Emotions In Milkman's Song Of Solomon

Childhood never lasts forever. No matter who you are, where you come from, and who you think you are, age will catch up to you and tear you down like it has everyone else. Although aging is brutal, there is an incredible range of emotions throughout. A primitive way to differentiate the two is by happy and sad. These are not mutually exclusive and this is unequivocally displayed in the Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. Milkman goes through many emotions while growing up. These emotions are mostly influenced by his experiences with gender and class.

The book starts with the Dead family staring at Mr. Smith about to commit suicide on top of Mercy Hospital. He thinks he can fly all the way across the lake, but splats on the ground instead.

His disinterest in himself feeds into his relationships with others. His rich background makes him look at other people in his town as below him. He fits in around other rich people, but is visibly uncomfortable in bad parts of town and around less fortunate people. Much of this dislike comes from him being bullied in school for his disability by poor kids. This only feeds into his distaste of the less fortunate. In Shalimar, he feels “out of place” as a rich person among the

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 . He constantly treats her as a second option, the “third beer.” He uses her for what he wants and leaves right after. He may not know it, but he is treating Hagar similarly to his father’s relationship with his mother. In his youthful ignorance, he doesn’t fully understand what he is doing wrong. There is a double whammy in Pilate. Firstly, she is poor. Her house disgusts Milkman. He is jealous of her happiness and tranquility in life. He thinks, “how is she able to thrive without money?”. She has her gold that Milkman is jealous of. She is also a strong woman, which inherently angers a misogynist. She will stand up to a bad man if necessary even though she is older and