He also now understood what Guitar meant when he said he wanted to choose what he died for. “For now he knew what Shalimar knew: If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it.” This is Milkman’s last thought as he plunged off the cliff. Unfortunately he dies soon after, as well as Pilate, when he dives off a cliff taking his assassin Guitar with him. But when he finally has his epiphany about his family’s history he has a release of tension and resentment that he built up over time. Milkman does not really want to live up to his father though, he wants to be his own person. This lets Milkman understand why his father pushes so hard to own as much land as he can because his father wants to live up to his own father. Jake had been a hard working man who created his own farm in a time when negros were not allowed to by the white man. He thinks of them as great people, especially the grandfather because he then understands why his own father loved him so much as well as the people who had known the first Macon, or rather Jake. Later in the novel it seems that Milkman comes to accept his name of Macon because he learns the background of his grandfather and his grandmother. This creates a dirty secret behind his name that his father never discovered, but senses.
But in the beginning of the novel he is nicknamed Milkman because he is seen being nursed by his mother Ruth much longer than he should have been. His actual name is Macon Dead, just like his father and his grandfather. Milkman’s name is one of great importance, first of all because he is the main character, second of all because of his dual names. Lastly, Not Doctor Street is named in honor of Doctor Foster, the first black doctor in the town and Ruth’s dad. The atmosphere of the entire Dead-household is lifeless. “kills” his relationship with his sister, son, and ancestors. Ruth is evidently depressed and “dead”, due to her poor relationship with her husband. Their relationships, home-life, and spirits are “dead”. The Dead family, as a whole, is perfectly represented by their last name. Even though he tries his best to not inherit his father’s shady character, the town-people notice it in him. Milkman finds out why he has that name later in the novel, which causes him to turn against his father. However, when the family’s janitor discovers Ruth breastfeeding Macon III past infancy, he calls him Milkman, and it remains that way.
Milkman was originally named after his father, as Macon III. Since Macon and Pilate lose the connection to their ancestors, Milkman is forced to research his family’s past for himself. Since Macon keeps the name, he is symbolically eliminating his family’s past. receives his name as an accident, because of a Yankee soldier mistakenly recording it. Pilate keeps her name in a snuffbox-earring, which proves that she is pleased with Macon Sr.’s choice. Pilate was named after Pontius Pilate, the man who ordered for Jesus to be crucified in The Bible. In Song of Solomon, it is evident how significant the relevance of the names are to the characters, even if randomly chosen from The Bible. Without the lack of knowledge Milkman has of why he was granted with the nickname he has received, he is able to continue his effort in finding his true self and also his families background history. Morrison uses the characters nickname throughout the novel to give insight of his families history. When officials recall that the street now has a new name, they begin to say that it is “Not Doctor Street” which is now referred by the towns people.Īlso, Milkman is one of the characters that portrays both a real name and a nickname. But when the first black historical moment occurred, the community began to name “Mains Street”, “Doctor Street”. The street that the first black doctor worked on was originally called Mains Street. Toni Morrison uses nicknames for a character and also a place. After finding out the reason why Milkman is nicknamed ‘Milkman’ he begins to disobey his father and only regains his spiritual well-being while in the South. Because he one of the only people who do not know why people refer to him as Milkman, he grows up a coward towards his father.
Milkman’s name represents the type of person he is and the way he acts as he gets older. Readers see the significance of Pilates name to her by the way she represents it as an earring in a little box. Rather then choosing another name, Macon Dead Sr chooses to keep the name Pilate for his daughter.
is naming his daughter, Pilate, people argue that the name “Pilate” does not signify a positive connotation. The names used in Song Of Solomon are very rare names and are picked by pinpointing a random name used in the Bible and going along with it.