Reflection
The author had symbols in the book which revealed different themes. Milkman who is best friends with Guitar, has a different out look on life. Milkman is more interested in getting away, while Guitar is more interested in giving back to his family. This aspect of their character becomes apparent when the discussion of gold arises. The gold was a representation of greed in the book. This showed Milkman's superficiality and ungreatfullness and Guitar's greatfullness of his family.
Prompt: Explain what Guitar and Milkman's obsession with the gold reveal about their character. Talk about what each one of them wants to do with the gold to explain your answer.
Milkman and Guitar live relatively good lives, especially Milkman, who is pretty well off. But still to anyone, gold is a big deal, which can open the door to endless possibilities. the gold in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, reveals Milkman's character as ecocentric and ungreatful, compared to Guitar, who is revealed as thoughtful, caring, and greatful.
Milkman has always had a pretty generous life. He started working for his father at a young age, which enabled him to have the life he does. Milkman's first thoughts about what he wanted were "boats, cars, airplanes, and command of a large crew." These are all things one can live without, and are just the materialistic goods that are not necessary. these first thoughts show that all Milkman thinks about is himself. Milkman also had "falseness" in his voice because he desperately wants the money. this reveals the greed in Milkman's character because once again he is only thinking about himself. he only thinks about his wants and needs. Milkman "screamed and shouted wooeee!" at Guitar's list. This is because his list was about helping his family. Milkman had no intention of helping his family because his only concern is leaving. this shows the ungreatfulness in his character by milkman's parents supporting him with a house, food, and love his whole life, and he doesn't even think about giving anything back to them in return.
Guitar did not live as luxurious a life as Milkman. Guitar was on his own. He had to provide and take care of himself. Guitar first fantasized about "old dreams" that were coming back to him. these dreams consisted of helping his grand mother, uncle Billy, sister, and his sister's children. He also wanted to do something special for his father's grave. The first thoughts Guitar had were not for himself but for others. He wanted to give everyone a better life first, and then would think about what he wanted. This shows that Guitar is a caring and giving person. These dreams of helping his family were also old dreams. This shows that Guitar has wanted to be given the opportunity to help his family, but this did not seem possible until now. Also, because the idea of helping his family has always been instilled in him shows that Guitar is a greatful person of his life and his family.
The gold is able to reveal two different characters. One who is ungreatful compared to one who is caring and giving. These two different characters are rooted from their two different ways they were brought up.
