Chapter
8 Homework Assignment (Due Tuesday 5/15)
Choose
1. Write a paragraph. Use at least
ONE quotation.
1) To what extent do you see
Milkman’s character evolving throughout the gold-stealing episode in chapters
7&8? Does he take any steps
forward in self-actualization (knowing who he is and what he wants)? Does he take steps backward in his
personal growth? How so?
2) How can we read the white
peacock and both Milkman and Guitar’s reactions to it (178-179) as a larger
metaphor or message on Morrison’s part?
How does the peacock add to the theme of flying? What is significant
about this encounter?
3) What is revealed about each
character in the conversation directly following the peacock (179-180), in
which each fantasizes about how to spend the gold?
3) Directly following the peacock incident Milkman and Guitar begin to tell each other what they would do with the gold. Guitar does not want to tell Milkman the real things he would buy, guns or explosives, and lets himself think of the things he wanted before the Seven Days. He is generous with his fantasies saying that he would give to his grandmother, his uncle, his father’s grave, his brothers, his sisters, and his nieces and nephews. Guitar is not being truthful because that is not actually what he is going to do with it. Milkman’s dream is to be in charge of some large crew of a plane or a boat. He wants to get away from his family. Milkman says, “He just wanted to beat a path away from his parents’ past, which also their present and which was threatening to become his present as well”(180). Milkman is feeling like his parents problems are now becoming his and he wants to get away from that. He believes that just taking himself out of this town will be the best thing for him. He wants to see new people and new places, but unlike Guitar he doesn’t crave luxury. This is because Milkman has had a better life; he was better off than Guitar to start because of Macon’s business. Milkman even was worried that what he wanted would not stand up to what Guitar wanted, but unknowing to him, Guitar didn’t want any of that, he had become obsessed with the idea of being able to buy explosives.
ReplyDeleteI also noted several of the things Phoebe mentioned. Guitar claims he wants elegant clothes, sumptuous meals, and week-long card games. He is interested in, or at least claims to be interested in, material products and luxury. Milkman, on the other hand "wanted boats, cars, airplanes, and the commander of a large crew" (179). He dreams to get away, another reference to the flying motif. What I found interesting was how all the time Milkman was stalking about what he would do with the money, "he was aware of a falseness in his voice. He wanted the money--desperately, he believed--but other than making tracks out of the city, far away from Not Doctor Street, and Sonny's Shop, and Mary's Place, and Hagar, he could not visualize a life that was much different from the one he had" (179-180). I think we see here that though Milkman says he wants to escape this life and get away from his parents and the community, he doesn't truly know what he wants. He is still unsure of what he wishes to have in life or to accomplish. He is so used to the comfortable, familiar life on Not Doctor Street and cannot imagine a completely different situation. Guitar, on the other hand, knows exactly what he wants. Whether or not we think The Seven Days is a just cause, Guitar is committed to it. We see this when Guitar "smiled at the sun, and talked lovingly of televisions, and brass beds, and week-long card games, but his mind was on the wonders of TNT" (181). I think this sort of mirrors Biff and Happy in Death of a Salesman. Happy has more money and a stable job (like Milkman), but doesn't know what he wants and isn't satisfied. Biff, on the other hand, is dedicated to something and knows what he wants to do in this world (like Guitar), but others disapprove.
DeleteI really like Laura's comparison of Milkman and Guitar to Happy and Biff. There's one thing I think might be important to add to our understanding of Milkman's desire to get away in pages 179-180. After they see the peacock, Morrison switches the scene by describing a "heavy spice-sweet smell" that blew in from the lake (184). She writes, "so the ginger sugar blew unnoticed through the streets, around the trees, over roofs, until, thinned out and weakened a little, it reached Southside" (185). The fact that Morrison includes this description right before the theft scene makes it seem significant to me. The smell blowing aimlessly around and settling in Southside after being diluted reminds me of Milkman. He lacks purpose in life and ended up stuck in Southside by way of not choosing a different path. Now he wants to get away, but has only a vague longing. The "ginger sugar" speaks to me of bitter-sweetness and disappiontment, an interesting omen for M and G's trying to steal the gold (and therefore for their dreams). It also though, represents the divide between blacks and whites. The white people don't smell it bc of their air conditioners, and only in Southside is the smell "sharp, sharp enough to distort dreams and make the sleeper believe the things he hungered for were right at hand... [Milkman and Guitar] each thought it was the way freedom smelled, or justice, or luxury, or vengeance" (185). They sense this exotic air, and it embodies their desires. However, it also "distorts dreams" and makes fulfillment seem far away (185). All of this makes me think Milkman and Guitar will not get what they want.
DeleteI agree with what has been said, but I'm giving Guitar some sympathy for even thinking of his family at all. Even though he decided to put his grandmother second to the whole seven days organization, he does think of his family. It shows a new side to Guitar showing how he isn't all about getting pressured into things and does have some common sense or that he does at least think for himself. I also see Milkman's growth in selfishness betraying Pilate by chasing after the big money as his father had taught him. Milkman's dreams of getting away from his family are reasonable. I agree with Phoebe on how Milkman feels too involved with the issues of his family and that he has become a big role in their problems. I do like Laura's comparison of Guitar and Milkman to Happy and Biff in which neither can accept the others dreams and believes, but in the end they are a team. "Milkman wished he had the nerve to ask Guitar the question that was bothering him. 'Has he?' He could hardly phrase the question in his own mind, and certainly could never say it aloud." (178) I personally think this shows a weakness to Milkman and a weak link in their friendship because It shows that Milkman has things to say but is scared to say them because he doesn't want to get judged by Guitar. It's a weak link in my perspective because neither of them could truly trust each other even though they are in this together.
DeleteI find it interesting that, according to their real ideas of how to spend the gold, Guitar wants to stay rooted in the past (avenging past murders, and not moving on), whereas Milkman is only looking for a way to escape his present and history: he planned on "making tracks out of the city, far away from Not Doctor Street, and Sonny's Shop, and Mary's Place, and Hagar" (179).
Delete2. I thought the peacock scene was very meaningful. I have convinced myself to believe that the peacock scene is a metaphor for flightless. This to me shows the inability of milkman and guitar to actually effectively carry out the procedure. When the bed runs away while milkman and guitar are fantasizing at what they could buy if the gold was theirs, the metaphor becomes certain that what may seem ordinary and insignificant can actually be extremely
ReplyDeleteSignificant. I read it as Pilate being the peacock as she has all the jewels and has "too much tail. All that jewelry weight it down". Pilate , if it is true that she has the gold, is limited in what she can do. However she can outsmart them even if milkman and guitar claim it will be fine because they are "just women"
2) I like your analysis Ian-- I had some of the same ideas as you. I see what you're saying about how the peacock could symbolize how Milkman and Guitar are "flightless" and might not be able to carry out the procedure effectively, but I thought that the peacock could also represent the qualities that Morrison believes hinders one's ability to "fly" in general. Guitar's explanation for why the bird can't fly pretty much sums it up: "All that jewelry weighs it down. Like vanity... Wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down" (179). He says how the all the "jewelry" and "vanity" weighs down the peacock, which I thought could represent materialism and caring about how others view you. I thought this was pretty ironic because Guitar shortly after says how free they will be once they have the gold and are successful. But as seen with the peacock, these things are just hindrances. I think Morrison is saying that in order to truly be free, you have to give up the unimportant that people often worry about. In this sense, I disagree with how you think Pilate is the peacock, because she is just the opposite. She has given up all of these unimportant things and is therefore more liberated.
Delete2) I definitely agree with you guys on your analysis on the peacock, but I think it may more effectually describe Milkman himself. Milkman has been trying to free himself of the ways of his family like when, "He just wanted to beat a path away from his parents' past," (180), and says "his life was not unpleasant and even had a certain amount of luxury in addition to its comfort, he felt off center," (180). This is why I feel Milkman wants to fly away from his parents, but the luxurious tail he bears which is his past prevents him from flying far. Milkman also mentions temporary acts of rebellion against his parents, which in a peacock sense could represent Milkman having a short flight like the peacock, but eventually weighted down to his family again. It also said that he wanted to "warrant the curiosity of other people" (180), which shows his peacock like features.
DeleteYes! I like the idea that Milkman=peacock too (though you could probably read the messages about flying onto multiple characters as well). Pilate seems to me to be the most liberated, the strongest, most independent character so far.
DeleteThink about this: What does Guitar immediately want to do with the peacock? What does that say about him? If Milkman is the peacock, how is this moment a reflection or foreshawdowing of their relationship? Connection to any of what Guitar says about the 7 days?
Someone pick up on this!
2) When Guitar first sees the peacock he proposes that they catch it and eat it, and he calls it "'white faggot'"(179) which connects to how much he hates white people, and his role in the 7 days. He hates anything that can be assosciated with white people such as a peacock who struts around with a fancy tail that happens to be white, just like how white people strut around, lynching black people and acting completely casual about it. If Milkman is the peacock, then that mirrors how he disagrees with Guitars part in the 7 days, and how Milkman may even be more similar to the peacock in that it cannot fly and is weighed down by vanity, but also that he is more similar to the white mobs than the 7 days because he finds their killings to be absolutely pointless.
Delete2) Like Ian, I also think that the white peacock is a metaphor for something bigger. I, however, took an even more figurative approach to what the peacock is a symbol for. Guitar describes; "Can't nobody fly with all that shit. Wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down." (179) Clearly flight here has connotations of freedom, the idea of flying without limits, and without being tied down to anything shouts liberation. So, here Guitar says that you need to give up "the shit that weighs you down" to be free. In this story, this could be applied to many things. Milkman, for example, might need to give up his dark childhood to be happy. Macon would need to give up his past relationship with Pilate. Hagar, as well, needs to move on from Milkman in order to be content. The box Pilate wears could also be a link to the past she needs to relinquish to be free. "The shit" weighing the peacock down could be interpreted as the past, which keeps several characters in this book from being free.
ReplyDelete1.) I think that Milkman has only really evolved in the sense that he knows what Gutair is doing is both illegal and immoral. However, he has taken a big step back when he selfishly wanted to turn the escapade of the adventure with narration saying, "something perverse made him not want to hand the whole score on a platter. There should be some difficulty...in this adventure," (175). Milkman devolveps a sort of Tom Sawyer complex here by making fun out of a situation that is really grave just for the sake of his own enjoyment. Milkman, even as an adult, seems to have a lot of growing up to do.
ReplyDelete1. After reading chapters 7 and 8 I can really see Milkman's character changing. Milkman is going from a person who is bored with life and has no direction to a person who suddenly is living life on the edge. I think that Guitar is the one to blame for Milkman's newly mischievous behavior. Guitar is very hard on Milkman and heckles him about his life. I think this harassing has finally gotten to Milkman and he has cracked because of it. Milkman describes that "Guitar's voice filled his mouth with salt"(183). Salt is something that we crave. For example, I cannot stop eating salty potato chips. Milkman describes the saltiness as "a taste so powerful and necessary that stallions galloped miles and days for it"(183). This is just reinforcing how addictive the salt taste is. The salt represents Milkman breaking free and becoming more lively. This adrenaline that is causing Milkman to act like this is dangerous and will back fire on him later on.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you partially on the symbol of salt. Salt is the "adrenaline", as you put it, that pushes Milkman to act dangerously and impulsively. However, even though Milkman feels as though the "[salt] is his own" (183), he feels that only because of what Guitar says ("Live it!" (183)). That is what triggers the taste in his mouth. In this sense, he is conforming and through conformity, he gets this sense of determination. Only when he is told to do something or to react a certain way does he feel this determination. Milkman does believe that he is growing. "He felt a self inside himself emerge, a clean-lined definite self" (184). However, even though he thinks that he is stepping towards self-actualization, he is actually regressing, as what Theo says. Outwardly, he wants to be confident and fearless like his father, Pilate and Guitar. That is why he forces himself to believe that he is doing what he wants and needs. There is a paradoxical statement on page 180 when Morrison notes that "He avoided commitment and strong feelings, and shied away from decisions. He wanted to know as little as possible, to feel only enough to get through the day amiably and to be interesting enough to warrant the curiosity of other people". Inwardly, he is the least decisive and determinate character. Too much knowledge is too much for him to handle and he shies away from them. Also "he spent his days looking for whatever was light-hearted and without grave consequences" (180), which shows that even when he is 30 years old, he is not doing much. He is in fact, taking less responsibilities as an adult. This fact gets overshadowed by the salt symbol because being powerful and determined is what Milkman wants to believe. So he may look like he is growing as a character but in fact, he is regressing.
DeleteTheo Smith
ReplyDelete1.)I disagree with both of the previous statements, I don't think that Milkman has really changed. First of all, his relationship with Guitar has regressed to where it was before. He wonders why he invited Guitar and says, "Maybe he wanted to see Guitar warm and joking again" (176). He goes on to compare his present situation to when he was a teenager and with Guitar, "They swaggered, haunched, leaned, straddled, ran all over town trying to pick fights or at least scare somebody" (177). It is just like he is a little child again. Neethi, as for his morals improving he ultimately accepts the challenge and when Guitar convinces him to "live", he feels, "A taste so powerful and necessary that stallions galloped miles and days for it. It was new, it was delicious, and it was his own. All the tentativeness, doubt, and inauthenticity that plagued him slithered away without a trace, a sound" (183). So, if he ever had any inhibitions, which I don't really think were based on morals, they are suddenly gone. Furthermore he compares killing to losing ones virginity, something which he clearly takes fairly lightly since he easily dumped the first girl he ever had sex with, this further shows his lack of morals. As for "math" I have no idea who you are, but I don't think that shows growth, he is regressing to that time when he did dumb stuff with Guitar, and is even doing it at his father's bidding.
Math=Matt (if you mistype your name once, the first time you post, you're stuck with it for all of eternity!)
DeleteI agree to some extent with Theo. I don't think Milkman has changed in regards to being risk-taking. After all, Morrison describes him as "...still cautious. Too cautious for Guitar" (181). In that regard, I think he's always been the same. His mentality does seem to have matured somewhat in my opinion about his perceptions of right and wrong but in the end, he follows a childish yet cautious way of executing it.
DeleteThe part about the white peacock, I see it as a forboding omen to mainly Guitar. He was the one that was advocating for cautiousness and discreetness when talking about the Days, but he would rather blindly charge into a home to steal than to think of a plan. He even said, that with mistakes, you are bound to get caught in around chapter 6 or so. Not only that, Milkman mentioned that the younger generation are more rash to do something extreme and change the way things have always been. The white peacock itself is probably the police or some white person influence that will strike them.
Another thought that struck me though about the white peacock is that they don't really fly, only maybe flap about a bit. I wonder if Morrison is saying that white people may seem to have the good life but they still can't really fly like any other person.
Milkman's aspirations to buy all these shallow items proves that he has nothing he is really committed to or tied down to. But it's also interesting how all the things he listed were vehicles of transportation; a method of escaping. Guitar on the other hand, seems like he is selflessly listing things he'd buy for others, but considering his dedocation to the Days, I believe he'd use it more for funding, than for anything else and that he just thinking up of all the things he would have spent it on if he hadn't entered the Days.
3) The fantasies of Guitar and Milkman show how their different lives has shaped what they view as important and what they dream about obtaining. For example, "Guitar simply could not resist the lure of something that he had never had-money"(181) Guitar has grown up poor and because of this he has no idea what it is like to live with money, so his idea of what to do with money is the more expected choice with flashy and expensive possessions and "elegant clothing". On top of this, he thinks about using the money to help others which shows that he appreciates the people who raised him and cares about other people other than himself. Milkman on the other hand, doesn't really think of luxury as a dream or fantasy because he had a comfortable life. What Milkman wants shows both his selfishness, by only thinking of himself and planning on abandoning his current life and everyone that cares about him, and his lack of a direction in life, as the only thing he can describe as wanting is to "make tracks out of the city" and "beat a path away from his parents" (180). Not only does Milkman not know what his goals in life are, and what to do with the money, it also shows how he resents being compared to his father and desires independence.
ReplyDelete3) The gold fantasies of Milkman and Guitar are direct ties into the personalities of both men. Guitar wants to use the gold to blow up innocent white girls in a retaliation for the bombing of a black church killing black girls, his want for the gold is simply to purchase TNT. We can see as readers that the point where Guitar became solely obsessed with killing innocents as "retribution", and that became all he could think about, was the point where Guitar went from being proud of his heritage/culture to violent and finding reasons to kill. Milkman's dreams for his future riches are quite different than Guitar's but are disturbing in their own way, Milkman dreams of owning "boat, cars, airplanes, and the command of a large crew" (179) show the ever present attitude that our protagonist has towards wanting to be successful. One would think that with tons of money a person would no longer need to be unhappy and try to fit in with the notion of "success", however it's as if Milkman's newfound money would just add to his social status and change nothing about his happiness by the way he describes his future. Both characters' dreams are profound excerpts into each of their respective lives.
ReplyDeleteGood point about Guitar wanting money for TNT--this is important. However, he ALSO fantasizes about luxury items.
DeleteThink about the stuff that Milkman wants to purchase--"boats, cars, airplances, command..." As a couple people have noted, these are all means of transportation, these are all ways that would give Milkman "command" or control over where he is going (as Ian Crowledy notes). When he speaks about money, luxury, etc, his voice is actually "false," as Laura mentions.
I found another interpretation of Milkman's interest in transportation. I think it is a form of escapism. Milkman will never be satisfied in his current situation. He dreams of bigger and better things. He has inherited his father's priority of money. His indifference to his current life is illustrated in the hagar incident when he sat knowingly as she broke in to kill him. I see this as his having something along the lines of a death wish. What i predict will be the end of him is his need for ecxitement. His lust for wealth is not to live a life of materialist luxury, but a way to leave his current life.
Delete3) After Guitar and Milkman see the pure white Peacock on the hood of the Buick, they segue into what they are going to do with all the gold Pilate has stored in her house. For Guitar he "allowed himself the pleasure of waking up old dreams: what he would buy for his grandmother and her brother, Uncle Billy,....;the marker he would buy for his father's grave, 'pink with lilies carved on it': then stuff for his brother and sisters, and his sisters' children." It shows what Guitar values as important in to him and in his life, growing up not nearly as affluent as Milkman and the Deads' he valued the stationary things that would bring him and his family happiness. Whereas with Milkman, he wanted boats, cars, houses things that would show how much he has. He also says that it's not even the money that appeals to him- even though he does want the money very badly, but moreso so he can leave his family's house on Not Doctor street. He want's to be his own person and have his own life.
ReplyDelete