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A Comparison Of Susan And Milkman In Toni Morrison's Song Of Solomon

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In Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, both Susan and Milkman strive to escape reality, but do so in fundamentally different ways. Susan, despite her mixed roots and black relatives, harbors visible distaste towards people with black skin, and desperately tries to separate herself from her own blackness. Paradoxically, the more she attempts to dissociate herself from her identity, the more entrenched in her ancestry she becomes. In contrast, Milkman attempts to run away from the false narrative imposed upon him by his father’s occupation and whiteness in his search for a “pot of gold”. While he does not ultimately find the “pot of gold”, he does find himself, literally running toward his heritage and the black town of Shalimar. Thus, Milkman’s …show more content…

Milkman’s initial reasoning for going on his journey was that he wanted the gold. Milkman was originally set on his mission by his father, who wished to have the gold, but over time Milkman’s intentions shifted from simple greed to a desire for freedom. Talking to Guitar about his newfound desire to get the gold on page 288 (PDF), Milkman says “I just know that I want to live my own life. 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.” Macon Jr. is on multiple occasions said to behave like a white person, and it is implied that he intends for Milkman to take over the business once he can’t work anymore, and that Milkman’s quest is just as much about Milkman finding himself as it is about finding the gold. On the other hand, through the phrases “my own life” and “my own money” it is clear that Milkman still considers money to be absolutely essential to his life, perpetuating the idea that he, just like his father, behaves more like a white person than a black person. In Milkman’s journey, he runs away from this perceived whiteness and its location (his home) and goes towards Shalimar, a distinctly black town deeply connected to his family. During the journey, Milkman’s suit and his gold watch, two things relating to Milkman’s whiteness, are torn up and lost. In the end, instead of finding gold, he finds his family’s history and his own identity as a black

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An integral part of Song of Solomon is the multitude of colorful characters discovering or developing a certain sense of self. For some, they are confident in who they are and don’t care what others think. Others believe themselves to be weak and care too much about status. One of these characters, is Milkman’s mother, Ruth. Throughout the beginning of the book, Ruth stays in the background; secretly spurring aggravation and anger from Macon, trying to get some sort of emotion out of him.

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Throughout Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, Milkman Dead’s name serves as a constant reminder of his unhealthy relationship with his mother, Ruth Dead, which in itself is a reflection of her deep-rooted issues with her own personal life that are out of Milkman’s control. The significance of Milkman’s name has multiple layers to it. For example, it is important to recall that his real name is Macon because he makes a significant effort to distance himself from Macon Jr. and prove himself to be different from him. Ruth’s breastfeeding him well past his infancy results in his being stuck with the nickname “Milkman” before he is even old enough to understand the situation.

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• We find out that Guitar is part of an organization called seven days which kills innocent white people for black people getting murdered • Milkman's sister Lena tells him that he is exactly like Macon in the way that he treats women and that there is no difference between them • Milkman prepares for his journey to Pennsylvania to find the gold • Promises to bring Guitar his fair share of gold • Milkman tells Guitar about how he needs the gold and the money from it to be independent and get away from his family • Guitar reminds Milkman of how he needs the money for his 7 days operation and to help Henry Porter • Milkman goes around to a couple people asking them if they know of a women named Circe • One person tells him to go to Reverend Cooper, as Reverend Cooper knows a lot of people in town • When Milkman goes to Reverend Cooper's house he is there and is welcoming towards Milkman, as he tells him that he knows his people • Reverend Cooper tells Milkman about the reason his grandfather was killed by white men • The white men felt that it was unfair for a black man to have such wealth, and in hopes of getting their property when he dies • When Milkman goes to the house Circe used to work in, she is there and really

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Furthermore, Ruth’s endless, captivating love restricts Milkman and thwarts his personality’s development to a mature man. His search for his self cannot be satisfied at home since he has no space to become independent or is regarded as a separate

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Milkman is starting to realize that all material assets, including money, vehicles, and reputation, are no longer useful or significant. To conclude, the third and final stage of Milkman's journey is

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Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon is a novel that is set in the 20th century, Michigan which follows the life of Macon Dead III, who gets the nickname milkman. His sisters are Magdalene, who is called Lena, and First Corinthians. His parents are Ruth and Macon Dead Jr. Unlike most African American families during this time period, the Dead family were financially stable and could afford things that were deemed luxurious. Even though they had money, they still were unhappy with their lives. This shows that you can be living ,but you can also be dead.

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In an attempt to find the gold that would free Milkman from his monotonous life in Michigan, Milkman goes on both a physical and spiritual journey. Instead of obtaining the gold that would change his life, Milkman ultimately goes on a long quest to find his family history,

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That knowing having power, money, and the color of your skin your own choice could not make you happy. ““Say, buddy,” I says, “If I had your money, I’d be always having a good time.” “No, you wouldn’t,” said the white boy” (258). The short story ends with that exact realization for the narrator, “ What do you suppose is the matter with rich white folks? Why you reckon they ain’t happy?”

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Despite being together for many years, Milkman’s blunt attitude and inability to value love results in their break-up, as well Hagar attempting to murder him. Additionally, there is Milkman’s father, Macon Dead II, also simply known as Macon Dead, who is the wealthiest man in town. Macon constantly feels the need to show off his wealth as well as be the most powerful person he

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After the killing, Milkman seems

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Hagar, Pilate, Macon Jr., and Guitar all vie for Milkman’s commitment pulling in him to achieve their goals for him. To Milkman, his life seems to lack an identity in which to base his life’s direction and purpose, “…trying to make up his mind whether to go forward or to turn back. The decision he made would be extremely important, but the way in which he made the decision would be careless, haphazard, and uninformed.” (Morrison, 69-70). Unwilling to commit himself to any one goal, Milkman rejects these options, choosing instead to continue his aimless drifting, cutting himself off from the people who care for him and the African-American community.

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His social awakening also inspires a change in attitude towards the treatment of women. Initially, Milkman objectifies Hagar and treats her as an inferior, but when he encounters Sweet, he begins to reciprocate her affections and treat her with respect. Furthermore, Milkman’s change in motivation for his flight south illustrates the development of his maturity through his pursuit of his family’s history, proving that attaining wealth is no longer his sole purpose. During his time south, Milkman was maliciously pursued by Guitar. His attempted murderer of Milkman creates the illusion of a resurrection to which Milkman develops social awareness.

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He is represented with an oblivious mind, and sees everything around him irrelevant if it does not relate to himself in a way. As he continues throughout his journey, Milkman encounters, for the first time, a struggle of not getting what he wants. As he digs for the gold, for the first time, his mind shifts from the capitalistic north and embrace nature, “His watch and his two hundred dollars would be of no help out here, where all a man had was what he was born with, or had learned to use” (277). As he begins to separate himself from white culture, he embraces in his natural skills. This was just the first step to shape Milkman into embracing and seeing his ethnicity.

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She was the sign of misfortune in the entire novel: deprived of sexual interaction with her husband for twenty years, delivering Milkman as a consequence of a shock from a frightening accident, and withstanding the physical violence of her husband even in front of their children. She was never respected or seriously loved by any male characters in the novel—Milkman was ashamed and careless of her, Macon her Husband hated her, and even her father was somewhat embarrassed by their intimacy which Ruth intended. Ironically, she was the daughter of the great Doctor who has a street named after him and the wife of Macon Dead, who is the richest person in town. This contrast emphasizes the tragedy of the character that despite her superior or seemingly advantageous status quo, she still led a miserable life. Morrison quoted that she started the book as an attempt to shatter some of the common stereotypes the 1960s has brought to African American community, which, as she reckons, has left out an enormous portion of the racial character for over-emphasizing the beauty and strength and thereby

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His father ran a household that bred misogyny, greed, and a lack of emotion. His father barely even looks at the mother of his children, his wife. He does not listen to anything she says, and although Milkman tries to stand up for her, he still has tons of internalized misogyny in him. This is demonstrated in Chapter 11 when Milkman degrades the women in Shalimar and is beaten for it. It is also demonstrated in his relationship with Hagar .

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