Song of Solomon

What was most interesting to me about the second half of the novel, Song of Solomon, was that many of the things that I had assumed that would be answered were not. Instead, we were taken on a journey for gold, but the gold which we assumed to be in search of, turned out to be in the form of a family.

Frankly, in the first half of the novel, I was not impressed or even intrigued by the character, Milkman. The story clearly centered on him, but to me his family was far more interesting and complex. His aunt, Pilate, was a character that I truly adored and held in the highest regard. She was a woman with many respectful values and a woman that I really admired. His mother and father, while incredibly disturbing, were still very fascinating and left me wanting to know more about their lives and the lives of their two daughters. Even Hagar, Milkman’s “woman”, was far more interesting than he. Obviously, I was taken and curious about the story based upon the lives of those which I mentioned, but in the second half, I was surprised to be fascinated by a new character, the character named Milkman.

In the first half of the novel, we were introduced to Milkman and noticed an extremely spoiled and self centered man who cared only for that which he desired. His character portrayed a man who was completely dependent on the life which his father built and did as he pleased. His character had never ventured out of the town which he was born and merely lead a life which had been created for him by his own family. Milkman was someone that never had to work for anything; all was handed to him on a platter. People admired him for his last name; “Dead” and he seemed to be content with his fair existence. We did not see any sign of motivation from him, until the idea of gold was mentioned; even then he was dependent on his friend Guitar for the capture and prize of the loot. When that planned failed, Milkman decided that he would capture the gold on his own and as a grown man; I believe that this was the first time that he ever attempted anything on his own.

His attempt to capture and obtain golf was unsuccessful, but what I saw as a reader was a character that had little emotion and very little regard with anyone besides himself, become a man who discovered his past and it seemed that fulfilled him in a way that money never could have. Milkman stumbled upon persons that knew of his great grandfather and great grandmother, people who had stories to tell about the character of his ancestors. He realized the truth about the murder of his grandfather and the “man” in the cave. These people also mentioned the great things that Milkman’s