For chapters 11-13, you’ll be following many
of the same themes. For each of
these 3 chapters, please choose 2 of the
following to answer in a post AND use
at least 2 quotations PER question in your response. Some of these questions are more
appropriate for some chapters above others, so read and choose carefully.
Try to comment under what someone else has posted whenever possible!
1)
To what extent do you see Milkman developing
as an individual, finding himself, discovering his moral center? (Are there places where he still
doesn’t “get it”?) Where and why?
Do you sympathize more with him as a character now? Why or why not? How does Morrison suggest that one
finds oneself? What are the
critical components of this journey?
2)
Keep track of Milkman’s discoveries and
realizations about his family’s past.
What are the significant people, moments, myths, stories, songs, that
are associated with his family?
Why, according to Morrison, is it important to recover one’s family
roots? How can your past teach you
about who you are? What do you
think is Morrison’s point or points by including all this stuff about family
history/mythology? Why is a
critical part of this history told through a children’s song?
3)
Milkman’s relationships with others—Continue
to track his developing relationship with Guitar, Hagar, and Pilate. Mark any significant moments in the
story lines of Guitar, Hagar, and Pilate and explain why they are important,
strange, or confusing.
4)
Continue to take note of developments of the
major themes, including Naming—especially the new names we meet, Byrd, Solomon,
Ryna, and Sing—and Flying.
5)
Why did Morrison title the book Song of
Solomon? Try to think of this
literally and metaphorically.
6)
How can we read ideas like “hunger” and the
quest for “gold” metaphorically?
Think back to the Hansel and Gretel story—how is Milkman’s journey (what
he wants, what he finds, what he comes to value) different than the fairytale.
7)
There are some really “weird” events and
ideas in these chapters. Pay
attention to them! The most
interesting and important thing you can do with this book is to write about
what you think seems odd or confusing or intriguing. Write this down and explain why. If possible, ask questions of your classmates!
1. I think Milkman is slowly starting to find his discipline and maturity as well as family history throughout the journey. I think one of the more humbling parts of the book is when Milkman meets a lady named Sweet who offers to take him in as a guest. He is described as helping her bathe, doing the dishes, making the bed, everything that Magdalene called Lena yelled at him for not doing. Maybe it was just the change in environment, but I think that it was actually an experience that Milkman enjoyed. "She didnt, but she had indoor plumbing and her smile was just like her name, Sweet"(285). Although his actions towards Sweet were in my view, a large step forward, He still has a long way to go. I thought of his short leg as the thing that holds him back, the thing that keeps him from walking, standing, and acting normal. When he is running in the woods. "the pain in his short leg was so great he began to limp and hobble"(275). Earlier in the book, his leg grows back to the normal length. But here, it puts a damper in Milkman's attitude that he is invincible and still has a lot to learn. This is also shown when he has his thoughts about Pilate, Guitar, and Hagar's murderous behavior.
ReplyDelete6. I think hunger and his quest for gold metaphorically is extremely significant in Milkman's case. The gold literally, I think is unattainable -- he always ends up finding out more about Sing Dead than he does about the gold. But I also think that the gold metaphorically is his quest for maturity as well as discovering his family past. I think from the way Milkman tends to get around on his ventures, these two are unattainable as well. As far as his maturity, he is well on his way as he realizes the world "deserve" is a word that does not go with "not" and applied to him. "it sounded old. Deserve. Old and tired and beaten to death.... He'd told Guitar that he didnt "deserve" his families dependence, hatred or whatever. That he didn't "deserve" to hear all the misery and mutual accusations his parents unloaded on him"(276). I think he is really starting to realize that he did desrve it and is starting to claim a bit of responsibility for everything that goes wrong in his life. He even says that Hagar, "Had a right to kill him too"(279)
I think that sweet is a prostitute, so it's not really like she offers to take him as a guest. Milkman pays her for all this stuff.
DeleteSweet IS a prostitute, but Milkman still does help her out around the house. Ironically, this seems like more relational equality than he had before with women he wasn't paying, like Hagar.
Delete1) I definitely think Milkman is getting a better understanding of himself and his morals in this chapter. When he is alone in the forest while hunting he begins to realize that he has been saying that he doesn't "deserve" many of the bad things that have happened to him. He slowly sees how he asks for so much but then in return, gives back very little to the people who care about him. "Maybe all he was really saying was: I am not responsible for your pain; share your happiness with me but not your unhappiness. They were troublesome thoughts, but they wouldn't go away" (277). The fact that these thoughts are "troubling" show how Milkman finally sees how horribly he's been acting towards others. He expects to only be given happiness and not be involved in other's pain, which is extremely selfish.
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that Milkman is isolated is a key component in how he begins to do some soul-searching in the forest. This is sort of a recurring theme (as with Pilate finding herself after being isolated), so I think this is how Morrison believes people should find themselves. "So the thoughts came, unobstructed by other people, by things, even by the sight of himself" (277). Since there is nothing else to distract you when you are completely isolated, it is natural for your thoughts to flow and for you to evaluate things in your life freely. Very transcendentalist-esque.
3) Milkman's relationship with Guitar appears to have made a turn for the worst. Although I knew that they had gotten into a fight over the gold, I didn't know that it would devolve into Guitar stalking and trying to kill Milkman. In the beginning of the chapter when Milk first realizes that Guitar had asked for him at Shalimar, he gets slightly scared. "But why was he afraid? They were friends, close friends. So close he had told him all about the Seven Days. There was no trust heavier than that" (263). Here, I think Milk is trying to deny the fact that Guitar could very well be trying to kill him. Definitely shows that there is unresolved tension between the two. This proves to be true when Guitar attempts to murder Milk in the forest. "Your Day has come," and it filled him with such sadness to be dying" (279) I thought it was strange that Guitar would kill Milkman saying the same line he does when he kills the white people. Could show how Guitar now thinks Milk is no better than them? Or it could just show how Guitar has no qualms in killing people who aren't white now, let alone one of his old friends. However one thing that bothered me while reading on was that no one else noticed that he had cut his neck really bad, which led me to think that maybe this incident with Guitar did not actually happen...
3) I agree with Jessica about Milkman's relationship with Guitar. Now that Guitar wants him dead and has attempted to strangle him, there is really no salvaging their relationship. A moment I found really interesting was when Milkman first received Guitar's message in Shalimar. What I found interesting was Milkman's reaction to the message. When he first heard the words, "Milkman stood frozen, everything in him quiet but his heart" (262). Milkman and Guitar have been best friends since they were kids, yet Milkman's first reaction to this message is fear. He later talks himself out of being afraid ("So why was he afraid? It was senseless" (263).), but he does initially consider that Guitar may actually want to kill him. I never thought Guitar would do this (and was surprised to find out he did), but I was more surprised by the fact that Milkman didn't seem too surprised or shaken up by it either. I know in a previous chapter Milkman realized that Guitar had killed people before, and realizes that he can be violent, but Milkman never thought Guitar would turn on him. Why is it, that after Guitar strangles him and then runs away Milkman is not upset and shaken up? Why doesn't he think about why Guitar might have done this? How is it that he easily returns to other activities (like cutting up the bobcat) without an ounce of fear or anxiety? He doesn't seem to be at all affected by the fact that he was just almost killed, let alone by his best friend in this world. (I also agree with Jessica about it being suspicious that Milkman's neck is not badly injured and no one else noticing it).
Delete1. I think the moment where MIlkman "surrenders to his fatigue" in the woods is definitely reminiscent of the transcendentalists we know and love. He sort of has his own transparent eyeball moment. In the presence of/surrounded by only nature, he reassesses his life and begins to find himself. He recognizes that many of his previous actions and conflicts he got himself in were a result of "ignorance, he thought, and vanity" (276). He finally begins to take ownership over some of the things he has done in his life and never taken responsibility for, like his relationship with Hagar. When he says, "It sounded old. Deserve. Old and tired and beaten to death" (276), he is recognizing for the first time that he has made excuses for himself and his behavior his whole life and blamed it on others. Now that "his watch and his two hundred dollars would be of no help to him" (277), he starts thinking about himself as a person, independent of his money and family and reputation. I still think Milkman has a lot more self-descovery ahead of him and will need to do a lot more to truly find himself. But this is a good start.
I agree with Laura and Jessica that there's no repairing M + G's relationship, but I had a different take on some things. First, I had noticed the tension building in the relationship in several small moments- Guitar trying to kill Milk didnt come as "out of the blue" to me. When G. first tells Milk about the Seven Days, the conversation ends on disturbing notes. Milk says, "If you do it enough, you can do it to anybody. You know what i mean? A torpedo is a torpedo, I don't care what his reasons. You can off anybody you dont like. You can off me." Guitar responds, "we don't off Negroes." And Milk: "You hear what you said? 'Negroes' Not Milkman. Not 'No, I can't touch YOU, Milkman,' but 'We don't off Negroes.' Shit, man, suppose you all change your parlimentary rules?" (160) I think this foreshadows very effectively the fact that Guitar will cross the black/white line and try to kill Milkman. Milk understands intuitively that his friend is a dangerous, violent person who could conceivably attack him. This tension comes up again right before Milk leaves to search for the gold in the South. Guitar says, "i sure hope you dont have no second thought about getting [the gold] back here..." and then describes semi-angrily how Milk's dad just turned Porter out of his house and caused lots of problems for the Seven Days. Then G. continues, saying "Baby, I hope I never have to ask myself ["Why I trust you"]" When I read this exchange, it raised another red flag as to Guitar valuing the gold over Milkman's life. In fact, I think these omens might be why Milkman ISNT so surprised that Guitar would attack him. Their friendship had already been breaking down, and after that moment, Milkman says "the touching of palms seemed a little weak" (225-226). Their traditional gesture of friendship is losing its meaning/ strength.
DeleteAlso, I disagree that Milk returned to other activities without being shaken up. Morrison didn't TELL us he had a mental breakdown, but she showed signs of him being troubled. While cutting up the cat, Guitar's words echo in Milk's thoughts. Morrison writes, "The transparent underskin tore like gossamer under his fingers. EVERYBODY WANTS THE LIFE OF A BLACK MAN. Now Small Boy knelt down and slit the flesh from the scrotum to the jaw. FAIR IS ONE MORE THING IVE GIVEN UP..." (282). The gruesome imagery from the cat skinning overlaid with Guitar's ominous words made it clear to me that Milkman was upset about the attack. He is remembering some of the moments I pointed out above that foreshadowed the attacks. Finally, Milkman's neck DID swell (281), but I think the men attributed it to his falling, when he supposedly tripped and set his gun off.
1) When in the woods Milkman begins to realize that he has lived his life oblivious to consequences and how they affect other people and taking for granted his life of luxury and privilege. I think it shows that Milkman is actually a good guy deep down, and that once he is by himself in the woods with "nothing here to help him- not his money, his car, his father;s reputation, his suit or his shoes" (276) and away from the influence of the wealth and pressures from his dad, he becomes more true to his actual character and his thoughts were "unobstructed by other people" (277) so that he could be a better individual with better morals. So that makes me sympathize with him a little bit more, knowing that this could be the real Milkman.
ReplyDelete3) I think that during this Chapter Milkman realizes that Hagar is actually more important to him than he thought. Before this he kind of thought she was just someone he had used and then abandoned, and that she was the only one that really cared. However, in what he thought were his dying moments "his life flashed before him, but it consisted of only one image: Hagar bending over him..." (279). Here the last thing that he thinks about before he believes he is going to die is Hagar, and when his entire life goes to flash before him the only thing that he sees as being important/significant in his life is his relationship with Hagar.
2) I saw the song on page 264 as a representation of Milkman's heritage that he often neglects (African American heritage), which has to do with his family ancestry and roots. The "meaningless rhyme" does have significance. Words like "booba yalle...booba tambee" resemble tribal music and the children are preserving part of their history and culture through this song. They are preserving their African American heritage. Milkman after watching this cannot relate to the song or the dance. He has never gotten a change to dance or sing with other African American children because he had never fully embraced his own culture; "his velvet suit separated him from the other children. White and black thought he was a riot" (264). He never tried to be with different group people; he only waited to be asked to join in one of the singing games. He clearly devalues these singing games because in his mind, these songs contain "meaningless rhyme" and dances where someone "crashes to earth". Also the boy in the middle who turns around like an air plane reminds of himself when he was a child. He realizes that he cannot fly and that is the beginning of the Milkman being trapped in a life where he follows what people tell him to do; he is not free. What he sees in these children's singing games is freedom; the boy imitating an air plane may signify the life that Milkman did not take.
Delete6) I agree with Ian that Milkman's quest for gold is actually the path for discovering his family roots. I also think that finding gold is even more than just his way to finding family roots; it is also finding his individuality. All this time, he had been a follower. His family reputation based on his grandfather and father elevated his status. His own accomplishments (if there are any) did not get him really far; that is why when Guitar comes up behind him to kill him and his life goes by in a flash, all he can see is "Hagar bending over him in perfect love, in the most intimate sexual gesture imaginable" (279). He has not accomplished much in his life and so all he can see is Hagar. Also he almost gets killed when he tries to make small talk with the townspeople of Shalimar. He was being arrogant and rude and he did not even notice that he was being that way. This goes along with the idea that "in his "home," he was unknown, unloved, and damn near killed" (270). He thinks he can act the same way he did back in Michigan, but in Shalimar, he has to start all over. No one knows him and hardly recognizes the name "Dead". On his journey to find "gold", he goes to places where people do not recognize his name and care about his wealth. His primary goal of finding "gold" was to separate from his father and buy planes, boats and cars to move away. He has to build up his own status. In that sense he wants to be independent and so the gold search signifies his search for individuality. In the forest, when he has time to reflect on his life, he thinks, "Maybe the glow of hero worship (twice removed) that had bathed him in Danville had also blinded him" (276). This goes back to Ian's point about Milkman becoming more mature. This also shows that it was his grandfather and father's fame that helped Milkman and this realization is part of his journey to find his self: the recognition of someone else's accomplishment versus his own.
I agree with Chaewon regarding the singing game. I think Morrison places strong emphasis on oral history, and the adaptations that result from stories being passed by speech. The whole ordeal of changing names because of mispronunciation, such as "Naw, nigger. Not no Pie-late. Pilate like in the bible" (283) are side effects of an oral tradition. Another example of this is the name of the town, Shalimar, which everyone pronounces like "shalleemone" (261) which sounds like solomon. I think morrison wants the reader to appreciate the difficulty of maintaining tradition and culture in a largely illiterate society, but also the same way it had largely been passed down in Africa.
DeleteI think, regarding the quest for gold, Milkman needed to become truly independent from his family, before his dreams could be realized. Here, in this strange place, he has no Pilate, no Macon Jr to bail him out of trouble. The south is unfamiliar, and he needs to cut his own path before he can reach the path's end. Milkman ventures into the south on a search for gold, nominally, but in reality he is searching for ties back to this land. He does not identify with any of his black culture in Michigan, and he believes he may find a missing link in Shalimar, that could be his ticket to belonging.
1. I think that Milkman has become a lot more self-aware of his faults. As he went out hunting, he was able to think to himself "Why shouldn't his parents tell him their personal problems?..Hagar whom he thrown away like a wad of chewing gum...she had a right to try to kill him" (276-277). He starts to realize how he has abused and objectified the people that cared most for him, an idea that would have been lost on him earlier on in the book. One of the biggest things for Milkman in this chapter is that he is starting to feel at place in his life as he goes out shooting with some of the men from Solomon's store while "laughing...exhilarated by simply walking the earth. Walking like he belonged on it."(281). While it doesn't justify all of Milkman's actions, it helps understand why he has acted the way he has. He must have felt like he had no belonging in society. Hopefully Milkman will continue to find himself, because Morrison seems to suggest that if he does so, his moral compass will develop into a success.
ReplyDelete6. What I found kind of weird in this chapter was Milkman's mind as Guitar is trying to kill him. The image was "Hagar bending over him in perfect love"(279). What struck me as odd as Hagar has last been seen trying to kill Milkman herself, so it is kind of ironic that Hagar is this escapist relief that Milkman uses to try and endure Guitar's attempt on his(Milkman's) life. The moment just leaves me puzzled overall. I mean, why now would mentally unbalanced anaconda lover Hagar be what saves Milkman? After the incident with Guitar and Milkman walks with the men from Solomon's store one of the men says that "Everyone want's a black man's life" (281). I found that really odd considering that given the time this was written, black men were victims of potential hate-crime attacks. So should I take this quote at face value or does it mean something deeper?
1. I think Milkman is finally starting to understand, that something is wrong with thinking he "deserves" to take happiness and no take any unhappiness unto himself. As Milkman was thinking in the woods, "I am not responsible for your pain; share your happiness with me but not your unhappiness" (277). He's finally starting to understand that that's not how a relationship should work. There has to be a measure of getting to know someone and to give and take emotions that one feels. For example, with Hagar he begins to understand it really is his fault; "And if a stranger could try to kill him, surely Hagar, who knew him and whom he'd thrown away like a wad of chewing gum after the flavor was gone- she had a right to kill him too" (276+277). I think understanding how he treated people like trash is a big step forward into developing his OWN moral self.
ReplyDelete7. I thought the idea about being able to communicate without using words a reall profound image. When Milkman describes the situation as, "An extension of the click people made in their cheecks back home when they wanted a dog to follow them" (278). This idea makes it seem like it is natural and things just know what's right in the world just as Milkman is starting to realize what is truly right and wrong. Another idea that stood out was the fact that the scene takes place in the woods and that he has his epiphany there, alone in the woods. The fact that he mentions, "Old and tired and beaten to death" (276) makes it seem like he is implying both his thoughts and the race issue. Given how he has a bit of Native American blood in him, Milkman having his epiphany in the woods and becoming somewhat one with nature makes it seem like he is getting closer to his roots and gamily origen than anybody just telling him who he is or where his folks came from.
6.) I think that the scene where they are cutting up the bobcat is significant. He seems to be remembering conversations with Guitar as it happens. Maybe it represents the new relationship between Guitar and Milkman. Maybe killing has become so easy to Guitar that he can do it, "With the deft motions of a man coring an apple" (282), like the ease with which the people cut up the bobcat. And it becomes so easily that Guitar is willing to kill Blacks too, as Milkman feared. It is interesting that Milkman takes the hear, "before any thought could paralyze him, Milkman plunged both hands into the rib cage" (282). Maybe it is representative of the heart of their friendship being ripped out. Honestly, I don't think this is a very good analysis of this scene, if anyone else has anything to add I would welcome it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying about Milkman pulling out the cat's heart, and that it is interesting that while they are slicing up this animal that he thinks is beautiful and even "delicate" (281), he is remembering Guitars words about being African-American, and why he is in the 7 days. The heart is definitely connected to Guitar and Milkman because right before Milkman takes out the heart which "fell away from the from the chest as easily as yolk slips out of its shell" (282), he remembers that Guitar say "'It's about love. What else" (282). The heart being removed so softly and easily resembles the delicate yet loving relationship between Milkman and his friend.
Delete7)I thought the scene where Milkman is almost killed by his best friend, Guitar, is the most important scene in chapter 11. Even though throughout the novel the relationship between the friends was strained this came completely out of the blue, partially because I didn't know Guitar was SO interested in the money (interested enough that he would "screw up the ratio") but also because I thought Guitar was a bigger man. I say this about Guitar being cowardly because had Milkman not "tried to listen to listen with his fingertips...and it told him quickly that someone was standing behind him" (279) then he would surely be dead, Guitar would have killed Milkman in the dark with no warning, a wimpy move coming from a man who is willing to kill any number of white people. Also when Guitar says "your day has come" (279) I feel like he was being the most offensive, he was telling Milkman once and for all that he was white because that is what the seven days says to white people before they kill them, an unnecessary thing to do to the man you're killing in cold blood.
ReplyDelete6) I think that we can read Milkman's quest for gold metaphorically, because what he's trying to find is not wealth, for he already said that that didn't interest him, he's trying to find his history. Milkman has lived all his life with the knowledge that Macon I is some sort of demigod and that his family came from good times in the south (post slavery that is), and Milkman's journey is really a self realization of his roots and trying to weed out the lies from the truth. This novel is filled with lies and misleadings and I think Milkman is finally fed up with all of it, he wants for once to know the truth behind things and not someones version of it. Most importantly however, I think Milkman's quest is one for closure. Milkman seems to know his life will end soon (especially after the Guitar incident) and he wants to finally end things with knowing who he really is and not what he was made to believe (his name for starters). We see Milkman finally finding himself on page 278 when the narrator says "he felt a sudden rush of affection for them all...he thought he understood Guitar now", for the first time in his life Milkman feels the racial bond that was never there before and becomes no longer so detached from the cause.
7) Something else weird, and kind of disturbing. If you read the paragraph before Guitar tries to kill Milkman in the forest it says, "This was what Guitar had missed about the South-the woods, hungers, killing" (278). So, is this saying that maybe being in the South brings out the killer in Guitar, maybe that is part of why he tries to kill him. In fact, Guitar is still the expert hunter, Milkman is just his new prey. The most disturbing part is that he says, "He thought he understood Guitar now. Really understood him" (278). It is ironic and depressing that just as he feels he really understands his friend he then goes and tries to kill him.
ReplyDelete