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?
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I believe Milkman got so defensive because Pilate claimed that there were only 3 Deads left. Milkman was a Dead and so was his mother and his sisters. Milkman started to have the feeling of being left out and ignored and he didn’t want to feel this way. So Milkman got defensive. He was a Dead and he wanted them to know it. I think Pilate said that there were only three Deads left because there are only three left in her branch of the family. There are only three left that share the shame childhood memories as her. Milkman would not have known this but I also think that the fact he was feeling left out shows us that he was starting to be proud of his last name and this is the first time he shows it.
-Gillie Jacobi
Milkman feels this way because everyone in his family has taken him out of their life and he at least wants to feel like he still has the right to his own last name. I also felt like Milkman was a little insulted by Pilate. Pilate is a poor, low class vagrant and for her to not include Milkman as a Dead should really make Milkman mad. If there is anyone in the Dead family that doesn't deserve to be called a "Dead" it's Pilate. I also agree with Gille on the fact that Milkman is starting to show the reader how appreciative he is of his last name. This passage is the beginning of Milkman's curiosity of his family history.
Milkman feels this way suddenly because he does't want to be forgotten. Everyone wants to be known for something and a last name is a tag to label on a person or persons as in this case the Dead family. When Pilate ignores or forgets that Macon is a Dead, Macon is offended that he has been forgotten. Milkman has lost a lot but he will never lose his family which is labeled by his last name and he had "exclusive rights" to the name "Dead". I agree with Robey and Gillie that even though Milkman hated his name, Morrison is starting to show the reader that he truly does appreciate his last name. I think that Milkman not only feels threatened but insulted that his Aunt Pilate who is a lower class and poor woman would forget that he is also a Dead. This shows that Macon considers himself better than Pilate.
Milkman got upset and defensive about Pilate claiming that there were only three Deads left because his mother, his sisteres, and hisself are all Deads. Before he never cared about his name but once someone tried to take that identity from him and say he was no longer who he was then it angered him. I'm sure that there was also fear mixed in those emotions about being stripped of who you are if Pilate doesn't see him or the rest of his immediate family as Deads.
Milkman feels defensive and threatened because when Pilate said there were only 3 Deads, she is insinuating that Milkman doesn't belong and won't be remembered. Milkman can't stand the thought of not being important. He doesn't like being left out of anything- he's been an outsider his whole life. For example, when he started school, he was alienated and teased because of his velvet pants. They set him apart and no one included him because he was wealthy. Being a part of the Dead family is the one thing he truly has- his name can't be taken away from him. If he isn't a part of the Dead family, then what is he a part of? This passage shows that last names are important- they carry around links and ties and have histories.
I think that Milkman believes that without his name he isn’t much of anything. Even though he doesn’t really love his family, he’d rather be remembered as a Dead than nothing at all. If his own Aunt couldn’t remember that he and his sisters were Dead’s while they were still alive, he was sure to be forgotten once he was dead. Also, I think that no matter how screwed up your family is, you always feel a sense of pride over them, and defend then if someone ever speak out against them. The Dead family was the only thing that he was ever really part of, the only place where he belonged, and he didn’t want to be pushed out of that group by his aunt who he considered beneath him.
Your last name is something that has been carried down for generations. It defines who your family is and who you are. Without a last name you don't carry any history with you. When Pilate said their was only three "Deads" left he felt forgotten. Milkman becomes defensive of his last name not because he liked it but because that was who he was. His last name defined who he was and he feels insulted when Pilate says this. Everyone should have pride in their last name no matter the background of it and Milkman realizes this.
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