What does the white bull symbolize in Song of Solomon?
A white bull causes Freddie’s mother to go into labor and die. The bull’s interference with Freddie’s birth represents white people’s devastating interference with the African-American world.
What does milkman help someone with at the end of Chapter 10?
Under the pretense of wanting to find and bury his grandfather’s bones, Milkman procures directions to the cave (called Hunter’s Cave) from Circe. He offers to help Circe leave the Butlers’ rotting mansion, which she occupies alone with a pack of weimaraner dogs.
What does gold represent in Song of Solomon?
Gold. The symbol of gold represents the false lure of wealth that is in some ways the antithesis of the land, community, and personal identity. Morrison uses the desire for capitalistic wealth as a catalyst for the novel’s plot. In an effort to get gold, Milkman and Guitar steal Pilate’s sack.
What do flowers symbolize in Song of Solomon?
In Toni Morrison’s novel, Song of Solomon, the theme of flowers is significant for the female characters. In the novel, these characteristics of flowers are used to identify gender norms for women because flowers represent femininity
What does the peacock mean in Song of Solomon?
The peacock symbolizes that greed can overcome people with evil and irrational thoughts. In this case it corrupts Milkman and Guitar into thinking about what they could do with the gold if they were to steal it from Pilate.
What is Milkman’s dream?
During one of their conversations, Milkman tells Guitar about a dream in which he sees his mother planting flower bulbs in their backyard. The flower bulbs, Milkman says, grow instantaneously, almost choking his mother. Although Milkman says that the vision was a dream, he knows that it was reality.
What does Hagar represent in Song of Solomon?
Hagar. Like her biblical namesakea servant who, after bearing Abraham’s son is thrown out of the house by his barren wife, SarahHagar is used and abandoned. Her plight demonstrates a central theme in Song of Solomon: the inevitable abandonment of women who love men too much
What does singing symbolize in Song of Solomon?
In Song of Solomon, singing is a means of maintaining a link to a forgotten family history. In a community where most of the past generations were illiterate, songs rather than history books tell the story of the past. Songs record details about Milkman’s heritage and cause Milkman to research his family history.
What does milkman learn at the end of the novel?
Milkman learns how to ride the air by surrendering to it, by letting it take control. By ending the novel here, all we know is that Milkman flies away, and thus the myth of Solomon’s Leap is perpetuated.
What does milkman give to nephew?
The man gives him a coke, which Milkman wolfs down, and drops him off near the bus depot. Milkman tries to pay him for the ride and the coke, but the man is extremely offended and tells Milkman his name is Fred Garnett and that he can afford to give a stranger a ride and a coke every now and then.
What happened to milkman at the end of Song of Solomon?
In place of a gravestone, Pilate leaves her snuff-box earring containing her name. Just as the burial rites are completed, Pilate collapses into Milkman’s arms, shot by a bullet that Guitar intended for Milkman
What does milkman give Hagar for Christmas along with a letter?
Milkman decides to write Hagar a farewell note rather than face her in person. Rather than buy her a gift, he decides to give her money, which he encloses in an envelope along with the note.
Why does Guitar want the gold in Song of Solomon?
Gold Symbol Analysis. After growing tired of Hagar, he wants to escape their relationship, and in large part, he wants Pilate’s gold so that he can escape his town and his economic dependence on his father and travel elsewhere.
Where is the gold in Song of Solomon?
the cave
Why does Guitar want the gold?
Later, when Milkman realizes that Guitar has agreed to steal the gold because he wants to use it to support the vigilante activities of the Seven Days, he becomes uneasy but feels he has gone too far to back out now.
What does milkman want to buy with the gold?
Milkman puts his skepticism aside, because he hasn’t seen Guitar so happy and so playful in a really long time. Guitar begins to talk about all the things he would buy with his share of the gold: brass beds, good meals, a marker for his father’s grave, presents for his nieces and nephews.
What do the rose petals represent in Song of Solomon?
First Corinthians and Lena makes artificial rose petals in the beginning of the book. They represent the oppression of women, even those in the upper class. They also represent the lack of real love in the Dead household. They are artificial, hence they represent the false enjoyment the girls get from making them.
What is the significance of the ginger smell in Song of Solomon?
In Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, the pungent scent of ginger has a mysteriously strong, mood-altering power, which causes characters to fall to a dream-like state of mind and is present during characters’ defining moments.
What do the dogs symbolize in Song of Solomon?
The Weimaraner Dogs/The Hunting Party They are Circe’s revenge, destroying the wealth and property that the Butlers killed for. The fact that Weimaraners are hunters by nature resonates with the hunt that takes place in Shalimar.
What does Circe represent in Song of Solomon?
Circe. A maid and midwife who worked for the wealthy Butler family. Just as Homer’s Circe helps Odysseus find his way back to Ithaca, Morrison’s Circe provides crucial information that reconnects Milkman with his family history. In this way, Morrison’s Circe connects Milkman’s past and future.
What does the White Peacock prompt guitar to say about the ability to fly?
The peacock, with its heavy tail that hinders its ability to fly, symbolizes Milkman’s inability to fly.
What does milkman’s initial reaction to the Peacock suggest about his character?
What does Milkman’s initial reaction to the peacock suggest about his character? (p. 178). This sentence recalls the fact that Milkman has waking dreams because he is passive and unable to make a choice in difficult circumstances
What is Milkman’s dream in Chapter 12?
Milkman returns to Sweet’s home, where he spends the night with her. He dreams about flying, and feels invincible
What is Milkman’s goal in Song of Solomon?
Milkman’s journey, at first a greedy search for hidden treasure, becomes a meaningful quest for self-understanding. Although Milkman claims that gold is the ultimate goal of his journey, his motives for the gold are less convincing than his desire to seek out his family history.
Why does Hagar love milkman?
Milkman considers Hagar the third beer because now in their relationship Milkman only stayed with Hagar and made love to her because she was there. Milkman no longer had any feelings or desire to pursue Hagar, only remaining with her for their sexual relationship.
