Milkman

what Solomon’s flight is meant to represent, nor does she bother herself with knowing if Solomon was even his real name: “Solomon, or Shalimar—I never knew which was right” (322). But for Milkman, finding a “workable” explanation for Solomon’s flight is essential in order to understand himself. Living at home, Milkman feels trapped and desiring freedom from a young age, when he realized “that only birds and airplanes could fly—he lost all interest in himself”

of Milkman's actions that exemplify his decrease in selfishness and preoccupation with himself is when he gives his gold watch to Grace to let her see and admire it. Milkman then leaves, but upon remembering that he had forgotten to get back his watch, he does not care enough about it to go back and retrieve it. This shows that Milkman is more interested in discovering his lineage and family history, rather than his gold watch or the gold that initially was the reason for him journeying there.

1.1. Milkman’s lover Hagar At the same time as Milkman has less air for breathing at home, he gets to know his cousin Hagar and is introduced to her as a brother. Although Reba corrects her mother Pilate by saying, “That ain’t her brother, Mama. They cousins”, Pilate counters, “I mean what’s the difference in the way you act toward ‘em? Don’t you have to act the same way to both?” (Morrison 54). This first encounter sets the basis of Hagar’s and Milkman’s relationship. Pilate makes clear that family

Morrison tells a story of one black man's journey toward an understanding of his own identity and his African American roots.  This black man, Macon "Milkman" Dead III, transforms throughout the novel from a naïve, egocentric, young man to a self-assured adult with an understanding of the importance of morals and family values.  Milkman is born into the burdens of the materialistic values of his father and the weight of a racist society.  Over the course of his journey into his family's

Milkman went to Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia looking for the town where Pilate used to live called Shalimar. After he left Pennsylvania he bought a cheap car to travel with and when he got to Shalimar his car broke down and while he was waiting for his car to get fixed he went to Solomon’s General Store to rest. While he was talking to Solomon he found out that someone from Michigan drove down there looking for him and Milkman knew that it was Guitar and Guitar probably went to that store and

MIlkman tries to find his identity by going far away and meeting new people who teach him about his past and therefore changing his outlook on how he sees his family Milkman as a child dreams about flying but is hindered from flying by the fact that he is ostracized by his community because of his family’s identity, which makes him feel trapped. This ostracism leads him to try to pursue his goal of flight. His identity given to him by the town gossip Freddie sticks with him. Freddie ridicules him

construction of any destiny; Pilate symbolized the strong current that drove Milkman’s ship to safe grounds. In the novel, “Song of Solomon” by Toni Morrison, even though Macon Dead III “Milkman” is the protagonist, Pilate Dead, Milkman’s aunt plays the essential role to the

He has a friend named Guitar, who messes around with drugs, and alcohol, and I would like to think that Milkman is just a kindhearted boy who was just led in the wrong direction, due to Guitar’s nature. Milkman’s father, Macon dead Jr. is the literal example of someone being “wrapped up in their work,” since the beginning of the story, where he stopped caring

racial tensions and segregation, Macon Dead III, also known as Milkman, learns the importance of his history and embraces flight. Morrison’s depth of thought was very complex as she depicted flight as not only metaphorical, but also literal. She implied that the knowledge of history is very therapeutic and should be welcomed (Brown). In Morrison’s eyes, flight makes the world more extravagant and meaningful (Heaton). In the novel

Soley Montes Mr. Henderson African American Literature 03/07/2024. Milkman and Mr. Smith are connected from the beginning of the novel, moments after Smith jumps off the roof of Mercy hospital, Milkman is born. Milkman seems indifferent to life or death and views death as a release from the boredom that he feels within black life, unlike Mr Foster who does not believe he will die at all, in his mind flight is a way of apologizing to the people for his work in maintaining the society. Robert Smith’s