In Chapter 5 the "fried egg" conversation between Milkman and Guitar (pgs.115-116) reminded me of when Pilate in Chapter 2 talked about how to make a perfect soft-boiled egg (pgs. 39-40). Do you think that the eggs symbolize something or is it a coincidence?
I definitely think that the egg means something in this story. Because, why else would Morrison put that image back in the story. Maybe it has do with the reoccurring themes of: unnatural birth for humans such as Pilate's lack of naval, the idea of flight and birds associated with Milkman, or the theme of gestation how Milkman's rearing was very peculiar. Every passage about the egg is when we learn a deep character story that is key for the plot of the novel. I think that we should always be extra perceptive everything the imagery of an egg comes into the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Arnav that the egg means something important in the story. Morrison wouldn't bring up an egg again if it wasn't an important theme/symbol or part of the story. I am unsure about what it exactly represents but I have a feeling that if he brought up the egg again, there must be some significance.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ryan and Arnav. I think the eggs defiantly are a symbol in the story. In the conversation between Guitar and Milkman they talk about how Milkman will never be a white egg. In this instance the egg could be a symbol for race. Guitar says there are many different kinds of eggs but the white eggs are usually used the most. The egg could also symbolize how fragile the characters are and how easy it would be for them to crack.
ReplyDeleteI think the the two eggs symbolize Pilate and Macon. The boiled egg symbolizes Pilate because a boiled egg is harder to break from the inside. Also, as Pilate mentioned that yolk (which I think represent her heart) is soft, meaning that Pilate is a nice person. In Chapter 5, Milman mentions the brown eggs. Guitar thinks that eggs in general represent white people. Macon II has the character of a white man (great business skill) and yet he is still African American.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of you that the eggs represent something important in the story. I think the eggs represent the "perfect life of the whites" which all the blacks are looking for. When Milkman and Guitar talk Guitar tells him that nobody eats black eggs. Meaning that none of the black people can compare with the whites. Guitar also says:"Negroe´s been a lotta things, but he ain´t never been no egg.Nature says no. No you can´t be no egg, nigger." The eggs are white no "nigger" can be white.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Merritt. I think that the eggs are clearly a symbol for race in this context. While everyone seems to be accepting of and willing to eat the white eggs, nobody ever sees anyone eating a "black egg", or in this case a brown egg. I personally didn't read too much into this theme or idea, however, just because it seemed like just another one of Morrison's many metaphors for race throughout the novel thus far. She compares it to many things, eggs among those things, and each time the scenario is always the same: people are hesitant towards the non-white thing which she refers to at the time.
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