Word Choices - AP English Literature - Blog

The Importance of Being Historical

Before reading Song of Solomon, I never really thought about how much my family history influences me. When you're younger, it is something that is greatly present but never really appreciated. Heritage I definately talked about with minor exploration and even less regard for, something that I compared with other kids in the hallways when class discussions touched on foreign countries. I remember having to do projects where I would have to call up my grandparents and ask them questions about where they had come from, and it meant nothing special to me. Stories about my great grandparents and their struggles had always been admirable, but were never personal.

It is clear that history is something that I take for granted. I have ancestory that my parents don't, well the combination at least. It is something that seems so impersonal, but in reality it is really personal. It is from the histories before us that we came, so we should really pay more attention to them.

Do you think that people take their own history for granted? Or is history not something that you should necessarily define yourself by?

Jessica Benjamin and Solomon's Song

I thought that Benjamin's theory of identity was applicable to characters' struggles for self-awareness and an identity in Song of Solomon. For example, Milkman attempts to find an identity separate from those around him; he reacts against Hagar, he dehumanizes Pilate by stealing from her, and wants to escape the influence of his father. He leaves behind everyone he knows in his pursuit of gold. During his pursuit however,Milkman is forced to analyze his family's history. The more he analyzes, the more he becomes interested in it. When he returned to his grandfather's garden, other African Americans praised him or simply being "Macon's son." He takes apart a child's song to find out about his great-grandfather, only to become filed with pride as he learned that Jake could fly. Milkman becomes much more invested in his ancestry and more interested in his familial role.

Although initially Milkman wanted an identity completely separate from those around him, he ended up turning back to them for an identity in the end. Milkman proves Benjamin's theory; an identity without recognizing others as subjects is impossible to attain. 

Identity

While in Shalimar and learning about his ancestry, Milkman has realizations about his own life. He remembers home and his family. On page 300 he recognizes how Ruth's sexual deprivation would affect her because of how much it would affect him. It explains her breast feeding him when he was too old and her sneaking to the graveyard at night. For the first time Milkman sees Ruth's humanity and recognizes her as a person. Before, he never understood why she did the things that she did. But now, in understanding why she did it, she became a true person to Milkman. Through Milkman's recognition of Ruth and others as human beings he developed his own identity, which sounds a lot like Benjamin to me.

Black Stereotypes

    My sister and her boyfriend, Ricardo, came home today from Atlanta. They took a pit stop in Chicago on their way to Thailand. While I was doing my homework, we all started talking about Toni Morrison. My sister graduated from OPRF in '06. She read Beloved and Sula.

She argued that she wanted Toni Morrison to write about something other than black people and their struggles. I argued that her books aren't only about black people; yes race is an important part in her novels, but if you analyze her novels they are about way more than race. I tried to explain to them the plot of Song of Solomon and the significance of flying, roses, and singing in the novel. I tried to explain the themes about freedom, love, and family, but they insisted that Morrison's novels are essentialy displaying black sterotypes. 

I read to them the last two pages of the book. They said, "wow a black man is leaving his family again." I got very frustrated and I told them all about Hagar and how she died, and they said "so she died because a man left her?" I just couldn't convince him that these characters weren't just black steroptypes. 

These characters can not be squished into the idea of a sterotype. Although Milkman leaves his family, his character is so complex that I can't imagine that he is just a simple sterotype.

What do people think about this idea? Do you agree with my sister? Can anyone help me think of some more arguments to counteract my sister?

 

The Crow

After Pilate is killed, Milkman places her shiney earring on top of the make shift grave he creates. A crow swoops down and picks it up in its beak. 

I found it to be amazing how many themes Toni Morrison was able to put in such a simple scene. There is the themes of flight, name, and family. I am sure there are some I am missing, but three is still a lot for the length of the passage.

The theme of flight is found in two ways, the first being the flight of the crow, which seems to say that Pilate will live on in another body, perhaps with the ancestors. I only think that because the crows have dark feathers, just like the family has dark skin.

Pilate's name in her earring is also carried away by the crow, in a way that it seems she does not want to forget it, perhaps because her name is so important to who she was, as are most of the names in the novel.

Finally, the theme of family, found in the burial and sadness that Milkman feels, but also in the flock of crows above, and the history of flight within the family.

There is also the irony that right after Pilate dies, Milkman finds meaning in his life through family and then kills himself by jumping off the cliff. 

This scene was by far my favorite in the novel.

Unsure of Ending

While reading the end of "Song of Solomon", I was actually quite pleased. With the other books that we have read this year, I have not exactly felt the same way. Usually the endings have been extremely unsatisfying, but the ending of this novel was quite different. I was very happy to see that Milkman had completed the developement that was coming into being throughout the entire novel. I was glad to see that after everything he had experienced, he finaly sort of figured it all out. This being said, I was also very confused by the end of the novel. I was not quite sure if the text was telling me that Milkman died, or if it was uncertain. I would like to see what other people thought about this. Many minds are better than one.

The Binds of Names

Today in class we discussed possible themes for the novel Songs of Solomon. Although my original theme did not connect to the motif I followed, roses, I still felt that this theme was the main thought I derived from finishing the novel. The role that a family plays in ones life was an imperative piece to Morrison's story. A conflict that people would only expect to be between people of different classes or races was represented through one twisted family that belonged to Milkman. Throughout the novel Milkman struggled to be independent from his father, and acquire a sense of agency from the expectations his community has bestowed upon him. This longing to fly throughout the novel might have been a expression of his desire to be free of any influences on his life. Although Milkman tried and tried at becoming an individual without dependency on anyone else, it was an unachievable goal. One theme I took from Morrison's words is that we cannot escape our past, the letters we put after our first name define a part of who we are and who we are to become. Agency cannot be found in an individual, just like an individual cannot be without the recognition of another, according to Benjamin. The ideology of family is questioned in this novel, and rather than it being a blessing of unconditional love, it is also a burden. Our last name connects us to a group of people that serve as a contradiction, holding us back from writing our own paths yet the path or a choice of one wouldn't exist without them. Milkman's constant struggle with his name Dead is a battle that is impossible to win.

Oral Tradition

I found it interesting how everything Milkman learns about his family's history through only oral tradition. Usually in books or movies where the character goes to learn about his/her family's past or tries to find their long lost father etc, they usually have a letter written by that father/relative. However, Milkman did not have a letter or diaries of his ancestors. Everything he learned about his family was from what other people told him. Of course this makes sense because both Solomon and Macon (Jake) were illiterate and therefore could not write letters or diaries.

What is also interesting is that the bulk of the information Milkman learns about his family is from strangers, not his own people. After Reverend Cooper tells him the story about how his grandfather lost all his land and how much his father(Macon) loved Macon (Jake), only then is he able to understand why his father is obsessed with money and having ownership. A stranger explained to him something which he could not understand for 31 years. 

Beauty is Pain

On page 308 Hagar started to believe that the reason Milkman didn't love her anymore was because she didn't look beautiful. She then went on to spending all of the money they recieved for the ring, that they could have used for food and other necessities, to go on a shopping spree. She bought tons of clothes, makeup, and perfume but in the end it wasn't enough. On page 315 she then goes off asking why Milkman doesn't like her hair. All of these spur of the moment ideas makes me think that she was just making up some excuse for Milkman to not love her instead of facing the reality that he had moved on. It was wrong of him not to talk to her and explain his reasoning behind his decision to end their connection. Hagar's crazy reaction to Milkman's rejection was like Solomon's wife's reaction when he "flew" away. They both went crazy without the man they loved and Hagar was so distraught that she committed suicide. What was horrible was that after Milkman found out about Hagar's death he later went on to saying he never loved her and still showed little compassion towards the woman who loved him unconditionally. In the end I think Milkman is still self centered but he had some self realization moments that helped him reflect back on how poorly he treated people.

Frustration.

 I struggled immensely with the ending of Song of Solomon.

Morrison, in general, created a novel in which surprise lurked around every corner—I became so accustomed to the surprise that I became immune to it, especially towards the end of the novel.

In a sense, I expected the novel to take a sharp turn towards the last few pages.

However, I was not expecting the end. The ending of Song of Solomon left me in disarray. I am not able to decide for myself whether or not Milkman decided to leap towards the murder of Guitar or towards his own suicide.  

I sway towards the idea that Milkman’s flight ended his life, not the life of Guitar.

My interpretation of the ending is that Milkman attempted to fly off of the cliff as a way for him to eternally leave his problems and to essentially become united with his ancestors and with nature just as he had seen the hunters do when they communicated with trees, dogs, and the ground. He wanted to fully escape what he had been attempting throughout the novel.

Although his flight could be interpreted as an attempt to kill Guitar, I have to disagree. I think that although Milkman’s character is iffy at points of the book, he would not actually go through with murdering Guitar because his whole goal in life was to escape, himself.

Because the novel began with Mr. Smith leaping off of the roof, it would make complete sense to end the novel with Milkman leaping off of the cliff. However, Morrison’s aspect of surprise in her writing leaves me skeptical that she would make such a predictable ending.

So, I guess even after writing my thoughts down, I’m still ultimately confused by the ending of the novel and I’m honestly not sure where I stand.  Song of Solomon was just in general incredibly frustrating to me. 

Up in the Air

So the motif my group was given the names as a motif to track through Song of Solomon. This was a very strong motif to track throughout the book because you can see it throughout the book unlike the other motifs that are only is certain parts of the book. Even though the naming throughout the book is ever present the flying is still the most interesting thing to fallow in the book. Flying really only shows in the beginning and end of the book but it certainly carries through with a powerful. The flying really wraps up the book. Or rather it does not as Milkman’s fate is for the reader to decide. The ending does literally leave everything up in the air. Does Milkman leap off the cliff and fly (die), or does he leap at Guitar? Who knows why Morison left it that way, maybe she just wanted to leave us with the powerful motif of flying which Milkman has been trying to do his whole life.

Parental Supervision

Even though we didn't get to talk about it in In class today, I thought it was worth mentioned the fact that it was irresponsible of Reba & Pilate to let a distraught, lovesick Hagar roam the streets by herself. I understand that she is an adult, but when looking out for family, we don't usually let our crazy relatives roam free. As a result of their carelessness, she contracted pneumonia (or something) & died. I am surprised that neither Reba nor Pilate felt any guilt over this. It seems as if they didn't even realize that it might have been their fault.

I'm not sure why, but I am not very inclined to blame Milkman for anything that Hagar went through. People get mistreated all the time, & I'm not advocating for it, but I don't think anything he did was so terrible that she should've lost her mind.

Murder Mystery Novel?

At some point after I had read all of Part One of Song of Solomon, I looked at the cover of the book and thought, "why hasn't Solomon come up yet?" Almost immediately after, Pilate said that her dead husband's name was Solomon in her lie to the police. From then on, the references to "Solomon" kept coming. But something else was changing in the novel as more was revealed. It seemed like the genre was shifting.

When Milkman left town to search for the gold and his journey started, an air of mystery started appearing everywhere. Whenever he talked to anyone, another detail or question about his family came up. Then, Guitar's threat on Milkman's life added murder into the book.

These shifts in tone confused me, because I had been pretty into the novel and the writing, and then it seemed like I was reading a different book. When Milkman heard the Shalimar song and figured out all the "clues," the scene seemed like it could have come from a children's mystery novel.

I liked the first part of Song of Solomon way more than the second. Because I was already invested in the characters, especially Pilate, I was still interested in the second part. I wanted to know some of the answers to Milkman's questions. I thought that the sequence of Milkman talking to a random person (who happens to know a ton about his family) and then having an internal monologue of confusion happened a few times too many.

Overall, I think I still enjoyed the book, but I wished it had stayed more like part one.

Baffling Clarity

Like many, I am confused by the end of the novel, but the story as a whole has come full circle for me. The book begins with Smith jumping off the roof to fly and obviously failing just as Milkman is being brought into the world. Milkman's fascination with flying faded into the background when he was a young child and realized he really couldn't fly. As he grows out of his childhood nickname and into the name Macon Dead, he begins making connections with his father, grandfather and other varying ancestors that finally give him an obvious reason to be proud of being a Dead. Visiting Danville opens Milkman's eyes to the world Macon II loved and he finally understands Pilate and Macon's love for their father: he was respected and loved by many. Just like his father, Macon is a focal point of success for the black community he lives in, yet the atmosphere is different in Milkman's home town. Milkman had always been ashamed of his father and his name because it didn't hold much positive sway in the town. But in Danville he learns of a different generation of Deads. And that knowledge continues to grow in Shalimar. There he learns and makes the connections between these seperated people because they all have one thing in common: they are all Deads though not all by written name. The excitement for Milkman, though, really comes with he hears of the flying African. Solomon, the man who left behind 21 kids and Ryna to fly out of this life. This serves as the greatest inspiration of all for Milkman. Now he knows where that lifelong passion and desire for flight began. He finally understands that he is really a Dead and that is not something he should be ashamed of. I don't know if Milkman dies in the end and if he does, I don't know how and that's frustrating. However, I do know that Milkman has finally grown into the name Macon Dead III.

I'll Fly Away

I have to say the end of the novel really confused me.  It seems I wasn't the only one, and upon further research I have found that no one is quite sure what happens.  Does Milkman leap at Guitar?  Does he leap over a hill?  or over the edge of a cliff to his death?  There is no closure to this novel because it keeps the reader thinking, which was likely Morrison's intention.  To me it seemed there were two fitting possible endings.  One would have been Guitar killing Milkman.  It was his fate to live, as his own father tried to kill him before he was born, but he survived.  For his death to be caused by his best friend going crazy and killing him, would have been quite an interesting turn of events, considering all he had survived.  The other possible ending I favored was for him to fly away.  After finally receiving closure regarding his ancestors, and how his great-grandfather flew away, it seemed suitable.  It also fit along well with the scene towards the beginning of the novel when he stared out the window and was just heartbroken when he learned he couldn't actually fly.  We would never have known exactly what happened to him, so Morrison could have left us thinking.  

I understand why Morrison chose the ending she did, but I think like every reader, I'll always wonder what became of Milkman.

My Version of the Ending

Alright, I can firmly say that I was deeply confused by the ending of the book. While leading up to the finale of the book, there began to be more and more realizations that I came to and things were beginning to clear up for me. everything was going good in the fact that I was actually understanding the intricatcies of the book that were being cleared up in the text, but once I got to the ending, I was completely lost. Right after finishing the book, I had not even realized that Guitar had shot Pilate (I know, I was too confused to put two and two together).

 

    However, after going to class and being enlightened about the actual ending I have a better understanding of what happened. While the very last paragraph is ambiguous to what Milkman is actually doing, I interpreted it that he is flying off like his grandfather Solomon into Guitar. Milkman has come to the grasp of his death and that everyone wants his life and with everyone dying around him, partly because of him, he wants to live by the guideline of saving other people's lives. I think he feels guilty and his guilt has finally shifted his way of thinking off life and he just wants to fly away and be with his people. His faith in flight and his belief that he can ride the air signifies the spiritual change he is going through. It might represent his goal to put away distractions and hindrances in life, like everyone trying to kill him, and just live life to the fullest.

The Ending

*SPOILER ALERT*

As I read the last lines of Song of Solomon I was conflicted about how I felt about the ening of the novel.  Looking back over everything that has happened it seems like almost nothing has changed and yet so much weird stuff has happened that it feels impossible that most of the characters remained the same.  For intstance, Macon and Ruth are on no better terms about their marriage, as well as the relationship between Macon and Pilate hasn't changed either.  Along with that, Milkman's relatioship with Pilate, Ruth, Macon and his sisters also seems unchanged.  Though Hagar's death was traumatic for Pilate, she seems to forgive and forget the minute Milkman explains she's been carrying around her father's bones all these years (personally I was looking forward to seeing some epic battle between the two of them).

As for Milkman, we can assume that he's aquired a new sense of appreciation for everything his family has given him, but we never actually experience him act on it and therefore don't really know if he has changed.  It might not even matter if he did since Guitar may or may not of killed him in the last scene. 

Speaking of Guitar, what kind of friend is he?  If this were real life I would hope he managed to kill Milkman just so he could realize Milkman never had the gold (which just kind of disappeared in the story). 

All in all I enjoyed the book but wasn't thrilled by the ending, however I usually don't like endings so that could just be me.

What am I Reading?

I have no idea what to think of this book.  I don't even know what genre it is.  At first, it seemed like it was going to be a coming of age book where Milkman forgives Macon for his abuse and grows up to be different.  Then Morrison threw in an incest story that the reader doesn't know is true or not.  On top of that, you have more borderline incest, a bromance, a group of racially-conscious assassins, hidden treasure, and murder.  On top of that, you have the possible end of the bromance, a wierd witch lady who turns white people into dogs, crazy murderous former lovers, the revelation that maybe Pilate is magical in some way, more coming of age in Virginia, and a combination of bromance and attempted murder.  I used to think I knew what would happen.  Now I have no idea.

Toni Morrison is Doomed to Repeat History Channel

Morrison calls her literary technique in Song of Solomon as "the imaginative combination of the real world, the very shrewd, practical, day-to-day functioning that black people must do, while at the same time encompassing some great supernatural event." 

What? Huh? Come again?

Well, what this Princton Professor is saying and doing is combining in her literary vision a seamless use of European-American literary history and a vivid incorporation of African-American Folk history.

For example, Morrison makes reference to one European fairy tale after another, Hansel and Gretel being one of the most memorable, as Milkman enters the dilapidated Butler mansion and sees Circe, the ancient woman who served as midwife to all the community of Danville from the time of slavery. Here, she combines the ancient Greek myth of Circe, the goddess of Homer’s The Odyssey, who detains Odysseus on his journey and turns his men into swine, with Grimm’s many witches in his Germanic fairy tales. The figure invested with so much European and Greek weightiness is an old African-American woman who has decided to sacrifice her life to fulfill her desire to see the wealth of the arrogant, ruthless, white aristocratic family for whom she worked turn to dust and ruin before she dies.

(I hope all of you understand my Workaholics reference within the Title)

Poor Milkman

At this point, I almost feels sorry for Milkman.  He is not a very nice person.  He lies, cheats, steals, takes advantage of his family and is unrepentant about all of it.  However, nothing goes well for him.  His parents despise each other and expect Milkman to pick a side.  He faces the constant threat of death while the community around him just watches Hagar search for him.  His only friend is an admitted murder.  The only decent thing he does in the entire novel is breaking up his sister and another murderer, but this act is seen as proof of his selfishness.  With all this in his life, he is searching for  a way out in the form of Pilat's gold.  Unfortunately, I don't think he'll find it.  There is no way this story can end will for Milkmn.

The Return of the Centerpiece

My favorite part of the early chapters was when Morrison was describing Ruth's struggle to be a good wife and mother and how it was at odds with who she was. Her fixation with the watermark as some sort of affirmation of life intrigued me. Unlike Milkman, who derives most of his subjectivity by allowing himself to be the subject of manipulation from others, Ruth can only define her existence by obsessing over an inanimate flaw that she is not. Except, the more we read, the more she seems to be becoming this water mark - a stain in the middle of the family that symbolizes the vitality and beauty that used to be there, but is now a mild inconvenience. 

When I saw the allusion to the centerpiece on page 197, I got pretty excited. As First Corinthians is about to step in to her house after being with Henry, "she saw her ripeness mellowing and rotting before a heap of red velvet scraps on a round oak table." Corinthians knows that if she went back inside, she may be doomed forever to the same fate as her mother. She did not want to be become a dying reminder of beauty and life that once existed, waiting to be swept away without leaving more of a trail than exposing the watermark beneath.

I really hope this idea comes into play somewhere in the rest of the novel. I think it could foreshadow some sort of link between Corinthians and her mother. I don't really know what it will be yet, but I know that if it does come up, my annotations there will look extremely excited. ...again. 

Black Walnut Tree

When I saw noticed the presence of this tree on page 219, I got the feeling that trouble was afoot, because as I learned last year in Environmental Science, that tree is poisonous. Its roots secrete a chemical that is toxic to most plants, causing some to wither and die if planted too close to the tree. 

To me, the tree in front of the crumbling house was a bad omen. I knew right away that Milkman was NOT going to find what he was looking for, and not only that, but he was sent searching farther south for more. As Circe said, her employer would rather die than perform the work she did, and that fact that the house is going to ruin seems connected to the life-sucking powers of the black walnut. I saw it as a warning sign, a very subtle & tricky on one Morrison's part. 

Clue

There are two different explanations as to what happened before and after Dr. Foster's death. Macon's side of the story claims that Ruth had sexual relations with her father as well as after he died. That seems difficult to believe but on page 23 it flashes back to when Dr. Foster first met Macon. He was glad his daughter had found someone besides him because he was uncomfortable with how affectionate Ruth seemed towards him. This passage shows that there could have possibly been some type of weird "relationship" between Ruth and her father but also that it was more one sided because he was not comfortable with the situation. Ruth's story, which I think is more believable, is that her father was very sick and that Macon had thrown his pills away which eventually killed him. According to her she had no sexual relations with her father and Macon had told Milkman those things just to get him on his side. I do believe Ruth's story far more than Macon's but then again Ruth does seem to tease Macon about being her "daddy's daughter" so Macon's story could also be possible. Which side do you guys believe?

The Desire for Flight.

Especially in today’s society, individuals are incredibly influenced by personal desires, people in society, and their mindsets that they are, in the end, ultimately controlled. Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon clearly depicts characters who are completely controlled by their desires.  Morrison establishes the essence of control and its effects on the individual; an individuals control can be beneficial if it is associated with the freedom of the individual but is otherwise destructive to the individual and his or her life.

It is contemporary society’s belief that control, regardless of its extent, is negative. However, Morrison shows that an obsession with freedom, symbolized as the motif ‘flight’, has positive effects.

Milkman, one of the main characters in Song of Solomon, is one of the few characters who does not suffer from destruction. Although he faces the most challenges of all of the characters in the novel, he is able to take his environment and become completely successful because of the ideology that the individual is benefitted by control when it pertains to one’s freedom.

Milkman shows his passion for freedom on multiple occasions. On page 180, Morrison states “New People. New places. Command. That was what he wanted in his life” and again “He just wanted to beat a path away from his parents’ past, which was also their present and which was threatening to become his present as well”.

Like the other characters in the novel, Milkman becomes obsessed with his desire for freedom to the point where he becomes controlled. However, Morrison identifies him as being different. In the beginning of the novel, Morrison writes that “The street was even more crowded with people, all going in the direction he was coming from” and that “Looks like everybody’s going in the wrong direction but you, don’t it?” (78). Milkman is alone and different from the other characters.

Milkman thrives from his desire to be free because he takes more chances due to the fact that he feels as though he is isolated from society. For instance, Morrison writes that “His life was pointless, aimless, and it was true that he didn’t concern himself an awful lot about other people” (107). Because he felt so alone, he was able to take risks to achieve the freedom he yearned for so greatly. He is able to leave what he is used to because he realizes that “If you want to fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down” (179).

Individuals face a downward spiral when they become controlled by temporary aspects of their lives. For instance, Hagar, who has a one-sided love obsession with Milkman faces insanity. On page 127 Morrison writes that “She moved around the house, onto the porch, down the street . . . like a restless ghost, finding peace nowhere and in nothing”. Guitar’s vengeance for Milkman lead him, as well, into insanity. Macon’s materialistic obsession with money leads him to a continual downfall, as does Ruth’s obsession with her own pride.

Unlike the characters controlled by temporary aspects of their lives and like Milkman, Solomon, Milkman’s great grandfather, achieves freedom because he was so obsessed that he became controlled by his desires to take flight.

Morrison clearly narrates the idea that although contemporary society sees control as negative, in some circumstances, like the want for freedom, it essentially creates an individual who is able to go beyond his or her comfort levels to thrive in an environment where it can be, in other circumstances, destructive. 

Another Post About Names

There are a few interesting names in Chapter 10:

Nephew: Although he doesn't talk much, and Milkman ditches him before we learn anything more about him, I think the character of Nephew is worth a note. Most of the names in this book are not descriptive of their characters, but Nephew's is quite accurate. He is, in fact, someone's nephew. This could be an unpleasant reminder for Milkman, who is trying to escape the fact that family can shape a person's identity. Nephew is his familial role.

Circe: She is compared to a witch, which is fitting enough since she is unnaturally old, and very talented, and lives in fantastical crumbling house full of humming dogs. (I still think there might be some magic in this book.) There was an enchantress in Greek mythology named Circe, who was notable for capturing men who visit her island and turning them into pet animals- an interesting parallel, I think, especially considering the Weimeraners.

Think Ideology.

After reading Althusser's conclusions about interpellation by "Ideological State Apparatuses," I kept trying to guess exactly how it was supposed to fit in with Song of Solomon. Here's the best I have so far:

Milkman struggles so much with his identity because  he is the subject of conflicting ideologies. For example, Milkman's concept of race wavers depending on who he's talking to. He was raised in a family far different from most other black families in his community. His grandfather, Ruth's dad, was a closet racist against his own people. His father, Macon II, believed that the only way to make it in life was to behave 'white.' One reason why Macon is so embarrassed of his sister Pilate is because her very existence reminds him of his humble past and maybe some sort of black identity from which he is trying to distance himself. Milkman adopts this almost 'white supremacy' mindset when arguing with Guitar and listening to the men complain in Sonny's shop. However, when he visits Circe, he adopts the very argument Guitar used against him. Milkman accuses Circe of staying in the Butler's house because she "loved" the very people who killed Macon I . He is no longer as sympathetic to whites.

Some may argue that Milkman's inability to definitively say what he believes in, even after so much of his life is behind him, is a sign of weakness. Though he is old, I do not think it's wrong for him to still question what he believes and where he belongs. While it is not wrong, it also cannot be easy. If what Althusser argues is even somewhat true, we at least partially derive our identity from how we think we fit within certain ideologies. Until Milkman figures out where he stands on issues of class, race, gender, and family, it might be difficult for him to achieve satisfaction in his life -- which I think is what we have been witnessing so far in the novel. 

Worth More Than Gold?

By the time Milkman visits Circe, his desire to find the gold consumes him. I find his obsession puzzling considering Milkman already has much more money than the other characters in the the novel. Yet he tells Guitar that he needs the gold more than anyone else because he needs to live his own life.  He says, "I don't want to be my old man's office boy no more. And as long as I'm in this place I will be. Unless I have my own money" (222). Yet by leaving to find the gold, Milkman has already left his family and hometown behind. He seeks freedom, not gold, but believes that gold will secure his freedom.

Milkman claims he does not want to owe anyone in his family, so he must get the gold. However, I cannot tell how much he actually cares about his family. He plans to say he was, "looking for his grandfather's remains" (248) when actually he only goes to the cave looking for gold. Does he really care about his grandfather or is he more interested in the money? Milkman betrayed Pilate's trust to get the gold when he broke into her house,even though Pilate arguably does the most for Milkman out of his entire family. Morrison writes that Milkman  thought he wanted the gold in the name of his grandfather's peaches, Circe, Reverend Cooper, or Guitar. Yet she writes that, "The fact was he wanted the gold because it was gold and he wanted to own it" (257). What bothers me is that Milkman seems to be turning more and more like his father, obsessed with wealth, and willing to push aside morals to get it.

The gold must mean something more to Milkman than wealth, because he has wealth. Yet the quotation suggests he is merely driven by greed. What, if anything, does the gold symbolize? How much is it really worth?

Call Me Corrie, Corrie Dead

I love Chapter 9. Mostly because it had a forbidden love story line going on. Henry calls First Corinthians Corrie, and Corrie is the person he knows. He knows the free Corrie, not First Corinthians making velevt flowers.

When Corinthians runs away from Henry Porter in rage, she is about to walk in her house when "she saw her ripeness mellowing and rotting before a heap of red velved scraps"(197).  Immediatly after that she turns around, runs to back to Henry Porter, raps on the window, and lies desperatly across the hood of his car until he gets out and

"carried her to the passenger's side...helped her ease into the seat...pressed her head onto his shoulder and waited for her soft crying to wane"(199).

I definetly found some new found love for Henry Porter in this chapter(what a gentlemen). When he calls her Corrie, it almost broke my heart. I also wondered why did Corinthian run back to Henry? 

When she runs back to Henry, she recalls the day Mr. Smith jumped from the roof of Mercy Hospital and they spilt the roses all over the snow. The death of Mr. Smith, the horror of it, was attached to the red velvet flowers. She said she would bang on Henry's car window forever "to escape the roses." I think she just wants to escape! Later on Magdelene(called Lena) connects the way they makes their roses to work that they give people in asylums to "keep them quiet." The roses are a way to keep the sisters trapped in their life and submissive to their father.

Magdlene says if the people in the asylum didn't have the work "they might find out what's really wrong and ...do something. Something terrible"(213). Corrie realized what was wrong. She realized she was trapped and did she do something terrible? NO, she ran back to a man who when she asked for cold water he brought her a glass with ice cubes "jammed to the rim"(201). What a good guy! She did nothing terrible. She broke free. She was Corrie, the "grown up woman" Henry wanted her to be. She did excape the velvet, for a moment. 

 

Pilot Through Life

I am not going to lie, so far I have found this book a little lack luster. The only thing that really stands out to me is Pilate. Pilate is defiantly the most interesting person in the book and maybe even the strongest. She is given a name that would hinder most people and yet is still so independent and rather powerful. You might think that her being not stereotypically woman would hinder and yet it does not. She does not let society’s connotation of her get in her way. In a way it is almost funny that she is this wise trustworthy person that people know that they can always go to, yet she is in the illegal bootlegging business. However her source of income aside source of income aside she is always the person to turn to. Pilate is also like a sort of metaphorical home for Milkman; he cares for her and knows she can help. Her strength and confidence in herself transcends society’s image of who she is. I feel Pilate is the one person in Song of Solomon that is really a guiding force.

Pilate The Savior

The significance of names are a common thread throughout Song of Solomon. It seems as if on every other page someone is talking about their name or their family's name or where their cousin got their nickname from. This theme/motif is consistent. The name most interesting to me is Pilate. 

Pilate was given that name by her father who spontaneously picked that name out of the bible. Ironically, that is the name of the judge at Jesus's Trial who sent him to his crucifiction. Usually, this is not the name you give your baby girl, but Pilate's father picked it out for her. 

Pilate defies her name. If some people say a name can guide your life or trap your life, Pilate is the living(or ficticious) counterargument.  When she was pregnant with Milkman, both Ruth and Macon tried various things to hurt their unborn child. Finally, one day Macon struck her bulging stomach. A helpless and desperate Ruth fled to Pilate's home. Pilate did not judge her or dismiss her or send her away "Pilate comforted Ruth...She listened to what Ruth said"(131). PIlate was understanding, caring and compassionate, nothing like the person who she was named after.

Pilate ended up taking care of of Ruth and the unborn Milkman. She told Ruth to not "ram another thing up in your womb." She stopped Macon from hurting her. She saved both Milkman and Ruth. She acted in total opposite of the person she was named after. 

Pontius Pilate is known for washing his hands of his responsibility; he takes no ownership for sending Jesus to his crucifiction. Pilate Dead took responsibility of Ruth and the baby and practically nursed them both to health.