Song of Solomon meeting #3

A. Do you like the book? Why or why not?
So far I like the book. I think it's really interesting and at times it's hard to put down. Then again, it's also really confusing at times, so that's one thing I'm not too keen on. Some parts are also kind of long and drawn out, like it'll stay on one thing forever. Other sections can be really quick though, and even too quick.



Three main themes of the story

1. Racism

2. Growing up

3. Family relationships



B. Write an interpretative question.

What is Milkman's relationship with his family?



Milkman has a very complicated relationship with his father, along with his mother. In the past, he's liked his mother, but after his father Macon reveled some interesting secrets about his mother to him, Milkman completely changed his perception of her. Macon has always had a weird relationship with Milkman, he's always been fairly harsh on him, but then took him to work with him as he became a teenager. Their relationships will continue to unfold as the story goes on, and I'll be eagerly awaiting to find out how it turns out.



C. What quote seems particularly relevant to one of the themes you identified above? What does it add to the theme overall? How does that theme enhance the meaning of the book overall?

(page 155 & 156) In this section, Guitar talks extencively about how whites are unnatural and how they would kill a black man at a moment's notice. He said that any white man would kill a black man for fun, and no black man would do that to a white man or anyone. This section really illustrates how egocentric some of the characters were, and this section make me a bit angry just reading it. There are many other sections where the same points are stated, most of which are grossly racist and frustrating.