Song of Solomon: Chapter 6&7
Homework Assignment
Please read Chapters 6&7 (pages 152-172) and answer each of the following.
1) In Chapter 6,
what’s going on with Guitar and the seven days? Do you “buy” or sympathize with all or any of Guitar’s
explanation/defense of what the seven days are doing and why it is necessary? Why or why not? If not, what would be justice for white-on black slayings?
Please respond with at
least one quotation.
Be sure to properly analyze.
Please also consider 1) group mentality/peer pressure and 2) the fact that
many juries, judges, policemen and lawyers at this time would have been all-white
and often racially biased, as Guitar says.
2) Macon’s advice
to Milkman in Chapter 7 (and the belief underlying his whole story in ch. 7): “Money
is freedom. The only real freedom
there is” (163). How’s that for parental
advice? How would this advice have
changed Willy Loman’s life? To what
extent do you think this is true? Can
you provide examples from your own life?
As always, feel free to substitute any interesting, confusing,
or intriguing quotations or moments that you notice instead of my questions.
Do you notice any important themes (like naming) in these chapters? Anything that seems significant about character
development or building tension in character relationships? Any questions you have?
I really encourage you to branch off on your own (or off of someone else's post) it you find
it more interesting!
**A note about discussion leaders---we got a little off-schedule because of APs and I think we probably need a slightly new system anyway, just so people don't have to wait to post. On Monday, folks who haven't been discussion leader yet will be signing up to lead a discussion in class (not a big deal, I promise). Have a good weekend!
1) In chapter 6, my opinion of Guitar totally changes. Before this I thought he had slowed down from the reckless life that Milkman chooses to live and was the more reasonable and mature one, having stopped partying and drinking and smoking. Now, he just seems like a crazy extremist, claiming that white people are "unnatural" and claiming it is for some kind of greater cause of keeping the same ratio of black people to white people. He groups all of the whites into the same category, regardless of whether or not they have advocated for equal rights, and it makes him seem just as bad as the lynch mobs. His reasoning behind these killings is ridiculous and he rationalizes killing women and children by saying that they all would do it and that killing black people is a "disease that they have in their blood, in the structure of their chromosomes." (157) It is clear that Guitar has come from being a normal guy to just as crazy as the people he hates.
ReplyDelete2) Macon's parental advice, although not the most loving or compassionate advice, is realistic. Macon understands that in this society, especially for a black man, if you want to live a comfortable life you need to have money. Macon had spent the most of his life trying to create a upper class society for blacks, and his family and love life isn't exactly the most stable thing in the world, so money has been the only thing that has given him a consistent positive response. I think this is very similar to Willy Loman's outlook on life, who that getting rich quick by any means necessary was how to achieve the american dream.
1) Wow Ian that is one stunning response and I would like to add to it. I obviously believe there should have been radical action to change the court system and law system of that time, but murdering innocent people for the sake of a "ratio" is extremist. Milkman is right, Guitar is becoming just like the men who killed Emmett Till by randomly killing whites. Although he justifies it by saying any white would do it in any situation, Milkman pokes some holes in logic with very simple questions. "'What about Eleanor Roosevelt?'" "'I don't know about the women. I can't say what their women would do, but I do remember that picture of those white mothers holding up their babies so they could get a good look at some black men burning on a tree.'" (156-7) This line really shows the extent of Guitar's reasoning- the fact that one atrocity will push him to become serial is frightening for Guitar's character. There is another big hole in Guitar's argument where he explains that whites kill blacks for fun, and yet he states that there is a beauty about his work on page 158.
Delete2) I feel like Macon's story about Pilate being a snake is the result of him not being able to get his hands on the gold treasure. He is jealous of Pilate because he believes that she took it and got her "freedom" and he, the "most important" should have been the one to get it. This must be one of the main fuels for his hatred toward his sister, because all he ever wanted was to be a successful black man, and his sister took his money, just like Dr. Foster refused to help Macon on his money plan. Therefore I think it is poor fatherly advice because it is biased in Macon's perspective, where a piece of his past rules what he thinks should rule Milkman's future.
As a side note, providing an example from my own life, my parents want me to be happy with my work, and that that's technically all that counts. However they still want me to have money, and be able to provide for a family, etc. but they're not telling me I have to make megabucks in order to free myself. I also feel like Macon's too late, Milkman's life is almost half over, and he's still milking the benefits of living under the economic stability of his household. Without them, he'd probably be very destitute.
1) I very much agree with both Ian and Mike, about Guitar's radical change to something that rhymes with the tune 'An eye for an eye'. However, I also want to relate this idea to Milkman--Guitar says that "each and every one of them could do it" (155), showing his belief that people are born into something they can't control. I believe this is a parallel to Milkman's confusion about his life and future, similar to the corner he's stuck on on page 70--he's not sure whether to work with his dad and stay with his family, something he was born into (and feels is only escapable via flying), or break free and make a new life. In convincing Guitar that not all people of one group are born the same, he's trying to convince himself that he really can change his future, and he's not held in place by his family's past.
Delete1.). The seven days is basically a society of black men who avenge the murders of blacks whose white assailants are not brought to justice. They do this by killing whites randomly. I can not sympathize with this. Guitar is sinking to the level of criminals by killing innocent people. The proper way to get justice is to protest these black on white killings. What is even more scary is that Gutair justifies this by saying "what I'm doing ain't about hating white people. It's about loving us"(159). While it is ironic that Milkman brings up th killings having love in it, when he's been treating the women who love him like dirt, it is frightening that love/justice can be confused with pure revenge in a deadly way.
ReplyDelete2.) This is the same sort of parental mentality that caused misery in the Loman household. What I found kind of interesting is that moments after Macon says this, he argues against Milkman leaving saying, "It's not the money. It's you being here, taking care of this. Taking care of all I'm going to leave you. Getting to know it, know how to handle it." (163). I feel like this stems from Macon's identity issues. I think if his son continues his legacy, Macon might feel a sense of identity and that his legacy will live on.
1. I have to agree with everybody else on question 1. I do not AT ALL sympathize with Guitar. It seems his actions are extremely conflicting with his original nature and has atrocious "justifications" for why he feels he wants to participate in the Seven days. He bases most of the reason on ratio's, reasons, and revenge. He says "I just told you. It's necessary; it's got to be done. To keep the ratio the same."(155). Here is when I ask, what difference does it make if the ratio is off balance or on balance? There is always going to be a minority. Before that he also says "'You? You're going to kill people {Milkman' ' Not people. White people.'"(155). I sense a little craziness in his quote because he says White people are not "people", even though he himself labels them as white people. Guitar's psychology is like white man supremacy, but switched around.
ReplyDelete2. I think Macon's advice is not the best! I think I'd agree, again, with everybody else, that money is not 100 percent freedom. Money definitely plays a role in "freedom and happiness" but when money is everything, you end up like Willy Loman, who because money was everything, become depressed, suicidal, and obsessive. Also, Macon doesn't stick to his gun's at all. he tells Milkman that "it's not the money" (163) as if it is more important for Milkman to get the hang of running a business before he gets one. But once milkman mentions a green sack, supposedly filled with gold, Macon gets instantaneously giddy.
1.) I do not sympathize at all with Guitar and the seven days. Yes, Guitar and majority of other black people have been discriminated against and have been oppressed, but that is not an excuse to murder innocent people. Guitar has become what he detest the most, but he can’t see it. He rationalizes the murders by saying that, “There are no innocent white people, because every one of them is a potential nigger-killer, if not an actual one” (155). Like Ian said, Guitar groups all the white people into one category based on a few white people who have committed heinous crimes and does not take into account that there are some white people who have tried to fight against racism and discrimination. Guitar also contradicts himself in this quote. If people aren’t actual murders, they still are not innocent because they have the “potential” to be one. If that’s the case, then everyone, no matter their skin color, has the potential to do anything. Even a black man has the potential to kill another black man. So if this is the case, under Guitar’s rationale, he should also be killing black people who have done nothing wrong.
ReplyDelete2.) I don’t agree that money is “the only freedom there is,” but it does play a huge role. To most people, the American dream is to be successful, which constitutes earning a lot of money so that you can live a comfortable life and possibly an extravagant life. In our society, money plays a crucial role in almost everything. How much money you have determines where you can live, how much/what kind of food you can buy, education, and more. Money however, is not solely what can determine your happiness. Some people are content without the surplus of wealth, so long as they enjoy what they are doing and it makes them happy. Willy Loman, though, could not see this. He believed that happiness came from success and success was determined by how much money someone made. With money, you can have anything you want. Even with a loving wife, two kids, and a comfortable home, Willy is never able to find happiness because he never reaches the amount of money that he supposed to make.
1) In Chapter 6 Guitar gets caught up in the Seven Days. The Seven Days are a group of blacks that go about killing white people to keep the balance. This is because the whites have been going around and killing the blacks as well. Guitar tells Milkman, “They don’t write their names in toilet stalls or brag to women. Time and silence. Those are their weapons, and they go on forever”(155). He was explaining to Milkman that they don’t boast about the things they do. They are also very particular in who they kill. Guitar is trying to make it seem that it is all very justified to be doing this. I get what they are doing, why they are doing it, but I don’t think that it is the right thing to do, I cannot sympathize with Guitar. In a perfect world no body would kill anyone else but its not. Guitar believes that this is the only way to try and make it a little better. But he is just putting himself in a really bad position; he is sinking to the level of the whites that had killed the blacks. In his mind it may be doing something to help him, but in reality it is not doing him any good.
ReplyDelete2) Macon’s advice is not the smartest. Telling your son that the only way to be free is to have money is cutting out the whole part about happiness. You would assume that with freedom comes happiness but if you spend your whole life working and working just to get a big pay out, you would most likely miss out on things in your family’s life. Money can give you freedom, but freedom can’t always give you happiness. Like Willy Loman, he believed that money=freedom, but look where it left him. He ended up being so unhappy that he couldn’t bear to live any longer.
1) To play the devil's advocate I would say that some of Guitar's motivations for joining the Seven Days are legitimate. When asked why he killed white people Guitar responded by saying, "It's necessary; it's got to be done. To keep the ratio the same." (155) Although his motives seem unclear and justified this was the same argument used by whites to support the killing of blacks. So, ultimately it is only fair that a black man use the same reasoning to support why he is killing whites.
ReplyDelete2) I agree with Ian that although not the best advice, it is probably the best for a successful life. Around this time life was clearly very hard, and money was what could get you to the top. Dr. Foster, for example, was one of the only black men who was embraced by the community, and this was probably because he was affluent. I think that if Willy had known this he might have tried a more profitable profession rather that pursuing his dreams of becoming a well known salesman. As much as I would like this advice not to be true, and I would rather happiness was the key to success I think that money can get you very far today.
I also tried to see some of Guitar's arguments as legitimate. Obviously I don't condone the killing that he claims is "anger-less" (157) but while I was reading I tried to suspend disbelief and understand what he was saying. I thought it was very interesting that he brought up killing for fun. It does seem to me like racists at that time found sick entertainment value in the violence they participated in. That "unnaturalness" as well as fear and anger are the only motivations I can see in events like Emmett Till's murder and his murderer's being found innocent. Guitar does seem to be seeing the serious breakdown of civilization that allowed slavery and racial violence to continue for a century after emancipation. I thought Guitar made a good point about how white people justify violence. He asks, "Why isn't cutting a man's eyes out, cutting his nuts off, the kind of thing you never get too drunk or ignorant to do? Too crazy to do? Too constipated to do? And more to the point, how come Negroes, the craziest, most ignorant people in America, don't get that crazy and that ignorant?" (156). I agree with him that people should never justify lynching with "ignorance" and that the "random killings" overwhelmingly went only one way: whites killing blacks. However, I think Guitar's logic breaks down when he distinguishes his "rational, natural" killings from white's senseless violence. Just because he has an elaboration rationale for the killings does not make them any more rational. In fact, we see through his arguments as being only another justification for murder, which should never be acceptable. (I also thought it was interesting that the kind of killings Milkman's society finds acceptable are passion-based ones (128)- anger over lost love, etc. This implies black society wouldn't understand/ accept the Seven Days' calculated violence)
Delete1) In chapter 6 Guitar finally tells Milkman why he has been acting so strange and why he's been sneaking off with mysterious men. He tells Milkman of the Seven Days a group of 7 black men each assigned a day of the week who set out to "balance" the ratio of Blacks to whites. For every White man who kills a Black man, they set out to kill a random white man in the same manor the black man was killed before. I can understand the concept of why they want to have revenge on the whites and why they want to keep the balance equal, but i think they way they are going about it is completely wrong and like Milkman said, if they can kill a white person so easily killing a black man should be just as easy. Justice would only come from a Government response to reprimand the whites who kill and protect the blacks.
ReplyDelete2) "Money is freedom. The only real freedom there is" (163) I think Macon has his reasons for why he tells his son that money gives you freedom, and to be honest, it kind of does. With out money you're stuck where you are and can't afford to go to do most of the things in the world. If you're happy where you are and with what you have then it's irrelevant, but if being happy means able to live comfortably and safely then in some ways money does mean freedom. But it's still not the best thing to tell you're child no matter how old they are. His story also really helps us to understand why he has such a hatred for his sister, he is convinced she stole the gold treasure.
1. I agree with what everyone else has said about not sympathizing with Guitar. However, I do believe that his motivations behind waiting to participate in The Seven Days it are somewhat valid. I think that at the root of Guitar’s participation in “club”, his intentions are good (or at least he thinks his intentions are good). Guitar is convinced that he is participating in a good cause, and he wants to participate in it to make a positive difference. However, he is going about it in the completely wrong way. Killing a few white people secretly will not help them in any way. If anything, resorting to violence and killing will only reinforce the negative beliefs that many whites have about the African American community. Milkman is right when he tries question Guitar and says, “’Does it do anything for my slave status’” (160)? This will not cause any long term solutions, nor help anyone in any way. Guitar is passionate about getting equal treatment and there is a lot of truth in what her says about how “the judge, the jury, the court, are legally bound to ignore anything a Negro has to say” (160). But his actions do not reflect any positive intentions he may have. Doing this is not only unethical, but also illogical.
ReplyDelete2. I do not agree with what Macon says about money being the success to freedom. It is very similar to the advice Willy Lowman gives to Biff and Happy. What I find interesting is that both Macon and Willy believe that money is key to success, but both men have a very different definition of success. Willy believes success is being not only rich but also well-liked, where as Macon doesn’t seem to value the approval of his peers. Macon thinks one can buy happiness and freedom, which is horrible advice to give to our child.
1) Expanding on Laura's point about what Milkman says to Guitar ("'Does it do anything for my slave status?'" (160)), Guitar's actions, in the end will not change much because the Seven Days are not acting to reverse the core beliefs of the society. It is true that African American rights supporters were having a hard time getting their ideas across and Guitar does mention that. That is why Guitar feels as though he is justified in going with killing white people. However, killing white people will not change the "slave status". In the end, Guitar will still have his slave name, "Bains". Also when Guitar says, "X, Bains - what difference does it make? I don't give a damn about names" (160), this reveals a flaw in the Seven Days system. They (at least Guitar) are not tackling the root problem. Their identity still remains unchanged. Milkman was right when he said "'You hear what you said? Negroes. Not Milkman. Not 'No, I can't touch you, Milkman,' but 'We don't off Negroes.'" (161). Guitar himself needs to change his attitude toward African Americans first before saying that white Americans need to change theirs. He needs to realize the importance of naming people and a group of people.
Delete2) I also do not agree with Macon's advice. Macon believes that money will bring freedom but what he is failing to acknowledge is that money also brings potential harm and obligations which might actually turn away freedom. Material success is what is important to Macon and I understand him; in his situation in the 1960s, having lots of money as an African American would help to a certain degree. However, money can go only so far. He cannot buy all of those white jury members and judges into siding with an African American. Money, in other words, masks the problems. Money is a way to avoid problems and is not a way to properly fix a problem. That is what is similar with Macon and Willy. They always try to find a way to get around things (through money) instead of facing their problems directly.
1) I also think that Guitar's reasons for being part of the 7 days are somewhat legitimate and that he isnt doing it because he is crazy, but because he wants to be part of change and part of a community. Guitar feels extremely connected to the black community, as he proves when he argues that Milkman is lazy and doesn't care about his own people. I think that by being part of the 7 days, Guitar has some what found a family that shares his outlooks and opinions, which seem to be cruical to him; "There is a society. It's made up of a few men who are willing to take some risks. They don't initiate anything; they don't even choose. They are as indifferent as rain" (153). I do think that what Guitar is doing is unethical and that he is stooping to the white mans level, but he can't see the whole picture. To him, he is "indifferent" and this groups cause is natural to them.
ReplyDelete2) Before chapter 7, I would have thought that this quote was untrue, because Pilate appears to be very free and goes against society and reliance money, "One wholly dependent of money, the other(Pilate) indifferent to it" (139), however now that Macon has exposed that Pilate took the gold and has potentially been living off of it since, and saving some, it kind of proves Macons advice to be true. If the freest person in the story stole gold from in a greedy attempt to take the wealth for herself, perhaps money is key to freedom. After all, the only way for slaves to be free from their masters was to pay their way out of slavery.
In no way do i buy the "legitimacy" of Guitar joining a violent group of men murdering innocent white people. The subject is barely even debatable, when is it ever ok to kill based on the color of a person's skin? Just because there was intense hatred, bigotry, and in some cases killings again black people pre-civil rights, that does not excuse violence from the persecuted blacks towards innocents that happen to be white. The group should be venting there rage and anger (not murder) towards the sick and twisted white men that killed Emmet Till, that lynched kids, and that beat away black people looking to vote or enter into white schools. Guitar doesn't even pretend to discriminate between good and bad white people when he says very broadly "The disease they have is in their blood, in the structure of their chromosomes" (157). I can understand Guitar's anger and am disgusted by the actions of many white people in attempting to dehumanize a race however violence begets nothing, especially violence towards innocents of any race, and as Ghandi said "an eye for an eye makes the world blind"
ReplyDelete2) Macon's advice to Milkman is not good parental advice. Of course money is important, no one can deny that, however a long and fulfilled life has no tangible connection to tons of money (a lesson that Willy Loman never learned). To be truly fulfilled one must have a job that they enjoy and a family they can cherish, however Milkman has neither of those things, due in part to his father's advice and teachings about the importance of money, and as a result he lives an unsatisfied life at the age of 31 in his parents' house.
In fact, let's think of ALL the characters in this book who have money and are, beyond feeling just unhappy, absolutely imprisioned by their own wealth.
DeleteMilkman certainly, benefits from his father's money, but Milkman didn't earn any of it so he takes it for granted and is selfish and entitled and can't appreciate any of the people who inexplicably love him. He is trapped in Honore and trapped in his father's house.
Ruth, has been wealthy all of her life, and it limits her interactions with the community (because she's "above them"), it limits her choice of husband (and she ends up with Macon), and she ends up so starved and isolated and so under someone else's power that she visits the grave of the father who didn't actually love her as her one act of defiance.
Macon Dead himself is also entrapped. Much as he loves money and has made a lot of it in his own right, he is still angry and obsessed with the gold that Pilate supposively stole 50 years ago. So he's stuck hating the one person who could be a positive force in his life, secretly peeking into her window at night for comfort. His money also isolates him from the community--he can't even DRIVE his big, expensive car freely. No, wealth is an added responsibility, an added weight.
You'll see later on too that Corinthians and Lena are similarly imprisioned by their own wealth and status. So, there is a lot of evidence, even in the book so far, that money does not at all lead to freedom.
1. I suppose I sympathize with Guitar and his feelings about all the wrong doings in the world. Like the whole bit about Hitler, the Nazis, the Jews, and the Gypsies. The thing that really bugs me about the whole circumstance is like what Milkman said, that the younger generation are subject to change the status quo of something. Milkman isn't that far off by saying that Guitar has "flipped". Guitar's sentiments, I suppose, are near spot on about how things are wrong with the world, but his methods of convening it are just twisted. As Milkman said to Guitar, "'But now you're doing what the worst of them do'" (157). And although I'd like to think I'm one to see the shades of grey in the reasoning for such actions, doing it just to have an eye for an eye sentimentality on someone not directly involved seems too much. I pity Guitar and how much he has fallen.
ReplyDelete2. I think there is a hint of truth in such a saying. I mean look at the saying, "Money makes the world go round." Money is a gateway, or an access, to many privelages in the world, whether it pertains to freedom is a different story. Just because a person has a lot of money that won't necessarily mean that they will be free or injustice, discrimination, or their past. As what I think Morrison is trying to hint at a little bit. That doesn't mean it can't help if used correctly, but it is also the center of much corruption and greed in the world. I think it's just a dichotomy that exists in the world. It's how it is used and who for. It could help free people of third world countries fighting for independence or subject people into slavery like it did in the 16th to 19th century in the U.S. So I don't think Macon's advice is particularly bad parental advice, merely poorly worded and sends not a complete and clear message which construes his appearance in such a way that makes him near villainous. And as such makes me inquire as to his story about the gold and his intentions.
1. I agree with most people here, but I also see Guitar's reasons reasonable and unjust at the same time for a couple reasons. I think that his idea of killing a white man because they killed a black man doesn't really even things out. I think he is in a way peer pressured to do this because he is black therefore he believes that he needs to be helping his race. I also disagree with his unnatural comment. "No. White people are unnatural. As a race they are unnatural. And it takes a strong effort of the will to overcome an unnatural enemy."(156) I disagree with him because if white people are unjust than that doesn't make the black people any better for getting revenge against the whites and killing them for their actions. Guitar also came up with the Hitler reference. I liked the reference, but I don't necessarily think that Hitler would have killed black people if they were around because that was a religious issue and this is a racial issue.
ReplyDelete2. Money is freedom that would of drove Willy Loman no different from what he was before. Money is something that Willy Loman was hunting for when he asked Howard for a raise. Money is needed to live, but money is also something that has you trapped in society. I feel like money traps you because money is needed for everything in the world so it feels like money has you trapped not free. Also the way you earn money is no better unless your earning it by doing something you enjoy doing. This isn't good parenting advice because it leads people to think that money is everything in life like Jay Gatsby, but as we saw even when you have a lot of money and the fame you still feel lonely and unhappy.
1) Guitar has joined the Seven Days, which is essentially a terrorist group. The group contains 7 members, and they claim that they serve justice by murdering a white person at random whenever a black person is wrongly killed. However, I do not buy any of Guitar's justification at all- he is being just as horrible as he thinks the white people are. His reasoning for not killing the specific murderers is that "It doesn't matter who did it. Each and every one of them could do it... There are no innocent white people, because every one of them is a potential nigger killer" (155). He makes vast assumptions about the entire race, which is extremely ignorant, because there are white people who do support blacks. It grows unclear whether he is killing out of love for blacks, hatred for whites, or just because he enjoys killing. Either way, it's very disturbing. I think if there is any "right" way to bring justice to white-on-black murders, it would be to bring justice to the specific people who committed the crime, not to some random white person on the street.
ReplyDelete2) This is very interesting advice and is definitely based on the materialistic pursuits and quests for the "American dream" that we have read about so much this year. I understand where Macon is coming from, but I don't agree with it completely. Wealth, and the pursuit of it can be just as entrapping as it is liberating. This advice was ultimately what drove Willy Loman to madness, as he also believed that money is the only way to freedom, but unfortunately it was hard for him to get wealthy. I don't think that Macon should make it seem like money is the ONLY way to get freedom. Of course, I think that if you are smart about it, money can definitely bring freedom and joy. Money gives you a sense of security and it allows you to do the things you want without having to worry about the repercussions of spending too much.
1. I do not sympathize with Guitar and his actions. However I see where he is coming. Guitar has a right to speak his mind and his opinion about racial issues in society during this time but his actions are too extreme. Guitar's logic is that "There are no innocent white people, because everyone of them is a potential nigger-killer.."(155). Guitar's mind has been washed by the seven days society. Guitar is just like one of Hitler's followers. They are both subject to following under the pressures of conformity. I don't think there is any justice for killing at all. People at this time are too wired into there own selves and cant see past there differences to find a solid conclusion. Does Guitar think that African Americans are natural? Is killing natural? Guitar sees the unjust in the world but his actions and thinking will only make matters worse and fuel his fire against the white man.
ReplyDelete2. I think that there are different types of freedom and different ways to get freedom. If people believe that money is the only to feel free then our society would be corrupt. Having money is good but it should not be the only way that one feels free. The gold maybe beneficial and bring temporary happiness I don't think that it will bring ultimate happiness. Macon's facial expressions when he asks his son to get the gold shows what greed and wealth can do to you. Macon "turned to his son full face and licked his lips" (172). Wealth is dangerous. It has turned Macon into an animal hunting for prey. Macon licked his lips as if he was having a good meal. Macon views wealth as an outlet to his family. Money is important but I think that everyone needs to learn its not the key to feeling free.
I don't really buy anything that Guitar says. First of all Guitar says, "I help keep the numbers the same" (154) and keeps referring to balancing ratios as a major reason for what he is doing. From a purely mathematical standpoint 100 or even 1000 people dying will do nothing to shift ratios of populations in the thousands. He also says he's not angry. I think that he is angry at the lack of justice and that is why he's doing it, there can be no other reason. Finally, the idea that all whites hate Blacks and want to kill them is extremely racist, and just as bad as any white rhetoric.
ReplyDeleteI am disinclined to believe what Macon is saying about Pilate about their youth. First, his earlier statement is questionable and you really don't know how much you can trust him. Second, Pilate seems to be the only steady minded person in this book, and I am extremely reluctant to give that up and admit that she almost stabbed her brother.
1. Guitar and the Seven Days justiy their action with the ideal of "eye for an eye", but in reality that isn't what they are doing at all. By indiscriminately killing any white person, they are doing exactly what the white murderers are doing, or worse. The whites kill usually in retaliation for crimes done by the black person they kill, for example if they believe that he or she slept with a white person. This may not be a sound justice system, but it is slightly less barbaric than killing any white person for the deeds of someone else in that race. If Guitar and his colleagues think themselves to be at a higher moral standard than the whites, they couldn't be further from the truth. I think Jessica proposed the only quasi-legitimate solution. If they hunt down whoever does the killing, and killed that person "Munich"-style, that would be closer to justice.
ReplyDelete2. I think Macon's advice is along the right lines, at least in their situation. Phoebe mentioned that he doesn't include happiness in his priorities, but in those times in that area, blacks were subjugated largely through social immobility. If they couldn't advance themselves, they could never succeed or change their situation. Macon has this as his top priority for his family. He lives with tremendous ambition to create a better life for his children and grandchildren, where they do not have to be 2nd class citizens. Macon would like to see a black upper-class where they are at least equal to their white neighbors and aren't affected by the achievement gap or forced to live in slums.
1.In chapters six and seven we see more of Guitar than we have and learn that he is a part of the seven days. His activities seem a bit out of character to me at first. He always seemed to understand Milkman and see things as they were. But after I thought about it more I saw that Guitar was always mad at Milkman for not caring about what was happening around him and not really doing anything with conviction. He tells Milkman that “if things ever got tough you’d melt (104)” and he seems to blame Milkman for this. This hints at why Guitar would become involved in the Seven Days. He resents whites for placing themselves above his race and he feels an extreme lack of power. I understand why he feels he has to do something about it, and I don’t blame him for that. He is following his beliefs and doing what he thinks needs to be done. However skewed and twisted those beliefs may be at least he has some and is following them, unlike Milkman. However, when he says “There are no innocent white people (155)” I think he is being just as bad as the white people who kill blacks. He’s not seeing them as individuals. I think part of the reason Guitar joins the Seven Days is that he likes things to be in order and have an exact rational and he needs to feel useful in his actions but at this point he’s become so angry that he can’t see the cruelty in what he’s doing.
ReplyDelete2.I can see where Macon jr. is coming from with this philosophy, especially considering his past, but I disagree with it. Money isn’t freedom, but it certainly provides a chance to do more and gives some control to those who have it. With money you can truly own things, like land, and not have them ruthlessly taken away from you. As parental advice I think it’s terrible because it tells Milkman that money and power are the only important things in life and it sets him on the wrong path. Money doesn’t make a person, it only gives one more choice. There are many who have succeeded without money and live independently of the need for it. Pilate does this and she is perhaps the happiest and most in control character in the book. Morrison seems to say that what really gives freedom is to truly know and understand yourself.