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Milkman In Toni Morrison's Song Of Solomon

1418 Words6 Pages

In Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, an African American man named Macon Dead III, also known as Milkman, struggles to find the truth behind his name and background. Milkman and his broken family live on the Southside of Michigan. His mother, Ruth Foster, suffers from the lack of intimacy with her husband and uses her son as a coping mechanism. His father, Macon Dead Jr., is a materialistic man who does not want to endure the same fate as his father, Macon Dead Sr.(who had been murdered for his land, Lincoln’s Heaven.) Neither of the parents give his two sisters, Magdalena and First Corinthians, attention, leading them to envy Milkman for being the center of their world. When Milkman is set on his odyssey in search of gold, he uncovers his family’s …show more content…

As a mother, teacher, and spiritual guide, she gives Milkman the affection, comfort, and wisdom that he does not get at home. Catherine Carr Lee states that: ”Pilate begins by instructing Milkman in practical, everyday knowledge: to say what you mean...Because she values nothing but human relationships...” For instance, Milkman and Guitar attempted robbery for the “gold’ in Pilate’s house, but end up getting arrested until Pilate comes to the rescue and they realize it was just a sack of bones. She pays no mind to the fact that they stole from her and puts on an act to prevent them from going to jail. “She didn’t even look the same. She looked short. Short and pitiful”(205) and lies to the police that the bones were her husband's and she couldn't afford a proper …show more content…

When young Milkman first greets Pilate, “Hi”(36) she replies with “What kind of word is that?”(36) and “You all must be the dumbest unhung Negroes on earth...You say ‘Hi’ to pigs and sheep when you want ‘em to move. When you tell a human being ‘Hi’ he ought to get up and knock you down”(37) by saying this, she teaches him what's right and wrong, and what's good and bad to say. Despite Macon Dead Jr. unreasonable warning for Milkman to stay away from her, Milkman continues to visit Pilate and their relationship continues to develop. Carr Lee briefly explains their relationship in the following statement: “He recognizes, briefly, that his actions affect other people, and he also realizes that by hurting Pilate, he has hurt himself. Pilate is also Milkman's closest link with the sustaining power of the past.” Although Milkman may not realize, Pilate continues to watch over him in order to insure that he belongs

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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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Guitar understands and highlights what Milkman needs to discover about himself in order to live a fulfilling life and make it a life worth living. Another time that Milkman shows that he is finding himself is when he is planning with Guitar about how to rob Pilate. He finally has found out who he is and how he wants to live his life. The narrator describes that Milkman “felt a self-inside himself emerge, a clean-lined definite self. A self that could join the chorus at Railroad Tommy’s with more than laughter” (184).

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