Gold as a Mirror Reflecting Personality
The beginning of the Song of Solomon focuses on Milkman’s ordinary life, but the ordinary turns extraordinary when Macon first mentions the gold which quickly becomes the focus of the latter half of the book. I think it’s really interesting to look at different characters’ reactions to the gold. Through the way they treat the gold, we can learn a lot about their true personalities.
Macon: The way Macon treats the gold clearly reflects his personality. Throughout the book, Macon has been obsessed with showing off his wealth and protecting it, at any cost. He is separated from his family because he puts money over people. He doesn’t hesitate to order his son to break into his sister’s house. He feels a need to get the money that he thinks is rightfully his, a need greater than concern for his son’s safety doing this illegal task or his sister’s property and happiness (Morrison 172).
Pilate: As an adult, Pilate never tells us her feelings about the gold, but that in itself indicates how little she cares about it. As a child, we are told that she wanted to leave the gold where it was in order to not endanger herself and Macon by carrying it around (Morrison 171). This shows a worldview opposite of Macon’s, she puts people before money and materialistic things. This is still true as an adult as we can see that she’s willing to give whatever little money she has to Hagar in the hopes of making her granddaughter happy (Morrison 310). Additionally, Pilate’s lack of reaction to the gold indicates that she is content with things as they are. Unlike the other characters, who see gold as a way to fulfill their greatest desires, Pilate does not long for a different life. She is always calm and logical and makes the best of what she has.
Guitar: For Guitar, the gold reveals the extent to which the Seven Days has taken over his life. His devotion to the organization becomes so immense that he loses track of what it’s about and what he believes. He is willing to kill Milkman because he needs the gold to carry out his duties as a Day, harming the ratio by killing Milkman in order to preserve it (Morrison 295). Ever since Milkman heard about the Seven Days, he was concerned about how far Guitar could go. Although his fear that “You can off anybody you don’t like. You can off me.” seems a bit far-fetched at the time given Guitar’s rational explanations of his actions, Milkman ends up being right (Morrison 161). Guitar’s personality has always been a bit of a mystery and Milkman has been wondering what he is capable of. The gold brings out Guitar’s worst, showing both his extreme dedication to the Seven Days, and also how it has taken him so far apart from Milkman and people in general, to the point where he can so easily kill.
Milkman: For Milkman, the gold is a symbol of his relationship to his past. He focuses on using it to escape the influence and command of his family, but has no real specific plans of what he would use it for beyond the idea of this outcome that he wants. He tries to control and conquer the gold, almost as though with it he could control and conquer the complicated family history that has been weighing him down his whole life. However, as he goes on his quest to find the gold, his attitude changes. He no longer wants the gold itself, but instead focuses on the knowledge about what happened to it and along with it about what happened to his family in general. The gold becomes an excuse that allows him to allow himself to search for his roots.
Overall, I think that different reactions to the gold show the similarities and differences between the characters and clarify what drives their actions in life.
This is a very powerful analyzation. It will be interesting to see what happens/happened to the gold in the coming chapters, and whether Milkman is able to find it. I think the latter parts of the book will add some interesting layers to your ideas, in terms of who finds and what it means for the characters. Another thing I wanted to mention was that Pilate was not too angry about Milkman and Guitar attempting to steal the gold. She gets them out of the situation, but reacts relatively little to a robbery attempt on the gold.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't considered the gold as symbolism, only as literal money. This makes a lot of sense, actually. Now that we know that the gold is actually never found, it's a lot more apparent how it affects each character, but now I wonder what would happen had it been found.
ReplyDeleteGoing a little bit of a tangent here, but it's interesting how, except for Pilate who (like you mention) puts her and Macon's safety before gold, everyone in the book who are involved with the search for gold are men, and this is not a coincidence as Macon and Milkman intentionally keep the information about gold away from Ruth and Corinthians (and probably Reba). Perhaps this indicates a dynamic in the community being portrayed in the book where women are excluded from men's search for new opportunities, while they simultaneously choose to focus on the well-being of their family membrane rather than their own good.
ReplyDeleteI think your analysis of Pilate is really accurate. She's the total opposite of Macon, who uses his family to benefit his status and wealth. She uses the status and wealth she has to benefit her family. I thought it was really interesting how quickly Pilate gave Hagar the money without even thinking about it. It means very little to her, but her granddaughter's happiness means everything. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThis approach really fits with the mythic/fairy-tale aspects of part 2 especially: as I mentioned in class, it seems like a relic from an earlier age, to have a "quest for a hidden sack of gold" at the heart of a twentieth-century postmodern novel. The idea of gold (or treasure) as a kind of "personality test" in fables is long established--we learn a lot about these characters by how they react to the *idea* of gold.
ReplyDeleteWonderful job Maya! I never made this connection when I was reading the book, but it is a very insightful observation and I agree with your analysis. I thought your analysis of Pilate was the most interesting. It is evident throughout the novel that she is an extremely caring character, and she is never shown to be drawn towards any monetary goods. Instead, she is a fierce protector of those around her, and it makes sense that she would care less about the gold and more about Macon, which is proven at the police station.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post! You described each character's personality really well using their reaction to the gold. For Milkman, it's cool to see how his perspective of the gold changes. Initially, he wants the gold for no specific reason, but searches for it thinking it will bring him freedom and escape from his life at home. However, at the end of the novel, the gold doesn't matter to him anymore. His journey searching for the gold is what began his development as a character.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post. It makes me appreciate Morrison's writing even more because something that never even shows up tangibly in the story has so much impact and reveals a lot about each character in a subtle and natural way. Milkman's purpose for finding the gold changes to listening to his father, to cutting ties. Even though the gold is never found, it was able to help Milkman develop.
ReplyDeleteI really like this analysis! Your comment about Pilate not wanting the gold because she's already content reminds me of Milkman's realization about her, that "without ever leaving the ground, she could fly." Whereas pretty much all the characters around her are propelled by some an intense external motivation, she seems to find freedom and purpose while remaining rooted.
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