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Song Of Solomon Milkman Character Analysis

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In the book Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, each character is addressed by a special nickname that resonates with each person's life and their significance to the novel. The main character named Macon III or better known as ,Milkman, received his name from breastfeeding for a long period of time. The significance of being known as milkman extends past the literal meaning behind its creation further setting up his character in a way that allows readers to further understand his role in the book.

Toni Morrison never fully addresses Milkman as Macon III only mentioning that his name is Macon. The name milkman was introduced very early on in the book. The thought of a milkman usually creates the image of a man that delivers milk to everybody. Everybody knows him, but nobody really talks to him. In the book Milkman is quite the opposite due to milkman having to hear and keep all this information that is being given out by everyone he knows. Creating this irony that surrounds his name. He doesn’t necessarily care and wants to stay out of the trouble. Milkman like his name likes to stay out of the way and just do his own thing even though milkman in the book has more issues to deal with than he intends. …show more content…

Milkman depends on his mother and sisters to solve his troubles or to dig him out of a situation while his mother and his friend Guitar depend on him for mental support. Being the “Milkman” is shown in his character through his tendencies to be concerned about the events that are taking place around him, but he never takes action to fix it for himself. He stays in his own business and does his own thing instead of actively trying to make everything

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When Toni Morrison began her novel, Song of Solomon, she introduces her readers to a world in which Caucasian Americans have full power over their African American neighbors. Detailing the pessimistic treatment of African Americans, readers come to believe in the stereotypical “weak, black man,” of African Americans who allow themselves to be dominated, who see the dangers that are forced upon them and bow down to them, obliging to the torture and prejudice they face every day. This portrait of acceptance is broken, torn into a million pieces when Morrison goes in depth into the secondary character of her novel, Guitar, during the sixth chapter. In the previous 154 pages of Song of Solomon, Guitar is elucidated as simply the best friend of the main character, Milkman, as someone who is only present in the tale to listen to the problems of his friend and give knowledgeable advice. Until chapter 6, Guitar is nothing but a clear definition of “best-friend-forever,” someone who helps the main character but does nothing else, while Milkman is the reverse of him as he gets receives all of the attention of Morrison, detailing his character traits and identity.

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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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