizing that money is not the source of happiness . Susan assuages Milkman from the unpleasant feeling of not knowing who he is and not knowing where he comes

With only focusing on the past, Milkman is deemed to not move forward with his life and stay stuck in time. Milkman’s lack of ambition in life also affects the way he feels about the people close to him. Shortly after Milkman defends his mother from Macon, he receives disturbing information of how his mother had a very uncanny intimate relationship with her father. Because of this, Milkman goes on a walk where he reveals he “never loved his mother, but had always known that she had loved him” (75). Milkman does not care that his mother loves him; he does not feel anything towards her.

At last, Milkman understood that he treated his cousin/ lover Hagar as garbage by using and misusing her, admitting that “ he had used her…” ( Page 301) and as soon she wasn’t entertaining or charming and he was no longer amused he didn’t even respect her enough to end their affair face to face. Instead he threw her out of his life and into his past as if she was nothing. Milkman also recognized that pain that his mother had enduring. “… now it seemed to him that such sexual deprivation would affect her, … the way it would affect and hurt him.”

Similarly, Milkman dehumanizes and objectifies the women around him. At the head of the fight, the novel introduces Milkman’s age as “twenty-two and… had been fucking for six years,” highlighting the prominent role that sex with women plays in his maturity and erasing the individuality of the women behind the “fuck” (64). On the surface, his defense of his mother and defiance against his father conjures kindness and compassion; however, Milkman reveals his motives to be of a less pure origin. He struck his father back, not out of love for his mother, calling her “too