Song of Solomon Chapter 4 Homework Assignment
Up until this chapter (and again, after this chapter) Milkman remains a passive character who is hard to pin down, in terms of personality and values. We get some insight during this chapter here. As you read, think about Milkman as a character, especially considering his relationship with Hagar and his conversation with Guitar (102-106) in this chapter:
To what extent is Milkman himself responsible for feeling that his life is “boring” and “pointless” (107)? To what extent is his family, his circumstances, his community to blame?
As always, you are very welcome to ditch my question and pose your own instead. To you, what was odd, interesting, upsetting, confusing about this chapter?
On page 102-103, Guitar emphasizes the difference between he and Milkman. The main difference is that Guitar and Milkman aren't of the same economic class and therefore their interests lie in different places. Guitar is more serious about life, in regards to politics and life in general I would say. He condemns Milkman for his lifestyle, which revolves around women and his father's work.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing that should be taken from this section is that there are constant remarks to the difference between Guitar and Milkman's maturity level.
"...a thirty-one-year-old man like he's a ten year old kid."
"Like you a teacher and I'm some snot-nosed kid."
*This man Milkman is 31 years old.*
Sales Mbaga Kayondo
Block A
I agree with Sales' point that a major cause of the differences between Guitar and Milkman are their differing socioeconomic class. Their different situations result in them being brought up with different values and priorities- while Milkman is comfortable living his life as it is now, Guitar has less opportunity for success (especially financially as his father is not a successful real estate agent) and so he is more invested in conversations about racism and discrimination because the eradication or reduction of those behaviors in his community could result in him gaining more opportunity for success.
DeleteHowever, Milkman does note that Guitar has lived a fairly parallel life to him- he mentions on p.107 how Guitar also does not have a constant woman in his life and also doesn't live in Alabama.
One reason that Milkman is averse to being interested in the things Guitar is interested in, especially money, is because he does not want to be like his family. He says, "My old man is serious. My sisters are serious. And nobody is more serious than my mother. She's so serious, she wasting away" (104). This quote further develops the disdain that Milkman has for his mother and her lifestyle. He says, "Serious is just another word for miserable," (104) implying that his family as a whole is also miserable.
I think the most notable instance in this chapter is the argument between Guitar and Milkman as well. For the first time, we become aware of the marked difference (or a growing rift) between the two old friends.
DeleteIn Chapter 2, Milkman clearly worships Guitar, as can be seen in the scene when he first meets Pilate. Guitar leads the conversation while Milkman shyly watches on. In Chapter 3, Milkman has overcome his shyness but still seems to depend heavily on Guitar (“Where was Guitar? He needed to find the one person left whose clarity never failed him…Milkman was determined to find him”(79) ).
However, this all seems to change when Milkman realizes that Guitar does not consider him in the same way. Milkman is offended by the way Guitar changes the topic when he approaches him about his secret, and angrily exclaims not to “talk to me in that funny tone. Like you my teacher and I’m some snot-nosed kid”(103). I found this interesting because in Chapter 3, Guitar calls Milkman “brother” and “baby” while in this scene, he only refers to him as “man” and “Milk”. In fact, until this point, Milkman does not seem to mind (or is rather comforted by) Guitar explaining his view on life to him in paternalistic ways, such as “Listen, baby, people do funny things..”(87) and “Let me tell you somethin, baby”(88). There is definitely an air of arrogant disbelief in the way Guitar says “Did I hear you right, brother?”(89) in their argument about Emmett Till in Chapter 3. But in this scene, Guitar uses “man” and “Milk”, which are detached ways to address his friend and suggest equal standing. While this shows a development in their relationship as Milk finally stands on equal grounds with Guitar, it also signifies a break in their relationship because their relationship has always been based on Milk looking up to Guitar, an older brother like figure, since the beginning.
Milkman’s feelings for the life he is living largely depend on how he perceives his relations and on the values that his family transmits to him.
ReplyDeleteMilkman tries to find in his life the opposite of the “seriousness” driving people around him, in the opposite side of the street. This continuous expectancy of something new and surprising accompanying him every day as though he was waiting for the purpose of his whole life to come, makes him different from the other characters of the books and doesn’t let him appreciate what he has. His relationship with Hagar clearly shows his attitude: he stops desiring her when he realizes that she is right there for him, any time he wants, not challenging to get as she was before. His way to think leads him to be often very selfish. But, wanting to picture himself as a selfless person instead, he always finds a way to seem magnanimous in what he is doing, at least before his own eyes.
What also influences his vision of a boring world is his stable economic situation, that makes him undervalue money, for which he doesn’t have attraction at all. Not considering money a priority, he consequently doesn’t find fulfillment in the work he does for his father, to him just a temporary occupation until the “party” part of life comes.
As Sales, Maya, Lucia and Tomomi have started to discuss the argument between Guitar and Milkman, I want to focus on one specific passage. It's the reoccurring imagery of the street with everyone on one side, which I think Tomomi wrote about in the last post. Milkman describes it as, "Nobody was going his way. It was as though Guitar had been in that dream, too" (106). The thought sounds teenager-like, yet we are reminded that Milkman is in his thirties at this point. He seems to victimize himself, illustrating himself as helpless and alone. The uneasy friendship between Milkman and Guitar, with one sometimes over powering the other, reminds me of the relationship between Jim and Huck in Huck Finn. What I find interesting is that, as Milkman tries to be more unlike his family, whom he dislikes, he ultimately isolates himself, so-much so that he resembles his father. He mistreats his mother, as well as Hagar, and has grown distant from Guitar, who was his go-to person earlier in Chapter 3. As a general pattern Milkman seems to lose connections with people in every chapter. It makes me question how sympathetic of protagonist Milkman is and where he'd up by the end of the book.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though Milkman’s feelings of boredom and discontent are due largely in part to his insecurity. For example, when Milkman was younger, his love for Hagar was fresh and strong. Yet when he started to become more concerned with how other perceived him in his community, he re-evaluated his relationship with Hagar. Milkmans desire to appeal to the Honore crowd jeopardizes his relationship with Hagar, “He seldom took her anywhere except to the movies and he ever took her to parties where people of his own set dance and laughed and developed intrigues among themselves.”(91) Milkman is so concerned with the image that he projects to the high-society, he spends more time thinking about what a woman does for his reputation rather than thinking about their own personal bond. Another example in chapter 3 which highlights the insecurity that is plaguing Milkman is when he is speaking with Guitar. Guitar tries to tell Milkman that they have been growing apart from one another over the years because they are different people. Milkman is more interested in the “tone” in which Guitar speaks, instead of listening to what Guitar has to say he worries that he is being lectured and belittled, telling Guitar that he doesn’t want to be treated like a “ten year old kid”(103) or a “snot-nosed kid”(103). Milkmans self-centered, high and mighty, insecure temperament drives him to become jaded and apathetic.
ReplyDeleteJason F
Adding onto that, I think that Milkman is constantly unhappy because he always is looking for more than what he has. At the beginning of the chapter, Milkman is unsure of whether he wants to stay with Hagar because "her eccentricities were no longer provocative and the stupefying ease with whig he had gotten and stayed between her legs had changed from the great good fortune he'd considered it" (91). Milkman is so concerned with her physical appearance he's willing to break off a relationship that he's been in for twelve years. However, I thought that it was interesting that later in the chapter Milkman goes on to talk about wanting to get married. I thought that the two scenes contradicted each other because in one scene he's talking about wanting out of a long term relationship that he's in because it's not exciting for him anymore, but in the next scene he talks about how he's ready to spend his life with somebody else. Milkman refuses to be serious because "serious is just another word for miserable" (104) but if he never becomes serious he's never going to learn about life realistically and be able to reflect upon himself in a mature way.
DeleteMilkman begins this chapter by complaining about his relationship with Hagar. When we first hear of his feelings for her, it seems more like a dream than reality. First of all, Milkman and Hagar are cousins. Hagar is also at least 5 years older than Milkman, so I thought that Hagar wouldn't reciprocate Milkman's feelings. But as their relationship progresses, Milkman notes that her love "was so free, so abundant, it had lost its fervor" (91). The saying goes that we want what we can't have, and now that Milkman has Hagar he has moved on to the next thing. I don't think that he can complain about being bored because he decides to be with Hagar. She's convenient for him and he realizes he has to do something about his life. Therefore, he completely ends their relationship after Christmas through a letter. Morrison describes that "he did sign it with love, but it was the word "gratitude" and the flat-out coldness of "thank you"" (99) that ruined Hagar. I thought it was cruel of Milkman to end it this way with her. The letter seemed very impersonal to end Milkman's first relationship. She was his first love and his note to her is a little too formal. He thanks her, which almost takes away from what they had for years.
DeleteOne thing that I thought was very interesting about this chapter was Milkman's memory about his mother planting roses in the garden and the significance of this dream. Milkman brings this up while him and Guitar are arguing about him being serious. He was watching Ruth digging in the garden planting roses. Things turn dark when the roses she plants begin to grow tall and surround her, as the roses, "covered her and all he could see was a mound of tangled tulips bent low over her body, which was kicking to the last" (105). This memory came up because Guitar told Milkman that he wasn't a serious enough person, and Milkman tells him this to prove him wrong. The passage has a sinister tone throughout the story, with the roses being described as "bloody red heads" and having "soft jagged lips". The bloody heads reference reminds me of the first chapter when Pilate drops the rose petals in the snow, which also symbolized blood in a more subtle way. This part of the chapter was particularly interesting to me because I wasn't sure if there was a deeper meaning behind it. Milkman obviously felt that this was an important event, and he attempts to hide this fact from Guitar by disguising it as a dream that he had, and he "tried to be as light-hearted as possible in the telling" (105) yet both he and Guitar take it seriously. I feel that this passage might come up later in the book and be explained a bit more.
ReplyDeleteI think an important passage in this chapter is the "dream" Milkman has about his mother that he tells Guitar.Milkman telling Guitar that it was a dream even though he actually saw it reflects on Milkman as a character. He tells Guitar it was a dream because it seems too fantastical to be the truth. Milkman does not want to be labeled as someone who believes in fantasy. This further highlights Milkman's of how his peers think of him. In the dream his mother is planting tulips in the garden, but they grow rapidly and start to tangle her up. This dream seems to represent Ruth's position in the family. At first Ruth is trying to just create a garden which represents her family, but the more work she puts into the garden the more violent the tulips become. Ruth did not see what was happening to her "she just kept digging" or trying to provide for her family. (105). Ruth was just trying to create a family, but everyone in her family turned on her. Macon criticizes he. Her daughters don't stand up for her, and neither does Milkman. Ruth is doing all these things for her family, but her family never does anything for her. When Ruth finally does realize what is happening to her she just smiles and "fought them off as though they were harmless butterflies" (105). Even though Ruth is smiling Milkman knows that she is in danger, yet he does not help her. Milkman knew the tulips would eventually "suck up all the air around her and leave her limp on the ground" (105). Even with this knowledge Milkman does not help his mother. He merely watches as she is slowly consumed by her family. When he tells this "dream" to Guitar his immediate reaction is to ask why he did not help his mother. Milkman tries to avoid the question, telling Guitar it was a dream even though he believes he saw it. Milkman knew he should have helped his mother, but he didn't. This passage highlights both Milkman's selfishness and his inability to get involved.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found interesting was the passage in which Milkman recounts a “dream” he had about his mother. Milkman calls his recollection a dream “because he didn’t want to tell [Guitar] it had really happened” (104). Milkman remembers that while his mother planted bulbs outside, the stalks began to grow at a magical pace. Milkman recognized that “they would soon suck up all the air around [Ruth] and leave her limp on the ground” (105), but Ruth acted “playfully” and “mischievously” with them. These adverbs evoke the image of a carefree child, which juxtaposes the burdens we as readers know Ruth carries. The following description contributes to this simile, as Ruth responds to the flowers “smothering her, taking away her breath with their soft jagged lips” (105) by smiling and acting “as though they were harmless butterflies” (105). The description of “soft jagged lips” is an oxymoron, and suggests that Ruth’s antagonist, her enemy that smothers and strangles her, she is also emotionally connected to. The villainous plants represent Macon Dead and the other domestic abuses she is forced to endure. Ruth must tacitly and agreeably assume her role as the emotional and literal housekeeper, and accept the aggression and violence that befalls her passively. Although Milkman seems to recognize his mother’s plight by witnessing this and feeling the need to share it with someone, he is unwilling to accept his own fault in the matter. When Guitar asks Milkman why he did not defend Ruth, he time and time again insists, “She liked it. She was having fun. She liked it” (105). Unable to accept that his desire to constantly show up his father’s masculinity in the metaphorical chess game has contributed to his mother’s destitution, Milkman must attempt to convince himself that Ruth is happy in the victim role. Morrison uses magic to demonstrate the urgency and extremity of the sexism Ruth must endure, but uses Milkman’s lack of agency t dissuade readers from expecting any substantial change.
DeleteOne of the things that I found most interesting in this passage is how Milkman’s self-entitlement and his perception of himself as superior to others has effected his relationships and the way that others think of him. The first time I think we see this is when he accuses Guitar of lecturing him and Guitar responds, “What do you call a lecture? When you don’t talk for two seconds? When you have to listen to somebody else instead of talk?” (103). This demonstrates how Guitar has felt trampled in the past by Milkman, whose self-perception as superior is what causes him to think that his voice is the one that should be heard and that when it is not, the other person is in the wrong. This comes up again later in the conversation between Milkman and Guitar, as well, when the two discuss Honoré. Milkman assumes that Guitar loved going with him where as Guitar states, “I went with you, but I never liked it” (103) This shows that in all of the times that the two went together to Milkman’s beach house, Milkman assumed that he was doing Guitar a favor by bringing him along, where as Guitar went to spend time with his friend without really enjoying it and thinking that a favor was being done for him. This behavior on Milkman’s behalf is what I think makes his life boring, as he never engages with people, but only makes assumptions about them and listens to his own voice and opinions as though they are of the utmost importance.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that Morrison describes two of Milkman's dreams. One describes Milkman's alienation via being torn between his father and friends, and the other one describes his life watching his mother "choke" due to Macon's abusive behavior. I agree with Kako that those set up Milkman as a selfish character as both of those address issues larger than him (especially the one about Ruth, which relates back to our classwork and makes me think that he does not care about her at all), however, we only get his perspective - and I do not think it is solely because he is the protagonist, but rather to establish him as a self-centred human being, proving himself to be more like Macon then he cared to be.
ReplyDeleteI feel as if our class has done an excellent job nailing the question asked by Mrs. Westbrook. Because of this I feel the need to explore something else within this chapter. What significantly hit me in this chapter was the dichotomy of man power vs. female power expressed by Morrison. The chapter begins with Milkman simply looking for christmas gifts for his family, specifically for Hagar. Milkman dives into a memory of the first time he slept with Hagar. The recollection begins in the confrontation between Pilate and Reba's man friend due to his physical violation of Reba. Milkman is confused and impressed by how Pilate acted. Eventually this leads to a dialogue between Hagar and Milkman about woman's strength. Hagar explains that "every woman is not as strong as she is {Pilate} (96)." This is quickly followed by Hagar's mention, that she herself "hasn't found any (96)" fears. On the surface, this entire dialogue seems rather insignificance due to its later aura of sexual flirtation. However, it is no mistake that Morrison incorporates within Milkman's memory, a time when he did appreciate Hagar. It is as if Morrison is speaking out to show that Hagar, a strong and opinionated woman, even she cannot keep her strength for life. Men are constantly sabotaging the success and strength of woman in all aspects. In a specific moment we see Pilate defying a man for being ignominious, and truly showing how she, a woman, is far more psychologically advanced. This is followed by Hagar proving herself to Milkman as a fearless strong woman. However, Morrison encircles that entire moment as a memory; showing that no matter what a brave or responsible woman does in a specific moment, as soon as she looses her strength or finds "that one weakness," all else is lost. This differs entirely from a man; who as we see with Reba's man can simply run away from his weaknesses.
ReplyDeletePlease talk to me if you felt this was difficult to follow. I know it was a slightly twisted concept.
Jonny
I thought the development in Guitar and Milkman's relationship was very interesting. Since they had grown up together, they had been drifting apart, and seem to share less and less, especially in interests. While Guitar seems to be bothered by the deep racial injustice and violence, and wants to take a strong stand against it, Milkman couldn't be bothered less, and is more focused on why his life is so boring and wanting to marry a rich woman. Milkman is much more focused on himself than on anyone else, while Guitar wants to involve himself in racial and political issues that affect everyone in their community. Their relationship deteriorates over their loss in common interests, which were once women and drugs, and different stages of maturation. While Guitar wants to deal with serious political issues, Milkman is worried about him his dreams make him look selfish, or how boring it is dating Hagar, who is blatantly disregards in yet another selfish decision.
ReplyDeleteI think another reason that Guitar and Milkman have grown apart is there different takes on their surroundings and their city. As Guitar says to Milkman, "it's not where you live, where you hang out. You don't live nowhere. Not not doctor street or southside"(103). Guitar is realizing just how much Milkman really doesn't belong. He never seems to fit in with the women who are courting, or he simply doesn't take interest, and everytime the boys gather together at the barber shop, Milkman is always the one observing from the side lines while Guitar remains in lovely debate with almost everyone else. This draws a similarity between Milkman and some of the other men who are questioned in their society, like Empire State for example. Guitar and Milkman are growing more and more apart by gravitating to the places where they feel like they belong. For Guitar, this is with his boys and standing up against the law, for Milkman, it consists of littering around the clubs and drifting between his family and Hagar.
DeleteIt wasn’t terribly significant in the context of the entire chapter, but for some reason I simply can’t shake how disturbingly passive the beer metaphor is at the beginning of the chapter. Hagar and Milkman developed a sexual relationship for twelve years; twelve years that amount to Milkman’s opinion of her being that she is like the “third beer” one might drink at a party (91). The first “the throat receives with almost tearful gratitude,” and the second “confirms and extends the pleasure of the first” (91). But his relationship with Hagar is equivalent to the beer one drinks simply because it doesn’t affect anything—it’s the same substance as the first and second drinks, yet it is substantially less than them. Were the genesis and primary stages (years?) of his bond with Hagar the first and second drinks? Or are they individuals? In the context of Milkman’s anticlimactic/passive view of his life, did he ever have a first and second beer, or did he simply jump to the third with Hagar?
ReplyDeleteBeer is not a beverage with a high concentration of alcohol. One or two of them does not necessarily render someone terribly drunk—maybe slightly woozy at best. Though a third one, I would think, would mark the beginning of intoxication (kind of related to the mentality of “because it’s there” on page 91). It seems somewhat contradictory that as Milkman drinks more of his metaphorical beer and becomes more metaphorically drunk he becomes more disillusioned with Hagar in reality. Wouldn’t he be less inhibited, more aroused with the consumption of the next drink?
I really agree with Sam's point. That metaphor definitely struck me as important, especially because in subsequent pages Morrison goes on to describe how in love with her Milkman was when he was younger. She says that "he was grateful just to see her do anything or be any way" (92). After he sleeps with her for the first time, he thinks of her as "very much a tease, sometimes accommodating his appetites, sometimes refusing" (98). This makes it seem like she, at least in the beginning, was that first/second beer that exited Milkman and made him grateful and inspired. Then, "by the time he'd hit his father," the thrill of being with her because of her "tease" became "nonexistent" (98). Milkman doesn't want to actually have relationships with other people, but instead wants the thrill of the chase of relationships. When he hit his father, he did it more for the excitement of the action rather than the actual desire to protect his mother. When he slept with Hagar, he did it for some achievement instead of for the sake of being with her. He even has an "annoyance at her refusal to make him hustle for it" (91). Milkman views sex, a physical act, as something he achieves/acquires rather than a part of his relationship with another person. Hagar becomes the "third beer" to him because "it's there," or because she gives him something that he needs even though he doesn't get the satisfaction of feeling like he earned it. He describes himself as a "pampered honey bear who had only to stick out his paw for another scoop," which highlights the fact that his manhood is defined by his ability to individually get what he wants (91). This relationship with Hagar, and probably other relationships as well, shows that Milkman's insecurities as a man/person need external achievements to make him feel alive, or, in the context of the beer metaphor, intoxicated.
DeleteTo continue with the beer metaphor, and Milkman’s treatment of Hagar and women in general, Milkman doesn’t respect women or view them as equals, with the exception of Pilate, whom he respects as a superior. It is interesting that the one woman he respects is characterized as tall and strong, showing that masculine traits are the only ones he really values. His treatment of Hagar has shifted from feeling inferior to her as a young boy, and thus feeling thrilled by the chase, to feeling contemptuous of her as an inferior now that she has been accessible to him for over a dozen years. He disdainfully thinks of her as “the third beer...the one you drink because it’s there, because it can’t hurt, and because what difference does it make?” (91). She has lost her mystery and thus lost her power over him, and at this point, she is his “private honey pot” and he feels a sort of indifferent ownership of her (91). He is allowed to continue in his “carefree boyhood” and dangle her on a string that he’s not quite ready to cut loose, while she is left to feel “nervous” as she senses his indifference but is powerless to change it (98).
DeleteThere is a disturbing parallel to Ruth in the way that Hagar and Milkman’s sexual relationship begins. Morrison writes, “it was she who called him back into the bedroom and stood there smiling while she unbuttoned her blouse” (92). This evokes the scene in which Ruth smiles as she unbuttons her blouse to breastfeed Milkman. I think Milkman’s early experience with Ruth using him for her pleasure caused him to view women as objects to be used for his pleasure. Macon’s contemptuous and distrustful treatment of Ruth in consequence of his suspicions of her inappropriate relationship with Milkman has also shaped Milkman’s treatment of women as below him and unworthy. It is clear that he sees women as objects: he views Hagar as a “vain and somewhat distant creature” (92) and a “quasi-secret but permanent fixture in his life” (98) and Reba as “anything that belonged to Pilate” (94). There is a definite sense of ownership. This is reflected in the neighborhood’s conception of a justifiable reason for murder: “violation of another’s turf (a man is found with somebody else’s wife)” (100). The woman is “turf,” and the purpose of the murder is to defend the man’s pride and masculinity, without any real regard for the woman. This neighborhood pressure to be masculine and defend that masculinity at all costs has definitely played a role in shaping Milkman’s treatment of women.
I agree that the the metaphor for Milkman's relationship with Hagar is a little weird. Milkman thinks of Hagar as his third beer and the third beer represents his lack of good decisions. Constantly drinking is not a good habit and his on and off relationship with his cousin is also not a good habit. Milkman wants a woman that makes him like drinking his first beer which was his first time seeing Hagar when he was 12. After years of having his way with her, he lose interest in all things that made him attracted to her which makes her his second beer and then his third beer.
DeleteI think that Milkman causes his own unhappiness by only wanting what he does not have. One of the most interesting aspects of this chapter is Milkman’s ever-changing relationship with Hagar. His eagerness can easily be seen as he says to Hagar that he “is waiting for [her],” (96) and that he wants her to try to love him by marrying him. He does not say this because of his actual love for her, but rather because she tempts him so, and he cannot have her. Morrison describes that he says this “trying to regain (or acquire) some masculine flippancy.” He says this to appear masculine, and winning over Hagar would appear masculine as well, in his eyes.
ReplyDeleteAfter so much pursuit with variable success, Hagar’s “refusals dwindled until finally, after he’d hit his father, they were nonexistent” (98). And once this finally happens, she “began to wait for him,” and he gets more involved with the “other part of his social life.” Once he finally wins her over, he has absolutely no desire to fulfill his commitment to her. He is now looking for something else that he does not have.
It is also interesting that “he seldom thought about his age, [but] she was very aware of hers” and that Milkman “had stretched his carefree boyhood out for thirty-one years” (98). This is quite contradictory with what he Hagar does to him earlier in the relationship, likening her to Cinderella waiting for Prince Charming to come along. Milkman claims that he wants her, merely because he can’t have her at first. He tries to show that she is his Cinderella, even if he isn’t her Prince Charming. Once she gives in, and possibly falls in love with him, we see that this was just a ploy and almost hypocritical of him.
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ReplyDeleteI couldn't find the Chapter 5 page, so I'm posting it here:
ReplyDeleteWhat interested me in this chapter was Pilate’s development as a role model. When Ruth and Hagar fight over their adoration for Milkman, Pilate warns them not to rely on a man for their aspirations and sense of self-worth. In response to Ruth statement that Milkman “is [her] home in this world” (137), Pilate replies, “Two growed up women talking ‘bout a man like he was a house or needed one. He ain’t a house, he’s a man” (137-138). Pilate exemplifies the independence and strength she preaches in her solitary lifestyle. Her absence of a navel is a symbol of her independence, as it looks as if Pilate had never “grown in some warm and liquid place connected by a tissue-thin tube to a reliable source of human nourishment” (28). Even upon her birth, Pilate is not reliant on others for physical or emotional support. However, she is shunned for the outstanding self-sufficiency that distinguishes her as a character. She is banished from the work camp because the workers feared “having been in the company of something G-d never made” (144). Pilate’s autonomy differentiates her from the rest of the women, and that very difference ensures her alienation. Pilate’s inability to live a normal life that is simultaneously independent from men suggests that Ruth’s passive victimization by men may not be a product of her weakness, but rather the solitary option for women who are unable to sustain a life completely cut off from society.
The first part of chapter four that caught my attention was when Milkman was buying gifts for his family. For his father, he got a shaving kit, which connects back to the differences between Milkman and Macon Jr. Milkman likes to grow his facial hair to be different than his clean shaven father, this gift is no coincidence. In terms of Milkman's "third beer" analogy for Hagar, it seems that he was attracted to the unknown of what sleeping with Hagar. When Hagar would tease him, Milkman would go crazy for her. As soon as he doesn't have to work for Hagar anymore, he becomes more complacent than eager. I think this is why Hagar was worried to sleep with Milkman; the possibility of sex driving his attraction. During Milkman's conversation with Guitar, he realizes how different he is. He is bored by just about everything. The evening when Milkman hit Macon Jr, he remembers walking but, "everybody was crammed on one side of the street, going in the direction he was coming from. Nobody was going his way" (106). This is a metaphor for Milkman's individuality, boredom, and his loneliness in his community. Like a fish swimming upstream. Lastly, when Freddie talks about ghosts killing his mother. I think the ghosts are possibly a symbol of the KKK or maybe the light people claim to see when dying. Either way I'm not buying that his mother was killed by ghosts. Morrison had done this once before in the chapter, when Milkman was telling the story of watching flowers suffocate his mother. Clearly, it is unlikely that flowers would cut of a person's air. The flowers too are a metaphor for someone. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteI agree that the ghost that kills Freddie’s mother may be symbolic of KKK. As for the flower, I think that it represents her family, and perhaps more specifically her kids; she is suffocated by her children, yet she enjoys the distress and pain. Ruth plants the tulips, as she has her babies (she “likes to plant flowers. She really likes it” (104)), and as they grow older, they come to smother her without Ruth realizing. Flowers have connotations to be beautiful, harmless, and enjoyable, yet in this scene, Ruth looks “the unhappiest… most miserable” (104). Even Milkman questions the point in going through such pain to plant the tulip bulbs in the middle of the winter, but since Ruth is described to thoroughly enjoy the misery, she may be a masochist.
DeleteAs we readers know, Ruth receives no respect as a mother from Lena, Corinthians or Milkman. When Ruth is described to breastfeed Milkman, the nurturing “push[es] her into fantasy” (13), making the experience sensual. Likewise, in the flower scene, terms such as “touching” and “taking away her breath with their soft jagged lips” (105) are rather sexual; it seems as though all Ruth looks for is physical pleasure in everything she does. Although the planting the bulbs is unpleasant, Ruth enjoys the pleasure of seeing the flowers grow and interact with her in a sexual way, as she does with Milkman, until she is surrounded by the now “dangerous” plant to be suffocated.
In chapter 4 I thought that the scene where Guitar and Milkman meet at railroad Tommy's bar perfectly demonstrates how much Guitar and Milkman have changed and how differently they matured. Guitar ends up being a very serious man, like any grown up man, that has become interested in politics, family, and work, while Milkman likes to believe that he is the opposite. Milkman tries to express how boring and serious people are and why they're all the same. In response to this Guitar says "Looks like everybody's going in the wrong direction but you, don't it?" (106) What guitar really wants to say though is "Maybe it's you that's going the wrong direction" which makes me think that Milkman is an outlier that follows what he really wants in life, happiness. He fears being boring, and serious and intead strives for fun and happiness. So when Guitar asks him where he's going in life, Milk man responds with "Wherever the party is" (106) Milkman hasn't really changed from when he was younger and I feel like he doesn't want Guitar to change either. He wants it to be just like the good old times instead of the new and mature times that Guitar is living in and instead of talking about the some person being strangled to death, he wants to go get drunk, smoke weed, go to parties, and talk about sports. I feel like what Milkman wants is fun and excitement in his life that he feels like he has lost being a grown up, he wants to walk against the crowd with his best friend by his side to enjoy life to the fullest even when the circumstances aren't great.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the this interaction with Guitar is a life-changing one for Milkman. He begins to reconsider his choices after this interaction and even goes as far as to say that "maybe Guitar was right. His life was pointless, aimless" (107) I think that Milkman is struggling with the reality of his life which is too egocentric and self focused. I feel like he is jealous of Guitar's much more fulfilling and interesting life and this is a turning point because he didn't really think about this aspect of his life up until this point. "Sports were the only thing that he was still enthusiastic about, and music"(106) he knows that these things are only temporary and he cannot maintain this lifestyle without getting bored of it sooner or later.
DeleteI thought it was interesting how Milkman sees his African American identity as contributing to his perception of his life being “boring” and “pointless”. He believes that his race has been so consumed with the racial problems present in the US, that they have become defined by their inferiority in society…Milkman says at one point, “Who would they be if they couldn’t describe the insults, violence, and oppression that their lives (and the television news) were made up of?”(108) He believes that the African Americans in his society have no real drive in life and no solid culture…they are just known to others by the constant hardships that they are faced with in the US. He wonders if African Americans would have anything else to talk about or anything to be passionate about if the race problem were to end. He also sees the race problem present during his time as a convenient excuse for any unlucky circumstances that blacks find themselves in…“Every job of work undone, every bill unpaid, every illness, every death was The Man’s Fault”(108). By immediately blaming everything on the racial problems in the US, African Americans could set up a situation in which they are not able to see the flaws that actually reside within themselves and not in society. Milkman sees the racial problem as a hindrance to the development of African Americans having a concrete culture and being able to progress as an individual.
ReplyDelete-This is one of the big challenges that African Americans have directly approached, and the recent repeal of affirmative action in Michigan is one of the signs that this stigma is actually being lifted due to great work that the African American society has done.