Hospital Tommy promises Guitar and Milkman “There’s something you will have-- a broken heart... And folly. A whole lot of folly. You can count on it” (61). Though Milkman attempts to avoid heartbreak and folly, Guitar and Hagar each become the embodiment of folly and a broken heart, respectively, leading to each of them doubling the suffering doubling the suffering in their worlds, though they each believe their actions are based in love.
Guitar is the personification of folly in the text because of his involvement with the Seven Days, an organization that is inherently foolish and doubles suffering by doubling deaths. Throughout the text, Morrison suggests that repeating the past is folly and the characters that overcome their own foolishness are those that can reconcile with their past. Milkman’s journey in part two of the text is to learn about and come to terms with his past. The Seven Days are folly incarnate because they purposefully repeat the past: “‘When a Negro child, Negro woman, or Negro man is killed by whites and nothing is done about it by their law and their courts, this society selects a similar victim at random, and they execute him or her in a similar manner if they can.”(154). This mimicry and attempted replication of the past shows the extreme folly of the organization and their inability to accept the past. Guitar’s rationalization of their actions is also logically unsound. He claims that they are keeping the ratios of black people to white people the same: “‘The earth is soggy with black people’s blood... if it keeps on there won’t be any of us left and there won’t be any land for those who are left. So the numbers have to remain static.’”(158). Guitar believes that if the murder of black people continu...
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...ar insists that his conduct as a member of the Seven Days is based only in love for his race. He says, ”What I’m doing ain’t about hating white people. It’s about loving us. About loving you. My whole life is love’” (159). Hagar likewise, becomes so greedy for Milkman’s attention because she loves him. She tries to kill him, “to kill for love, die for love” (306). Both Guitar and Hagar, the personifications of folly and greed kill for their love, but Milkman, who by the end of the text has realized how to overcome greed and folly, sacrifices himself for love. On the very last page of the book, Milkman offers Guitar his life: “‘you want my life?’ Milkman was not shouting now. ‘You need it? Here.’”(337).
Works Cited
Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York: Random House, 2004. Print.
Homer, The Odyssey, United States of America, Doubleday and Company, Inc, 1961
Therefore, Morrison beings to bring to light the effects violence was having on the individuals who saw these atrocities happening in their community, but believed justice could only be served by perpetrating those same violent acts that were done to them against their oppressors. In turn, Morrison writes, “What that means is that a black man is a victim of a crime only when a white man says he is. Only then. If there was anything like or near justice and courts when a cracker kills a Negro, there wouldn’t have to be no Seven Days. But there ain’t; so we are.”(160). As a result, when Morrison utilizes the spondee “black man,” which enhances the connotation of the word “victim,” she has used the character Guitar as a representation of the views an individual of color had when it came America’s court system. Thus, Guitar signifies the justice that the black community was hoping to experience after de-segregation, but unfortunately never received due to racism still thriving in America. Therefore, it’s within this Chapter that we see the character Guitar represent a battle between fighting for justice, and the psychological effects racism had on the way some of the members of the black community thought justice should be served within America. Which in turn, fueled an individual of color to commit violent acts against their oppressors. The alliteration in the words “cracker kills” intensifies the hateful tone to the connotation of the word “Negro.” Additionally, the connotation of the words “justice” and “courts” adds an ominous image to the spondee “Seven Days.” Further, illustrating that the destructive nature found within racism had unfortunately turned those individuals of color who sought justice for their community into oppressors by believing that justice and violence are one in the
So therefore, he was part of the Seven days back in 1920, and they had no love for the whites because they were preferable to be dead. Morrison points out “But when a negro child, negro women, or negro man is killed by whites and nothing is done about it by their law and their courts, this society selects a similar victim at random and they execute him or her in a similar manner if they can” (PG 154) Racism is not going to stop until this day, and that is why there is violence and drama still trending. Guitar believes that there should be justice for killing innocent color
Guitar, meanwhile, has grown increasingly edgy and increasingly obsessed with the idea of Milkman's pampered position within the local black hierarchy; at last he divulges to Milkman that he is in a group called the Seven Days, which kills a white person for every black person murdered by a white. Each person has a different day; Guitar's day is Sunday; whenever a black person is murdered on a Sunday, Guitar murders a white person in the same fashion.
Given the descriptions of the mental illnesses in our textbook, lectures and various media outlets about the illnesses shown in the HBO movie “Back from Madness – The Struggle for Sanity” I was still surprised how illnesses really affect people (HBO, 1990). When reading textbooks, various media outlets and research papers it is extremely difficult to understand completely the severity of a mental illness. These sources are just descriptions of the illness it doesn’t give a personal account of what the patient is going threw. Taking in account the real affects of having a mental illness on the patient, their family and friends. I was surprised when viewing the documentary that a person with Bipolar I disorder (manic depression) acted the way Todd did. I am aware that Bipolar I disorder is known as someone who has a manic occurrence that results in a period of bizarre elevated mood and behavior that interrupts life. The person will most likely experience episodes of depression. The behavior that I saw from Todd in the movie was completely different than I imagined people who have Bipol...
The "insults, violence, and oppression" that Guitar and the barbershop men face are significant and integral issues that effect how the men live their lives, which is why they are frequently discussed and talked about. Milkman, however, does not understand the importance of these topics and the effects that they have on Guitar and his friends because he cannot relate his wealthy and affluent upbringings to their lives from the Southside. Milkman is dissociated from these racial problems so he believes them to be boring and trivial, he also lacks the understanding of its impact on Guitar 's and others ' lives, which is why I disagree with Milkman 's
...rotect residents from acts of police brutality,” at times resorting to violence in order to achieve their goal (Brittanica). Additionally, Morrison clearly models Guitar after Malcom X. Not only do they share similar ideals, but even share the same birth year and state of origin. Earlier in life, Malcom X did not support integration of black and white society, rather supporting the idea of black supremacy and separation. Guitar’s belief that white people are unnatural and evil parallels Malcom X’s early stances. Guitar and The Seven Days are Morrison’s reminder that violence and revenge are never appropriate responses. Guitar begins as a likeable and essentially good character, but falls from morality and allows hate to consume him. Though the reader can sympathize with Guitar and understand the source of his hate, it is clear that what he is doing is wrong.
... imagines the suffering of the lynching and its impact on them as “Now I am dry bones and my face a stony skull” (line 30), thus recognizing the true potential of sympathy and empathy as far as the human experience and emotions are concerned.
When Guitar and Milkman are in the barbershop talking about racism in their lives, Milkman can't seem to understand Guitar's way of thinking. Since Milkman has been one of the few privileged African- Americans, he doesn't feel the amount of racism and isn't aware of it as much as everyone else. His views on racism help him through his journey in life because he slowly awakens his ideas later on and realizes how it plays a part in everyday life as an African-American.
With so much violence going on down on earth or hell as it would seem through the black mans eyes it seems as if it was finally a peaceful time for these black people after being killed, finally being able to escape from all the torture going on. Then McKay goes on to describe how the community viewed the lynching. He gives a chilling image of children dancing around the lynched man. He writes, “And little lads, lynchers that were to be/ Danced round the dreadful thing in fiendish glee.” (13-14) Thinking about this makes you just realize how sick and cruel people were towards someone just because the color of their skin. Claude McKay shows us racism in very graphic and powerful imagery to make the message clear how unfair these people were being treated throughout many works of his literature.