Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Song of Solomon
The last three sentences of chapter 12 are very significant: "He was grinning. His eyes were shining. He was as eager and happy as he had ever been in his life". Milkman seems to finally know what he is looking for: the story of his family's past. Milkman has recently changed how he views his mother, father, Pilate and Hagar, and his life in general, and seems to be considering things from a different perspective than ever before. Do you think that this change in Milkman's thinking caused him to realize what he is looking for? Did he always know that he was searching for his family history or was it covered up by his desire for the gold? Did he ever really want the gold?
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i don't think that Milkman always knew that he was searching for his family history. Subconsciously that was all he ever wanted but he spent so much of his life trying to be different than his father that he has had no time to evaluate himself. Because of this he became fascinated by the gold. Milkman never realized that the gold was so tied in with his family history that he would eventually learn about it. so maybe his subconscious wanted the gold because he would find out about himself, but he never recognized that until now.
ReplyDeleteI dont think Milkman knew what he was looking for until he came to the south. I also don't think he knew he was searching for his families history because he didn't ever really seem to care about his family. He never wanted to be like his father and didn't ever care about his mother or sister, so there is no reason why he would be concerned about where his family came from. I don't think he ever really wanted the gold for the money; he just wanted it as a way to escape his family. I think as he went on the journey for the gold he realized that he didn't care about the gold and that he was very interested in finding out about his families history. I think as he figures out his family history it will make him rethink what he wants and the way that he acts towards his family.
ReplyDeletebelieve that Milkman did not always know what he was looking for and I do think that it is the journey for the gold that made him realize that learning about his family’s history was important to him. I also think that Milkman did want the gold but after running into people who knew about his family past he realized that he wanted answers about his family instead of the gold. I also think that the searching for gold was away for him to escape his family and for the first time be on his own.
ReplyDeleteI think he wanted the gold but on his journey to find it he realized that he needed to find out about his origins and that that was more important to him than the gold. I think he realized that the gold was less important than his family when he nearly was murdered by his best friend. He realized that the gold wasn't worth killing for and that he wanted to understand why his family was acting the way it was, why, according to him, they were all crazy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Wallace's idea that subconsciously he always wanted and needed to find out about his family's history and that is why he was driven to find the gold. Since the gold was connected with Macon and Pilate's past, it was inevitable that he would be able to get to it without learning about his family history. His change in perspective and outlook on life however was due to the fact that he was finally able to talk about things that had occurred in his life, or that he was burdened with by other members of his family. The people that he encountered on his way to get the gold were those outlets of information for him that showed him a new way to look at his life. They showed him how they appreciated his family history and that is what I believe made him begin to appreciate it too.
ReplyDeleteI dont think he ever wanted the gold, he justed wanted to find out about his past. Maybe he didnt also know that he wanted to know his familys history, but once he starts finding things out, Milkman wants to know more. At this point in the book, I feel Milkman is very happy now that he realizes what his past is and I think this is the first time I see Milkman is truly happy.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Milkman knew he wanted his history, but he certainly did not truly want the gold. Milkman finding his family history just came along with the journey to find his gold. Milkman was never really searching for happiness in my opinion. Like Jillian said, the gold was just a connection to his family's past, not only a figure of instant prosperity. Milkman could finally open up to everything that had occurred in his family's history. I feel as though there was always a void or something missing in Milkman's life. Milkman thought that this void could be filled with finding the gold, but really, it was filled by finding his family history.
ReplyDeleteI think that although his journey south was originally driven by the gold, the journey itself and the knowledge he discovered ended up being far more valuable than the gold ever could have been. I think Milkman is simply looking for a sense of happiness and belonging, which he thought the gold provide. However, his journey has provided him exactly this. He is happy, and has discovered a community of people tied to his own past and the past of his people. In the same way that he would have run home with the gold, to share with his family, we see that Milkmann chooses to return home to tell everyone the story that provided him with what he needed.
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