Shame in SONG OF SOLOMON

page 37: Shame had flooded [Milkman]. He had expected to feel it, but not that kind; to be embarassed, yes, but not that way. [Pilate] was the one who was ugly, dirty, poor, and drunk. The queer aunt whom his sixth-grade schoolmates teased him about and whom he hated because he felt personally responsible for her ugliness, poverty, her dirt, and her wine.



Questions:1) If Milkman isn't responsible for Pilate's poverty and dirt, who is? Macon Dead? Pilate herself?

Shame in SONG OF SOLOMON

page 77Then [Milkman] heard something that he knew was related to the picture. Laughter. Somebody he couldn't see, in the room laughing . . . at him and at his mother, and his mother is ashamed. She lowers her eyes and won't look at him. "Look at me, Mama. Look at me." But she doesn't and the laughter is loud now.

Shame in SONG OF SOLOMON

page 194: Corinthians knew she was ashamed of him, that she would have to add him to the other secret, the nature of her work, that he could never set foot in her house. And she hated him a lot for the shame she felt. Hated him sometimes right in the middle of his obvious adoration of her . . . But those swift feelings of contempt never lasted long enough for her to refuse those drive-in move sessions where she was the sole object of someone's hunger and satisfaction.



Questions:1) Is Corinthians 'using' Mr. Porter? Is her behaviour equivalent to the way Milkman and Guitar use their female friends for sex?

Domestic Violence in SONG OF SOLOMON

page 67Macon didn't wait to put his fork down. He dropped it on the table while his hand was on its way across the bread plate becomming the fist he smashed into her jaw.Milkman hadn't planned any of it, but he had to know that one day, after Macon hit her, he'd see his mother's hand cover her lips as she searched with her tongue for any broken teeth . . . and that on that day he would not be able to stand it . . . "You touch her again, one more time, and I'll kill you."Macon was so shocked at being assaulted he could not speak. He had come to believe, after years of creating respect and fear wherever he put his foot down, after years of being the tallest man in every gathering, that he was impregnable. Now he crept along the wall looking at a man who was as tall as he was -- and forty years younger.
Questions:1) Shortly after this incident Macon offers Milkman reasons for his violence. Do you think he is lying to Macon to justify his actions?2) Even if Macon is telling the truth (about why he feels such hatred and contempt for his wife), are his actions justifiable?

Domestic Violence in SONG OF SOLOMON

page 93: When Milkman got to Pilate's he walked in on a domestic crisis.Reba's new man friend had asked her for a small loan and she had told him that she didn't have any money at all . . . Hagar screamed to Pilate, "Mama! He's hitting her! I saw him! With his fist, Mama!"[description of Pilate getting a knife deleted] It didn't occur to Milkman to stop Pilate -- her mouth was not moving and her earring flashed fire -- but he did follow her, as did Hagar, around to the back fo the house, where, approaching the man from the back, she whipped her right arm around his beck and positioned the knife at the edge of his heart. She waited until the man felt the knife point before she jabbed it skilfully, about a quarter of an inch through his shirt into the skin. Still holding his neck, so he couldn't see but he coiuld feel the blood making his shirt sticky, she talked to him.
Questions:1) How does Pilate's reaction to the man beating her daughter differ from Milkman's reaction to his father hitting his mother?

Names in SONG OF SOLOMON

page 38:Even while [Milkman] was screaming he wondered why he was suddenly so defensive -- so posessive about his name. He had always hated that name, all of it, and until he and Guitar became friends, he had hated his nickname too. But in Guitar's mouth it sounded clever, grown up. Now he was behaving with this strange woman as though having the name was a matter of deep personal pride, as though she had tried to expel him from a very special group, in which he not only belonged, but had exclusive rights.


Questions:1) Why does Milkman feel this way suddenly? What does he feel threatened about?

Names in SONG OF SOLOMON

page 45"I asked you did you play any. That why they call you Guitar?""Not cause I do play. Because I wanted to. When I was real little. So they tell me . . . It was a contest, in a store down home in Florida. I saw it when my mother took me downtown with her. I was just a baby . . . I cried for it, they said. And always asked about it."
Comments:It's interesting to note that Guitar is named after something he was unable to attain. This sums up his character pretty well. In the end, he is unable to attain the two things he wants -- the gold and revenge.