Milkman: The Antithesis of Macon Dead II
Up to where we are in the novel
right now, I viewed Milkman as the object of the struggle between his mother
and his father and I believed that Milkman was the complete opposite of
everything his father was. Milkman seemed to empathize a little more with his
renters’ struggles than the cold hearted manner his father dealt with them.
Milkman also seemed to put little emphasis on the business, therefore
eliminating the chance of obtaining his father’s snobbish manner, and made
friends and interacted with people, such as Guitar and Pilate, that his father
never would. Lastly, he hit his father for hitting his mother, which
demonstrated to me Milkman’s want to be ideologically different from his
father. However, in Chapter 6 during his discussion with Guitar, Milkman stated:
“He wondered what they would do if
they didn’t have black and white problems to talk about. Who would they be if
they couldn’t describe the insults, violence, and oppression that their lives
(and the television news) were made up of? […] They excused themselves for
everything. Every job of work undone, every bill unpaid, every death was The
Man’s fault. And Guitar was becoming just like them -except he made no excuses
for himself -just agreed, it seemed to Milkman, with every grievance he heard.”
(107-108).
It was at this moment that I
realized this rhetoric was something that I imagined coming out of Macon Dead
II mouth, totally blowing away the illusion I had of Milkman as being more
accepting and understanding of a “lower class.” I started to see Milkman as
more of an unaware elitist, which is the most dangerous type as they tend to
morally justify themselves, which is exactly what Milkman does as Milkman
believes that Guitar associating with him raises Guitar above the scum who
can’t take responsibility for their lives. I was shocked that Milkman had this
extremely unforgiving attitude about poverty and no concern about race, almost
to the point it felt as if he were railing against his own race.
Looking back, due to his
circumstances growing up, Milkman transformed into a worse version of his
father. His father was driven by a want to no longer be a nobody and mold his
family into a picture perfect one, while Milkman born into wealth naturally
attains elitist ideas and exercises them so fluidly no one makes fun of him as
they made fun of his father. Milkman is old money, not the noveau riche
unsophisticated man his father was and therefore Milkman, wielding his persona,
is quite good at hiding that elitist ideology. What do you think?
Reading this post I was reminded of the "Wheel of Respectability" illustrated by Mr. Leff. Basically, the wheel splits society into 4 different categories of people, but only two are relevant to this post.
ReplyDelete1)The respectable, conscientious elite who wishes to do well with their money (frequently donating money to charity and other causes that will advance society.)
2) The scum, money-hungry elite who only seeks to keep/increase the status and wealth
It seems like at first, you thought that milkman would end up like the first group, wanting to be different from his father and helpful to society. Instead, it seems like he follows the same route as his father. In fact, his route is even darker. Since he's never known the life of a poor person, he feels ABSOLUTELY no remorse towards them, almost like a worse version of the second person listed above.
This is a really compelling argument. I think your point about the apple falling close to the tree is applicable to Milkman's siblings as well-- Lena and First Corinthians sacrifice almost all they have for the men in their lives and grow into very subdued and confined women as a result of it, not unlike the dynamics between their parents. If Milkman becomes Macon, Lena and First Corinthians become Ruth.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your analysis of Milkman, and I think that Lena is aware of this dynamic and points it out to Milkman in her rant at the end of part 1. Whether he actually does anything to change his behavior is yet to be seen. The whole quest idea of part 2 makes me want to believe that he will change, but on the other hand, when Milkman slaps Macon, Macon changes nothing in his behavior towards Ruth. I hope that Milkman will amend the relationships with the people in his life, but I think that he will not be able to fully change his ways.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on how Milkman is not only like his father, but worse than him. Macon II's ambition's come from his love for his father. He was proud of his father and his successfulness and wanted to be like him and have a "perfect family". Milkman, on the other hand, doesn't seem to care about his father or is proud of him, and he wants to be nothing like him. Milkman still ends up being like his father, despite his efforts.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to milkman's personality and morality changing he views his father differently. In the end he has a greater appreciation for his dad and doesn't judge him as he would at the beginning. His dad even remarks he should visit shalimar one day. This seems consistent with Milkman taking on some traits of his father.
ReplyDeleteGreat analysis! I felt this way too, especially after I realized that Milkman didn't understand the racial issues going on around him. (He basically said he didn't care much for Truman compared to FDR, even though Truman had done more for African Americans.)
ReplyDeleteI think it's especially interesting how this happens after Milkman tries so hard to distance himself from his father's image. He is different, in a way - like you said, he's the "unaware elitist", who places himself above everyone else because he's always seen the world that way, although he himself has no idea why. His father had a goal, but Milkman is aimless and comfortable.
(Of course, this all changes by the end of the book, but I won't go into that.)
I totally agree, Milkman really did seem more understanding especially because Guitar is his best friend and he crosses social boundaries in that way. I also felt really shocked when I read what Milkman thought of race issues, and for me, too, it was like a punch to the gut to read how he cared so so so little. He seems to be completely ignorant to how blessed he is (a point Lena brings up) and focuses mostly on the "boo hoo poor me" aspect of his life.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think it is sad that these two men would end up as such bad people. I think Macon more then Milkman had the chance to become a good person. Coming from very humble roots he was able to go to the top of black society. I think it is sad that greed got the best of him.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the struggle between Ruth and Macon Jr over claiming Milkman can be seen in Milkman's name. Milkman is born Macon Dead III, after his father which is Macon Jr's way of trying to claim him. However, later Macon III is renamed Milkman, a name with clear connections to his mother.
ReplyDelete