Song of Solomon Chapter 5 Homework Assignment
Fair warning, Chapter 5 is long—start reading early.
For your assigned character (Hagar, Pilate, Ruth), please answer the following question. Take note of AT LEAST one significant quotation. You may refer to evidence in ch. 4 that relates to this question, if you wish.
Hagar: Jan-April Birthdays
Pilate: May-August birthdays
Ruth: Sept. - Dec. Birthdays
If you already started on a different character before you saw this, no worries. Just post on whatever you started.
· What issues and themes does Morrison want to explore through the women of Song of Solomon? What recurring motifs and images (concerning women) do you see? How are they significant? Do the stories/significant events of chapter 5 make you sympathize with your assigned character? Why or why not?
What 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.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of Ella’s point relating to Pilate, although I disagree with her statement about Ruth at the end. I think that Ruth’s passive victimization by men is a result of her weakness entirely, as she is too weak to support herself and not rely on men as Pilate does so successfully. I think that Ruth acts the way she does and tries to cling onto her relationship with Macon Dead II because she is worried that otherwise she will be isolated and have to fend for herself. This act, however, only isolates her further and cuts her off from society more than Pilate is cut off from society. Reba describes, “I am small because I was pressed small” (124). This means that she lets others around, especially the men in her life fill the space around her and she clings onto their actions and motivations so that her life will b full. This makes her more isolated than Pilate because she is only weakly connected to those whose every word and action she clings to rather than being independent and filling herself out instead of allowing herself to remain small.
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ReplyDeleteIn chapter 4 after Reba is beaten by her boyfriend we learn a lot about her character. One key characteristic is "she gave away everything she had" (94); The fact that she gives "everything" away is a little concerning. This is concerning because if Reba is constantly giving everything she owns away it would make it very hard to provide for herself. Reba's characteristic of giving things away is in contrast with her mother Pilate. Pilate is much more protective of what is hers.
Ruth shows her unconditional love for Milkman in this chapter as she goes to confront Pilate about Hagar, which contrasts her with Hagar's very destructive love for Milkman that requires him to love her back, but the very striking thing about Ruth in this chapter is her comparison to Pilate. Morrison says that they "were so different" and that "one well read but ill traveled" and "the other had read only a geography book, but had been from one end of the country to the other" (139). This makes the circumstances of their upbringings the main points of their differences, implying that the differences between women come from their experience with the real world. However, Morrison says that these differences "were the meaningless things" and that "both were vitally interested in Macon Dead's son, and both had close and supportive posthumous communication with their fathers" (139). I think that Pilate's "vital" interest in Milkman is slightly darker and more mysterious than the motherly love that Ruth feels for him, and the "posthumous communication" with each of their dead fathers has an implication of the supernatural. In just this one paragraph, Morrison talks about Ruth and Pilate's personal histories as well as their more spiritual and enigmatic elements. She kind of pits them against each other while also placing them under one umbrella category of maternal figures for Milkman, connected to their fathers in seemingly the same way that Milkman will one day be connected to them.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the chapter, Hagar and Ruth, although their consistent differences, are parallel to each other in that they both really love and care about Milkman more than anyone else. Pilate points out the fight happening deep inside her granddaughter: “he’s her enemy. He’s the one who’s trying to take himself out of her life” (139), which explains why Hagar wants to kill “the man for whom she believed she had been born into the world” (127), and yet cannot, since her love for him is too strong to let her do it. Struggling between the profound desire of revenge and the high instinct of protection for both her true love and her enemy, Hagar can’t control herself anymore.
ReplyDeleteI personally did not feel sympathetic towards Hagar after this chapter. Although it truly is sad that Hagar cannot have Milkman for herself, it becomes strikingly evident In Pilate's epic tale that the other woman in this book have endured/suffered far more than Hagar has. On page 151 Morrison explains "Astonished as Pilate and Reba were by her wishes, they enjoyed trying to fulfill them. They spoiled her, and she, as a favor to their indulgence, hid as best as she could the fact that they embarrassed her." This shows that from a young age Hagar was loved and cared for, arguably too much. In return for all that she was given by her family, she tried avoiding them "as best." This shows that when a person is cared for too much, and revered too much, they have an extremely difficult time loving back. Furthermore, if even 1 person does not love them it is as if the world is collapsing. Milkman's inability (for whatever reason) to love Hagar results in her feeling the urge to murder him. Does this not sound slightly deranged? Pilate, never had someone to truly love her. Her father died when she was young, her brother left her, and she was unable to hold onto a man due to her belly button. In response to this Pilate is by far one of the most affectionate and benevolent characters we find in this book; once again emphasizing the case that Hagar is far to fervent given her (in respect to the other characters) good life.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this chapter I did end up feeling a bit more sympathetic towards Ruth. The chapter explains a bit about her troubles. She says, "I had no friends...I was small but he was big. The only person who ever really cared whether I lived or died" (124). Here she reveals that she felt lonely and isolated for her entire childhood and the only person who seemed to actually care for her was her father. If what she said about Macon killing her father by hiding his medication is true, then I am completely on Ruth's side as Macon got rid of the on person who loved her and also cast her out from her own family. I think this chapter also shows a correlation between how Hagar and Ruth were treated. Both started out in love in their relationship, with Ruth saying, "It was important for me to be in his presence" (124). This is very similar to Milkman and Hagar's relationship, where Hagar would need to be in Milkman's presence while he was busy partying. Both of their relationships also end with the man deciding they've had enough of them. I think Toni Morrison here is purposely making both of these women's love stories similar, although I am not sure for what.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 5 it is evident that Hagar’s love for Milkman is unhealthy and destructive. Milkman is Hagar’s purpose in life, all of her time is devoted to obsessively stalking Milkman, yet she desires to kill him. Hagar comes to the frightening realization that she is “Totally taken over by her anaconda love, she had no self left, no fears, no wants, no intelligence that was her own”(137) Pilate is so consumed by her obsession, that she is no loneger an individual. Her existence is wholly reliant upon Milkman. Hagar even settles for Milkman’s “fear” because she cannot have his love. Perhaps Morrison is suggesting that characters like Pilate, who do not have a man, are more likely to achieve mental stability due to their ability to love oneself. Pilate, unlike Ruth and Hagar, does not rely upon a man for self-validation. Im excited to see how the story unravels for Ruth Pilate and Hagar now that Morrison has precisely distinguished two types of women.
ReplyDeleteI found the relationship between Hagar and Milkman very strange in this chapter. After their break up, Hagar becomes obsessed with Milkman and starts stalking him. After Hagar realizes that she could never win Milkman's love back, she “settled for his fear” (128). For months she had been following him and trying to kill him whenever the chance presented itself. However, I thought it was interesting that the one time she had the chance to kill him she “raised the knife again, this time with both hands, but found she could not get her arms down. Try has she might, the ball joint in her shoulder would not move” (131). The reason why she didn’t kill him was that she “had forgotten how beautiful he is” (131). I’ve come to realize that all of the characters in this book are very superficial and odd except for Guitar (as far as I can see). When Hagar didn’t kill Milkman just because of the beauty she saw in his face I realized how shallow she must be. After 12 years of being with him and loving him the only thing that prevent his death was his physical appearance. I think that the further we get into the book, the more differences were going to notice between Milkman and Guitar. Eventually, I think that’s going to lead to the end of their friendship.
DeleteI too was very interested in how Hagar's obsession was described as “Totally taken over by her anaconda love, she had no self left, no fears, no wants, no intelligence that was her own”(137). The symbolism of an anaconda is very important because of the duality of its meaning. The serpent is a creature that strangles its victim slowly effectively killing it by cutting off its oxygen supply. Maybe this hints at how Hagar will seek revenge further on in the book by cutting Milkman off from society and leaving his social life "dead" thus destroying and alienating him. But also another interpretation of a snake is a healing one because it is featured in red cross or medical logos which I am not sure what to make of. Possibly these experiences will both serve as lessons to both Hagar and Milkman and protect them in the future from such events occurring again.
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ReplyDeleteWe discover a lot about Pilate’s past as she recounts it to Ruth in an attempt to keep her mind off of Hagar. I think all of the women so far have a common theme of being ostracized in society; be it in reality or exaggerated in their heads. Pilate's main complex is her lack of navel, which she didn’t know was a mutation until she was kicked out of the tribe that she had grown close to, due to it. From then on, her life continued, hopping from one place to another, staying at each destination until they found out about her smooth stomach. I do sympathize with Pilate’s character because she doesn’t have apparent faults and she is liked by people surrounding her until they see her stomach, which they process as a bad omen. Pilate finally overcomes this insecurity and started to “decide how she wanted to live and what was valuable to her” (149). This is when Pilate becomes the strong figure we know her as. She is able to overlook the eyes of the people and find peace within herself. The only time this is broken is when she decides to go to a civilized place for the sake of Hagar, her granddaughter.
Ruth is shown as a much more stereotypical woman than Reba or Pilate. While Pilate decides to value her individuality, which she does by eventually flaunting the fact that she has no belly button, Ruth is stuck with a husband who despises her and hits her. While the motif of individuality is not found in Ruth's story, Ruth is a sharp contrast to the theme that takes up most of the chapter. Her unfortunate situation with being married to Macon Dead does evoke sympathy, her relationship with her father, after admitting to lying in bed with his decomposing body sucking on his fingers, doesn't exactly help her case. Macon could have been jealous of their relationship, but they should never have had such a relationship in the first place. This theme of individuality is important because Milkman is also trying to find himself as an individual, yet doesn't have to deal with problems like not having a belly button, although Hagar trying to kill him isn't much worse, the theme is shown through the different paths women take in the novel.
ReplyDeleteEven though this was a minor part of the chapter, I was disturbed by the way Guitar left Milkman in his flat knowing that Hagar was after him and that Milkman no longer planned to resist her. When Milkman says that he knows Guitar also has a secret, Guitar suddenly stops interrogating him about his relaxed attitude toward Hagar's murderous intent. It was odd how, "now that he knew there was a secret", Guitar could "settle down into the groove of their relationship"(119). Apparently, "settling down into the groove of their relationship" means preserving each other's privacy at all times, for shortly after, Guitar leaves the flat ("Okay, Mr. Dead sir. You on your own") after joking in the usual way with Milkman("They laughed then at the suitableness of the unintended pun"). I cannot be sure if this is their new relationship with Guitar treating Milkman as an equal, or if this is how superficial their relationship was from the beginning. Or, are their secrets that important? It was also shocking how, by the time Guitar leaves the room, "his thoughts had left Milkman and had flown ahead"(120). In the past, Milkman and Guitar discussed matters they disagreed on. In Chapter 4, Guitar tries to influence Milkman into developing a concern for politics in the same way he does. However, this is suggesting that Milkman is a thing of the past for Guitar, and that he has given up on overcoming their differences. I think this indicates a formal break in their relationship.
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ReplyDeletePilate had a few pieces of character development that were really interesting. Although she had always seemed like a very strong person she always seemed slightly off to me. She had many eccentricities, but as Ruth revealed in the South side she seems like one of the only people that had a certain "equilibrium". It is also revealed that she used to not be as strong as it seemed and she had a certain vulnerability stemming from her lack of bellybutton. Another thing that is very apparent in this chapter is the the fact that she is a very spiritual person. One thing that also struck me was the comparison of Ruth and Pilate, and how even though they are practically polar opposites they are so strikingly similar in some ways. And there might be a connection to how everyone has something in common with everyone else even though it may seem that the possibility is entirely impossible.
What interests me about Pilate is her odd similarity to Ruth in the way that she copes with the difficulty of her situation. Ruth, at the beginning of the novel, was described as using the water mark on the table to transport herself back to her youth, which was for her a time that made her feel comfortable in a way that she couldn’t feel currently in her marriage with Macon. After Pilate gives birth to Reba, she became “extremely depressed and lonely” because she personally could not bring herself to marry her father (147). Despite this, Reba’s father continues to try to help Pilate, telling her to sing, which “relieved her gloom immediately” (147). The grappling techniques are quite different from one another in theory but they both accomplish a similar goal of comforting the two women that seem to need the most comfort.
ReplyDeleteIn this chapter Morrison reveals a great deal about Ruth through her relationships with and parallels to Hagar and Pilate. Hagar sees Milkman as the “man for whom she believed she had been born into the world” (127). This shows that she believes she exists to serve him, as Hagar in the Bible exists to serve. Both Hagar and Ruth’s lives are absorbed by Milkman, but for very different reasons that show the differences between them. Hagar is consumed by her unhealthy, obsessive love for Milkman, while Ruth does not really love her son. She loves him as a “passion,” not a “person” (131). Morrison sets up a paradox with the line, “Her passions were narrow but deep” (134). I interpret this to mean that Ruth cannot have profound or very independent passions, but she clings on with great passion to those few, limited passions. For example, she isn’t capable of love, but she can feel defiance and a need for intimacy, so those are the passions that she clings on tightly to until they resemble love. Ruth is surprisingly self-aware which shows when she says to Macon, “I am not a strange woman. I am a small one” (124). She is trying to explain to her son why her relationship with her father, and with her son, seems so bizarre and inappropriate, when in reality it is the result of her frustrated needs for love and care. She is devoted to her father not because he loved her but because he is the only person who ever “cared,” and “for that [she] would do anything” (124). She clings on to that need to be cared about and paid attention to, and blows it up into an all-consuming devotion. This devotion freaks out Macon because he senses that it isn’t the traditional love that a daughter should have for her father. He misinterprets it as incestuous when it really seems more like a desperate cry for attention, from her father, from her husband, from Milkman--from all the men in her life, and probably the women too.
ReplyDeleteRuth’s devotion to Milkman is another incarnation of this longing for attention and intimacy. Milkman is Ruth’s “beautiful toy” (132), and represents “the last occasion she had been made love to” (134). Ruth manipulated Macon into having sex with her, and thus getting her pregnant, so Milkman is her act of defiance against Macon. Ruth generally seems weak and passive, but her one empowered act is going to Pilate to save her son when Macon tries to make her miscarry because of his disgust with her. When Ruth comes into contact with Pilate, she becomes more empowered, though the proximity between the two women shows Ruth’s general weakness in comparison to Pilate’s fierce independence. A symbol of Ruth’s empowerment is the way she begins to chew in the way that Pilate does. When Ruth first shows in at Pilate’s home, Pilate gives her cornstarch to chew, and “Ruth could not bite enough” (132). When she is separate from Macon and under Pilate’s influence, she can exert more independence and save her son, but she doesn’t really become independent because she is adopting Pilate’s mannerism instead of forming her own.
The narrator’s description of Hagar, seemingly from Milkman’s perspective, struck me as very interesting. She is described as “killing, ice-pick-wielding Hagar” (126). This is completely different Hagar, and she has now become associated with violence. We have also seen Pilate being associated with violence when she almost killed Reba’s man. In both cases, the violence emerges from passion and love. Perhaps Morrison is showing the intensity and strength of women’s love. Generally, violence is associated with men. Perhaps Morrison is trying to show that women are not so weak, and equally capable. She is also described as trying to “murder her true love” after receiving a “Christmas thank-you note” (126). This, although true, frames the story in a way to make Hagar seem crazy. This description does not mention her heartbreak. Another example of men falsely portraying women of insanity is Macon Jr.’s account of Ruth’s relationship with Doctor Foster, which differs greatly from Ruth’s account of the events. Morrison points out the discrepancy between what men want others, including the reader, to believe and the truth.
ReplyDeletecI want to discuss the part of Milkman's story in which he chases Ruth down to discover her visiting her father's grave. What really struck me was the part when she says Macon has only told Milkman "what was flattering to him" (124). I found this interesting because I never really thought of Macon's story as simply a version of the real story. Why would Macon lie about something like this? And more importantly, why would Morrison add a lie like this into the story? The more I thought about it, the clearer it became that Morrison intended for this to be the point: that while men reveal, women conceal. For years, Ruth suspected that Macon had at least mentioned unflattering facts, whether they be true or not, about Ruth to Milkman. She did not, however, take any action herself. Instead, she just remained passive until this moment, during which the only option was to speak up for herself. In contrast, Milkman's father really takes the first opportunity he gets to spill all this information on Milkman. What is even more interesting is that while Macon sort of spits this "unwanted knowledge" to pass on "responsibility for that knowledge" (120) in an attempt to make Milkman feel guilty in some sort of way. Ruth, however, guides Milkman through her account, making it as painless as possible for him to take in what he is hearing. The idea of the nurturing mother is visible here as Ruth seems to offer Milkman her sympathy while Macon is really only concerned with getting the information off his chest. It seems as if Morrison is calling all men out on leaving destructive paths in their parenting while women leave a gaping hole with the lack thereof.
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ReplyDeleteMorrison explores a few themes of women through Ruth. First off, she portrays Ruth as being in an abusive marriage as an inferior to Macon Jr. Ruth says " I'm a small woman... I'm small because I was pressed small" (124). This shows the pressure put of Ruth, I would much of it from Macon, to belittle herself to nothing more than a wife rather than a high achieving woman. Another theme that is explored is, that women are dishonest and sneaky. Milkman observes Ruth walking around by the cemetery in the middle of the night, with her "tamed up collar", as he followers her like a "secret agent "(120). Macon Jr once told Milkman that women are, "silly, selfish, queer, and faintly obscene" (123). The word selfish is interesting considering that it is Macon Jr who intentionally kills Dr.Foster, and plans to abort Milkman so he can get more attention from Ruth. A third smaller theme I picked up on is that women are desirable while young but not as much when they get older. You can look at Milkman losing interest in Hagar, a woman older than him who he once loved. Men I think do this sometimes to feel more secure and in control of their relationships. Nonetheless, older women have a harder time dating. Milkman asks himself, "what man would want a woman over sixty anyways?" (121). Ruth explains her side of the story that Macon Jr told Milkman after he hit him. I finds Ruth's story more believable. We know Macon isn't the most reliable source and we now know that he has incentive to stretch the truth. She was fully clothed, kissing her fathers fingers, not naked and sucking on them. After, learning about Macon's need for Ruth's attention and his actions, I understand Ruth more. Hagar is not my character, but just to touch on her, I feel very sympathetic for her when she is with Milkman in Guitar's flat. Milkman insults her while she is holding the knife and she looks at him with, "wide, dark, pleading, hollow eyes" (130). I feel bad that Hagar loves Milkman so much and he is just shutting her out because he is losing his ability to be intimate just like his father. Hopefully, she doesn't do anything she doesn't regret and can get her life back together.
I think the interaction between Ruth and Hagar is very interesting, especially when Pilate comes in. Hagar's loves is described as an "anaconda love" and she has "no self left, no fears, no wants, no intelligence that was her own". Ruth was "no looking at a person but an impulse, a cell, a red corpuscle that... spends[s] its whole life in one pursuit..." (137) However, when Hagar thinks about Ruth's relationship with Milkman, she feels "jealousy... so large in her it made her tremble" (137). It's seems interesting that Hagar is jealous of Ruth, who is Milkman's mother. On page 137, Hagar describes that she is jealous of Ruth because Ruth will be able simply see Milkman, and will be about to walk into his room and be with Milkman. I think this shows how desperate Hagar is to only see Milkman, but it also shows how feeling-less MIlkman has become. I think it's important to remember that Milkman and Hagar were together for more than a decade, and Milkman was only twelve. So even before he was a teenager, he was connected to Hagar. However, in the end, Hagar is the only one who cares at all about Milkman, and Milkman can only break up with Hagar through a note. This shows even more how Milkman has begun to not care about things, and what things in life that he previously felt emotion for before, are now unimportant to him. Furthermore, I think it's interesting that Pilate thinks that "some folks want to live forever", so they do, and so Milkman is going to live forever. She proves this by pointing out that Macon tried to kill Milkman multiple times while he was till in the womb, but Milkman wouldn't die, thus "won't no woman ever kill him" (140). This is shows when Hagar makes into Milkman's room and tries to kill him but "found she could not get her arms down" (130). I think Pilate has a point in that Milkman has had so many encounters with death, and has not died yet, so he almost seems invincible. Also, I think there is something about Pilate so that I feel like I can trust her to tell the future. Milkman's immunity to murderers might have some impact later on in the book, and I don't think the instance when Hagar tried to kill him but can not doesn't say something as much about her commitment to killing him, as it does about his willingness and fight to live.
ReplyDeleteI took a huge interest in Hagar this chapter. The dynamics with all of her relationships have been thrust into the fire and are being reduced to ashes. At the start of the novel, her rapport with her mother and grandmother was much friendlier than it is now. In fact, both Reba and Pilate were incredibly protective of Hagar in her young adult/adult years, wanting very much for her to be happy. Hagar, on the other end, was fully devoted to both these women. She lived with them as a family and didn't mind mimicking her grandmother and partook in the heavy lifting. She was also protective of her mother, Reba, who at times let herself get around to much and needed a little supervision from her mother and her own daughter. However, in this chapter, all of these relationships have fallen apart. Hagar has flown off the rails, in terms of her sanity and morality, and is continuously attempting to kill them man she loves because, bluntly, if he wont be with her, he wont be with anyone. This pushes Pilate into taking a different course of action with her granddaughter. Although Pilate understands where Hagar is coming from, "In her eyes, there's somebody who wants to take him out of her life too--- him. So he's her enemy. He's the one who's tryin to take himself out of her life. And she'll kill him before she lets him do that"(139). Clearly, Pilate has some understanding of Hagar's mental state, but she still reverts to whipping her every time she finds out that Hagar has made another attempt on Milkman's life. Hagar cannot go to her grandmother for anything anymore and doesn't have the ability or similarities to mimic her anymore. Not only has her relationship with Pilate fallen apart, but her relationship with Reba has also crashed. In fact, Reba hardly even makes an appearance in this chapter with regard to Hagar and the mother daughter dynamic seems to be shifted from Hagar and Reba to Hagar and Ruth. Although Ruth doesn't suddenly assume the mother role to Hagar, their relationship does take over in this chapter. Hagar finds a burning, intense jealousy towards Ruth because she is the mother of her lover and has been places with him and seen parts of him that Hagar may never know. "Jealousy loomed so large in her it made her tremble. Maybe you, she thought. Maybe it's you I should be killing"(137). Hagar allows her longing and sadness to overtake her so much that she cannot see the line anymore between life and death, she just wishes to kill those who can take Milkman away from her, no matter if they were close or not. The dynamics at play within these women are completely falling apart and being altered due to Hagars inability to handle an immense rejection and change. Thus, everyone around her is crumbling with her.
ReplyDeleteI see many similarities between Pilate and Milkman. They are both physically abnormal; Pilate lacks a navel, and Milkman has uneven legs. They are also two of the only main characters who don’t define themselves by their love, for Pilate “refused to marry the man” (147) and even leaves him to find Macon, and Milkman does not plan to settle for any particular woman. They are both seen as evil for reasons they cannot control. Pilate’s lack of navel makes “men frowned, women whispered and shoved their children behind them” (148). Similarly, when Milkman is taken to Feather’s bar, Milkman is unwelcomed because Feather “can’t help who his daddy is” (57). Despite the disadvantages, they are both depicted as independent characters, which is what makes them interesting main characters.
ReplyDelete-I do sympathize a lot with Hagar, especially because she seems to have difficulty within her life because she is not able to gain an understanding of what true love really is…she regards Milkman as her only real love, but she does not comprehend that all she had with Milkman was a great passion that stemmed from her “hunger” to be loved and their physical attraction to each other. Although Milkman realizes that their passion for each other has dwindled throughout the years, Hagar continues to be obsessed with her relationship with Milkman, convinced that she has a passionate love for him that cannot be found anywhere else. In my opinion, true love stems from friendship and understanding, and I never recall reading about a deep conversation or slowly-growing bond that happened between Hagar and Milkman. Hagar is a victim of her interpretation of what factors true love consists of…
ReplyDelete-I think that she tries to ignore the heartbrokenness that she feels by focusing on the emotions of rage and revenge…I believe that she want to convince herself that she is a strong woman like Pilate, but when she finally sees Milkman with the idea of killing him, she stops and thinks “Oh, I had forgotten how beautiful he is”(130). Her disappointment of being disillusioned in love becomes overwhelming at that point, and she realizes that in truth, she is a woman with “wide, dark, pleading, hollow eyes” who is unwilling to move on with her life and admit that there may be someone who she could have a more mentally enriching and mutually respectful relationship with...