Milkman's Journey Analysis

Justin Choi
11.04.05

Song of Solomon – Milkman's Trip to the South

In Song of Solomon, Morrison spends the entirety of Part I to establish the status quo, only to overturn it through Milkman's epiphany. Morrison describes the lack of emotions in the Dead family and Milkman's lack of spiritual growth, and goes on to introduce recurring symbols such as that of flight as a means of escape, song, and gold. In incorporating these elements and showing how they relate to Milkman's journey in the second part, Morrison establishes the classic example of a bildungsroman. The term, originally from Germany, translates to "novel of formation," an effective way of describing Milkman's story. In sending Milkman to the South, Morrison not only
In this sense, Chapter 11 marks an essential series of events that trigger Milkman's maturation. Down South, Milkman is completely exposed—Macon Jr. is not there as a safety net in case something goes wrong. As the bar fight exemplifies, the power and control Macon Jr. wields is not present with Milkman. For the first time, Macon Jr.'s influence does not precede Milkman. And thus, the Southerners are eager to pick a fight with Milkman. Suddenly finding his rich upbringing to be a handicap, Milkman must strip himself of the self-praise and self-pity that were integral components of his childhood. By joining the hunt and changing out of his expensive clothes, Milkman marks his transformation into an adult. He finally casts off his rich upbringing of the
During the hunt, Milkman begins to ruminate about the previous day and how he "deserved" to be treated better than the way the blacks treated him in the bar. However, he soon came to realize that though the others' hostility was mostly unwarranted, he did not deserve to be loved by everyone either. Milkman finally realizes that all the love he received, he took for granted. Though his lack of appreciation is evident to any reader, Milkman lacks the maturity to recognize his egotistical nature until this point in the book. Recalling his insensitivity to Hagar, Milkman ultimately comes to the conclusion that "if a stranger could try to kill him, surely Hagar, who knew him and whom he'd thrown away like a wad of chewing gum after the flavor was gone—she had a right to try to kill him too" (280). The extreme connection Milkman draws between Hagar and a mere piece of gum shows the extent to which Milkman feels guilt about his past actions. Interrupting Milkman's breakthrough, Guitar suddenly appears and tries to strangle Milkman from behind. Near death, he "saw a burst of many-colored lights dancing before his eyes. When the music followed the colored lights, he knew he had just drawn the last sweet air left for him in the world" (283). Guitar's attempt at murder results in the death of the old Milkman and his reincarnation as a new being, no