The first phase of Milkman's life is largely influenced by Ruth. Considering his youth, the narrative of Song of Solomon doesn't follow his thoughts in earlier sections, but readers can still observe their close relationship and what it creates for his character. Specifically, right from when Freddie utters "A milkman. That's what you got here, Miss Rufie", Milkman's literal name and identity are altered from his breastfeeding activities with Ruth (15). Even though her actions have little to no influence on his thinking or mindset, they begin Milkman's sense of self and give him the groundwork for a personality.
Milkman's adolescence to early adulthood is guided by Pilate and Macon's influences simultaneously. Macon rules the house life rather aggressively, while Pilate's world is the downtime of Milkman's life. A description right before they first enter Pilate's house illustrates their separate yet coinciding influences on Milkman.
All those unbelievable but entirely possible stories about his father's sister - the woman his father had forbidden him to go near - had both of them spellbound. Neither wished to live one more day without finding out the truth, and they believed they were the legitimate and natural ones to do so. (36)
Milkman's absolute fascination with Pilate along with the mention of his father's control over his life show their combined impact on his world. Ruth is distant from Milkman at this point since he has been weaned from her early mother-child relationship, and Macon dominates the household as the loud and aggressive bread-winner. Whenever Milkman is absent from his company, Pilate's world of familial love, familial intrigue ( from the unbelievable stories of his relative), and Hagar takes up his time. Macon and Pilate are forces in Milkman's life that add both discipline and leisure, and balance his agenda between a free-spirit and a man deeply entrenched in society.
In this line of thinking, Part II can be seen as a departure, or final stage in becoming his own person. He is isolated from these]adult figures for the majority of his journey, and he meets an entirely new cast of characters, whether alive, dead, mythologized, or any combination of the three. However, Ruth, Macon, and Pilate created the man that set on the quest by telling him each their own accounts of the same stories, thereby changing his perspectives on his identity.
This is all super true, and plays into the idea of Milkman's sense of individuality really well. In part two, he undeniably comes of age, even if it's in the last like, 5 pages. However, I think there's still a sense of familial bounds. He is away from his direct influences and the weight they hold in his life for the first time, and Milkman becomes incredibly reflective during this time. Even so, he's still on a quest pushed by his family history, and the force that has in his life. When he discovers he is descended from flying people, he becomes overjoyed. You're 100% true in all of your thinking, and I think it's interesting how, even when away from his family, Milkman isn't REALLY away from his family, in any way. I think it's arguable that there's a sense of claustrophobia even in some of his most free times.
ReplyDeleteYou're right that Ruth's direct influence fades, and the central conflict over Milkman's identity takes place more between the paternal Macon and the quasi-maternal Pilate (just as the whole familial-identity issue concerns the Dead family more than the Foster family). But his name is a crucial tie back to his mother, as you note--and he carries this name with him right through the end of the novel. We learn early that Macon is vaguely uneasy about the nickname, and it must irk him every time he hears someone else use it (note that Lena, Ruth, and Macon II all call him "Macon"). It becomes one more of those superficial but significant ways he tries to distance himself from his father (like the mustache, hair part, etc.), even if he didn't choose it. At the same time, the name undermines any sense of his independence, casting him forever as a kind of "mama's boy," no matter how inapt that designation actually is for him.
ReplyDeleteThis is certainly a large topic to pursue in something like a blog post, but you do a good job outlining the major ideas that come into play. The three pivotal characters in Milkman's life all play significant roles in his life, and it is their unique influences that define how Milkman develops as the main character. You focus primarily on how Macon and Pilate interact with Milkman, and how these interactions shape Milkman in different ways. I think it is also important, however, to mention Ruth's influence in Milkman's later life too. Milkman has to evaluate very different claims from his mother and father in part one of the book, and the way in which he switches back and forth between the two positions exhibit is ever changing character in this part of the book.
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ReplyDeleteMehul is right, I think a key part is how Milkman is forced to deal with two sides of a story. Both parents are trying to control him. Macon wants to do so because he likes "owning things". Ruth hangs on to Milkman too long because he is the only thing she has left, and Milkman sort of represents Ruth's only rebellion against Macon.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good analysis on the shaping of Milkman's character in Part I. In Part II, he goes on the journey mainly because of his father. His father tells him to get this gold and Milkman obeys so that he can create an independence from his father. It is interesting how his ties to his family help him throughout his trip. Being Macon Dead's son, he got very special treatment in the first town he went to. Milkman has always seemed to enjoy the privileges of his family name. However, in Part II, he is not physically with his family, allowing for growth of his character.
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