Active Reading Blog for Chapters 3-6 (:

Plot Summary: Chapter three introduces the conflict of Milkman's identity issue in greater detail. The fact that he sleeps with Hagar is mentioned in such a way that it is too be assumed they've been in an off and on relationship for twelve whole years. That apparently boosts his appeal level with other girls and his confidence. However, he is affiliated with his father in intimate ways, being his only son, and is thus rejected by his community as harshly as can be while still being respectful of Macon. Milkman is revealed to have one leg shorter than the other, which may symbolize his shortcomings with his father. President Franklin D. Roosevelt feels like more of a father-figure than Macon does because he has a physical flaw, whilst Macon seems perfect and impregnable. Milkman does everything in his power to be the exact opposite of Macon by smoking, parting his hair, and giving away his money, things abhorred by Macon, and yet mentally emulates him in many ways: he inherited a love of his expensive home, respect, purpose, and control. Milkman actually hits his father when he slaps his mother because of her innocent foolishness. An unexpected thing happens: Milkman gets a clue of what goes through his father's mind every day when he tells Milkman that Ruth had sexual relations with her own father and that there was a question if Lena and Corinthians were really his daughters. When Milkman goes to talk with Guitar in town about this new information, he hears about a group of white men who kill an innocent black kid and are simply let loose with no reprimands. Guitar brushes off the question of why it was so important that the men talk about it in great heated discussions, and he says that they both thought differently and therefore did not have to be in each other's confidences.
In chapter four, Milkman decides to end his twelve year relationship with Hagar because, like the rest of his life, his passions with her simply faded and had gotten old. This inflames her to the point of wanting to murder Milkman because while his love of her dwindles, her passionate flames get bigger and bigger with each day. Later, Freddie talks to Milkman in his office, hinting that Guitar might be harboring a suspect accused of killing a white man and that he should ask his sister Corinthians for more information.
Chapter five talks about the numerous attempts on Milkman's life and how Hagar comes every thirtieth to kill him with some sort of sharp implement, but can never carry out the deed. He stays at Guitar's house and, like clockwork, Hagar comes with a butcher's knife to slaughter him, but can't bring herself to kill her true love, the one who had betrayed her. He tells her to, for lack of better words, get over herself and forget him. In a flashback shown while he waits for Hagar, Milkman had followed his mom late at night to the cemetery of her father and had gotten the full story his dad had manipulated him into believing: that Ruth was incestuous and her husband was a saint. She just wanted to be cared for, and the only one who did that was her father, and the only bridge that would connect her back to her husband after the doctor died would be a child, so she got some herbs from Pilate to get Macon in her bed again. It was short lived because Macon tries to abort Milkman in every possible way until his sister intervenes. Back in the present, Ruth goes to talk to Hagar to tell her not to kill her son unless she wanted her throat ripped out, but here Pilate also intervenes and shares her personal history to distract her from Hagar.
Chapter six reveals all about Guitar's strange and mysterious disappearances and friends he hangs around with. He tells Milkman that he is part of a secret group of African American bent on randomly picking out white people and slaughtering them; one of them for every black person killed randomly. Murdering innocence is not an issue for them because they believe that every white man is evil. Guitar is one of the seven killers, and his day is Sunday.

Magical Realism: Milkman tells Guitar that he had a dream of his mother coaxing plants to life, making them grown so big that they could engulf her entire body in leaves and petals, and she'd be laughing and having fun with her garden. The thing is that the book says that it really happened, that it was not a dream. Another instance of magical realism is when Freddie tells the story of how his mother was frightened by a ghost-bull into labor and how she died after giving birth to him. Pilate mentions that she talks to her father's ghost on a regular bases, and that she talks to other ghosts occasionally.

Theme: A theme that seems to be recurring is still one of finding out who you really are. On the night Milkman hit his father in the radiator and he went to talk to Guitar in town, everyone on the sidewalk was going in the same direction except for him going in the exact opposite way. Milkman applied this as a metaphor to his life.


Quote from Ch 3, page 61: "It's sweet, divinity is." This is said in the context to mean the candy, but then I was wondering. Did Guitar also mean that the position of being the influential person in control was sweet and satisfying?

Quote from Ch 3, page 77: "You want to be a whole man, you have to deal with the whole truth." This quote really spoke to me because a lesson that all people need to accept. You can't make really big decisions with biased information and history. All the facts have to be out on the table.

Quote from Ch 4, page 106: "He remembered that long-ago evening after he hit his father how everybody was crammed on one side of the street, going in the direction he was coming from. Nobody was was going his way." This is the theme that seems to be underlaying all of the problems that Milkman keeps facing: either everybody else is wrong, or he is.

Quote from Ch 4, page 111: "He don't talk. That don't mean he can't." I personally liked this quote because it says a lot about the human psyche and how it functions in self-defense, or how people can just assume things without evidence.

Quote from Ch 5, page 141: "People die then they want to and if they want to. Don't nobody have to die if they don't want to." In the context of this book, I think that this quote will come into play in many places. For example, it already has ground with Mr. Smith, Dr. Foster, and Macon Dead I.

Quote from Ch 5, page 149: "Finally Pilate began to take offense. Although she was hampered by huge ignorances, but not in any way unintelligent, when she realized what her situation in the world was and would probably always be she threw away every assumption she had learned and begun at zero." This quote stood out to me because it show to practicality of Pilate and it was reminiscent of her namesake. Pilate was wise and practical as he weighed what the people wanted and threw what he knew was right out the window. Pilate seems to be just as intelligent, but focused on doing what was right...for her.

Quote from Ch 6, page 157: "White people are unnatural. As a race they are unnatural. And it takes a strong effort of the will to overcome an unnatural enemy." Such malice was expressed in more or less the same exact words, except the only people I usually heard it from was from the white population. It's...surreal for me to hear the thoughts of African Americans who lived in that time. It certainly is an eye opener.

Quote from Ch 6, page 161: "It's no about living longer. It's about how you live and why. Its whether your children can make other children. It's about trying to make a world where one day while people will think before they lynch." From my perspective, I don't think murdering innocent whites would have stopped lynching. By the good example of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it seems as though the most effective strategy was through peace.

Milkman: He is now an adult who has physical relations with many women, is capable of hitting down his father, making his own money, and deciding what he wants to do with the rest of his life...which he hasn't made much progress with. He has tried unsuccessfully to be unlike his father; he's more like him than he'd like to admit. He's still bored with life because he has yet found a way to fly.
Hagar: She loves Milkman very much: She gave him her entire heart and he just threw it away after he got bored with her. Milkman used her and she wants her revenge. This is where her namesake comes into play: Abraham took Hagar to bed but was thrown out after his ninety year old wife finally bore a child.
Guitar: He cannot stand any sweets/candy because his father was sliced up and the only payment they got was candy. He feels a lack of justice in his life and because of that, he joins the Seven Days.
Ruth: Ruth is still a clueless, selfish, self-centered, protective, and gentle mother. She cares for her son because he's the only thing that keeps her connected to her husband.
Macon: As he gets older, he gives the facade that he's a man not to be trifled with, which is probably good advice to follow. Milkman does stand up to him however, and hits him, which makes him proud. He's a twisted traditionalist. He's still Dead to everything but money.
Pilate: She is still the wise old woman archetype, never in short supply of advise or a moral lesson to be told through a story. She's as feisty as a cat and she's still as witty as she was in her prime. She knows who she is and she doesn't need the material things her brother does to have a happy living.
Seven Days: A black activist-type gang of only seven people, each assigned a day to select at random a white person to kill in revenge for a black person who was killed on their day. It's a way to keep the population ratios steady and normal.

Reflective Blog for Chapters 3-6

After the ending of the third chapter, I found that I was actually hooked into reading Song of Solomon: a reaction that I was not expecting to have. I was picturing this book being written in the 70's and thus thought it would be extremely boring. It has become quite the opposite for me, even though it took me five hours to read an annotate.

I appreciate the theme of this book because I can completely relate to it. Milkman is living in the magnificent and intimidating shadow of his father, Macon Dead II, and is struggling to find his own identity. As he grows up--which he admits takes him until his early thirties to do so--the book says that he isn't embracing life, how everything in life just seems boring to him. I do not like the fact that he's doing silly, useless things to occupy his time, like keeping the job he despises, sleeping with multiple partners whilst still being "with" Hagar, and treating his family members as though they don't deserve to have their own personalities.
I was proud, however, of Milkman when he stands up to his father and knocks him down when he hits Ruth. It was unsettling to hear Macon's side of the story of Ruth's father's death and I was starting to waver sides until in the next chapter I found out that Macon basically killed her father by throwing out the medicine keeping him alive. Basically, things eventually go back to normal with Macon being the bad guy and Ruth the victim.
I was happy to see some physical magical realism in the fifth chapter when Pilate talks about her life growing up. Apparently she not only talks to her father's ghost, but others' too.
Another exciting things was when connections with the Biblical names of the characters started to click and match with their namesakes. It was heartbreaking, what happened with Hagar, and what was even more sad was that I saw it coming. When she got dumped by Milkman, I could tell she wanted revenge, but I didn't think she'd try to kill him...multiple times. I felt so sorry for her as a character. Is sucks that with a name like Hagar, the events of her Biblical namesake's history would somewhat thread itself with hers. I suppose we're to expect that with the rest of the characters.
I was again shocked to find out that the racism during that era was incredibly violent and horrible, even little children not being spared. I do not agree with the whole concept of the Seven Days because I somewhat believe in the saying "Why kill people who kill people to prove that killing people is wrong?" A question that is itching at me is that even though Guitar said he didn't like killing, he does it anyway to keep the population ratios stable. I wonder if he'll end up killing Milkman in the classic best friend-turned-evil plot, because he certainly gets enough practice?
There was revelation given by Guitar about Mr. Smith, the insurance agent, and why he jumped off the roof. He told Milkman that he had committed suicide because killing the innocent, even white innocence, became too much for him to handle. It's sad that Guitar and the rest of his race became so hard against the whites, even though they did deserve it. There was just too much inhumanity going on during that and the previous centuries.

Reflective Blog for Chapters 1-2

I started reading "Song of Solomon" a bit apprehensively because, quite frankly, I wasn't too thrilled about having to read magical realism. I'm still not quite appeased with this genre, but I'm not completely turned away from this particular book. It was exciting to hear of a man whose only purpose in life was to collect money from people who couldn't pay, shed away that life and reach for higher things...literally. I was quite shocked when Mr. Smith jumped off the hospital building with FAKE wings because I was so excited to see the magic aspect come into play, but alas, it was a letdown to see that the man's wings were not real and that he fell to his death. It was quite depressing.
Things seemed to stay monetary with a dreary tone: a family had to suffer both physical and verbal abuse from a husband and father, the town's excitement came by way of juicy gossip... It was quite frustrating because it took me two whole hours to read two chapters of the same tone.
UNTIL I found out that the mother, Ruth Dead, was breast feeding her son well past infancy. I had to wonder if this woman was right in her head. I thought that the nickname "Milkman" was quite harsh because it wasn't his fault that his mother was seeking solace in something she thought she had control over: her baby boy growing up.
Another random thing that peeved me was that one of the daughters of Macon Dead Jr. is named Magdalene, and is introduced, literally, as "Magdalene called Lena." This retarded thing is that they actually NEVER call her Lena.
Back to the actual events: I think that the overall character of Macon Jr. is that of a pig. I mean, his wife sets out new flowers on the table, and all he does is criticize her food. He bans their kids from seeing a sister without a plausible reason, he won't give a break to an old woman who is forced to take care of her daughter's kids and can't make the rent, and then he would let a man kill himself just as long as he got his money. It's infuriating.
What I don't understand is why is Pilate such a threat to Macon? He calls her unkempt and inappropriate when, in reality, she never drinks the wine she sells, and though she is unkempt, is a fairly clean woman.
Another thing I question is whether or not the man with wings (Mr. Robert Smith) is a catalyst? I mean, there has got to be a greater purpose for this man other than coincidently jumping off the roof of the same hospital that Milkman is born in. Is he going to show up again in the story as a ghost, like Pilate and Macon's father? I think perhaps he might.
There has been no reference to the title yet, and it's starting to annoy me. I don't even know what the book is about and the title is just adding to the mystery.

Active Blog for Chapters 1-2

Plot Summary: Chapter one opens up the story immediately with a scene of magical realism. On Wednesday, February 18, 1931, an insurance agent named Robert Smith jumps off of Mercy Hospital with large blue silk wings attached to his body and plummets to his death. Witnessing his passionate leap, a pregnant African American woman is told that her baby will be born the next morning by her sister-in-law, Pilate (wise-old woman archetype). There is a sense of profound fluidity of coincidences because Mr. Smith's insurance office is located on Not Doctors Street, known for the only African American doctor, Dr. Foster, who once lived there. The hospital that Mr. Smith jumps off of is known as No Mercy Hospital because until Ruth Foster Dead was admitted to give birth, they did not allow in African American patients. Consequently, Ruth is Dr. Foster's daughter. The next day, as prophesied by the old woman, Ruth gives birth to a son who is named Macon Dead III. At the age of four, little Macon discovers that, like Mr. Smith, man cannot fly and thus becomes explicitly depressed and dull. It is revealed that Dead house is more of a prison than an actual house because Macon Jr. is an extremely violent father and husband. The only two things that get Ruth through the day are to polish an irremovable water stain on their dinner table, and to breast feed Macon, long after his infancy. A nosy neighbor dubs him with a new name that sticks despite his father refusing to acknowledge it, and that name is "Milkman." The second chapter takes place in the same place, however, it is four through eight years later, the majority of the time being when Milkman is twelve years old. It is then when he and his best friend, Guitar, who is five years older, decide to go see his aunt Pilate who he is forbidden to see. There is a strong brother-sister archetype with Macon Jr. and Pilate. At Pilate's house, they meet her daughter, Reba, and her daughter, Hagar, whom Milkman instantly falls in love with. Freddie-the-nosy-neighbor tattles on Milkman and gets him in trouble with his dad-which surprisingly leads to a beginning of sorts with Macon and his son (father-son archetype). His father ends up telling him his life's story and motives, which gives Milkman a peek into his father's life he'd never had before.

Magical realism isn't as easily identifiable here: the only thing that sticks out is that Mr. Smith has wings--except that they're fake. Another thing is that Pilate says that when she and Macon Jr. were lost in a forest near their farm when they saw the ghost of their father, Macon Dead I. Pilate's daughter Reba is evidence of magical realism because she wins every contest she ever entered.

A theme that seems to be reoccurring is one of identity. Milkman loses part of his when he discovers he can't fly, and starts to find it when he learns his history from his classmates, neighbors, relatives, and his father. Milkman also seems to get most of his affirmation from his friend Guitar (only likes his name when Guitar likes it). This could hint to a theme of having to self discover who you are.

Ch 1 Quote from page 5: "In any case, whether or not the little insurance agent's conviction that he could fly contributed to the place of her delivery, it certainly contributed to its time." Because of man who had jumped off the roof of a community hospital, they admitted their first ever African-American into the wards to give birth instead of having her baby on the steps. Does this hint to Mr. Smith being a catalyst because it brought on the timing of the woman giving birth? I think perhaps it might.

Quote from ch1, page 9: "To have to live without that sing gift saddened him and left his imagination so bereft that he appeared dull even to the women who did not hate his mother." It seems as though flying is really part of who Milkman is as a person if it had this effect on him, to leave him without imagination and a purpose in life.

Quote from ch 2, page 35: "It was becoming a habit—this concentration on things behind him. Almost as though there were no future to be had." Another indication that his past indicates who he is...maybe like, through his ancestors.

Quote from ch 2, page 43: "...Milkman had no need to see her face; he had already fallen in love with her behind." This quote may show that he is fickle as a character, or maybe this is true love...

Macon "Milkman" Dead III- He is the main protagonist of the story who is struggling with his identity.

Macon Dead II- He is the father of Milkman. He is a very motivated person who's main purpose in life seems to be acquiring money.

Ruth Foster Dead- She is the wife of Macon II and the mother of Milkman. She breast feeds Milkman until his feet nearly touches the floor while holding him, earning the boy his fairly appropriate nickname.

Pilate Dead- She is the sister to Macon Jr. and is a bootlegger that the town wholly disapproves of. She's off limits from the Dead family because her brother refuses to make amends. Name comes from the Bible, which she cut out of the Holy book, stuck in a brass box, and made into an earring. She has no husband.

Rebecca "Reba" Dead- She is the daughter of Pilate and mother of Hagar. She is extremely lucky because she wins every contest she enters. She is very fickle because she usually gives away her earnings.

Hagar Dead- The daughter of Reba is sixteen in the second chapter and forms a bond (unknowingly to her) with Milkman.

Guitar Bains- He is introduced in chapter one to be a very intelligent young man who knows how to phonetically spell "admissions." He and his family seem to have migrated from the south to the north because he is just learning how to speak without as much reserve to white people. Later in chapter two, he is a young man who seems to still have that intelligence.