Song of Solomon Chapter 4 - 7

Milkman has been in a relationship with Hagar since the age of 17. He recalls how she had initiated their relationship when he had visited her home and found Pilate defending Reba from a violent man. Hagar and Milkman were left on their own, and she had invited him to have sex with her. She had spent the initial years of their relationship toying with him, and though he had been intensely interested in her at first, his passion for her had dwindled like all the other interests he had nurtured. Hagar had soon begun to depend on him, but Milkman wished to find a bride in one of the wealthier black families of Honore since he found Hagar to be far beneath him. He decides to break off his relationship with her at the age of thirty-one when he writes her a note breaking off his relationship with her instead of getting her a Christmas present. Hagar, who is thirty-six years old by this time, is driven insane by the note and she immediately sets out to find him.

Milkman is bothered by the thoughts of Guitar, who had recently admonished him for being unable to deal with the tough things in his life. Milkman had heard the other black men talking about the white boy that had been killed in the town, and it was suspected that the murder had been done by a black man. He heads into town and finds Freddie the janitor, and talks to him about a recent dream that he had about his mother. Milkman had dreamt that his mother had been planting tulips in a garden, but these tulips soon grew to smother his mother though she did not protest. Freddie tells Milkman about ghosts, as he discusses how his mother died in childbirth after dreaming about a white bull. Freddie had then been raised in a prison in Jacksonville, Florida since there had been no concept of an orphanage for black people at the time. The janitor also tells Milkman about Guitar’s new friend, the mentally ill Empire State, whom Freddie believes Guitar is helping in hiding from the police.

Milkman hides from Hagar at Guitar’s apartment who has recently become politically active and consequently paranoid. Milkman angrily asks Guitar to explain his secret activities when his friend is yet again criticizing him for not understanding the oppression that African Americans experience. Guitar refuses to confide in his friend, and leaves to attend a meeting with some old men, while Milkman lays down on Guitar’s bed and ponders his recent discoveries about his mother. Milkman had followed his mother to the cemetery where Dr. Foster, her father, had been buried nearly forty years ago. He had waited outside the cemetery for several hours while his mother had been inside, and then confronted her with questions about her relationship with Dr. Foster. Ruth had explained that her closeness with her father had only been a consequence of his deep concern for her and that Macon had brought about his death by disposing of his medication. She had also informed him of the sexual disinterest that Macon had expressed towards her after the death of her father, which was something she had tried to change with the help of Pilate. The woman had helped Ruth concoct and administer an aphrodisiac that had led to her being pregnant with Milkman. Macon had been unhappy with her pregnancy and had tried to force her to have an abortion, something she had managed to avoid with Pilate’s help who had threatened her brother with a voodoo doll.

Milkman nears the end of his rumination just as he hears Hagar climb into the apartment through the window. He does not stand to oppose her, but closes his eyes and prays for the power to choose between himself and her. Hagar is carrying a butcher’s knife, and though she raises the knife, she is unable to bring herself to strike him fully with it. Ruth learns about Hagar’s murderous attempts on her son’s life and decides to talk to Pilate about it. Ruth visits Hagar, and Pilate where she explains the significance of Macon Dead III’s existence as an embodiment of her protest towards her husband. Hagar understands Ruth but she refuses to make any promises. Pilate stops the two of them from arguing as she explains her struggle of finding work due to the superstitions people held about her lack of a navel. She moved from place to place until she settled down with a man on a Virginia island, who eventually became the father of Reba. Pilate and the man had a deep love but she could not bring herself to marry him. She moved back to the town after Reba had given birth to Hagar, and confessed that she felt as if her father’s spirit followed her after his death as it sometimes whispered for her to sing. She concludes her account by explaining that she chose to make wine from berries since it was the only vocation that allowed her so much liberty. She deliberately makes her story long to keep Ruth’s mind off Hagar.

Milkman meets Guitar at a local bar, where Guitar expresses concern for Hagar’s well-being since he had found her looking quite disturbed in his apartment. He doesn’t believe Milkman when he claims that he had done nothing to her except severing their relationship. Milkman then goes on to ask Guitar what he’s been keeping a secret from him since he thinks that Guitar doesn’t fully trust him and Guitar confirms his suspicion but chooses to confide in him. He explains to a horrified Milkman that he is a member of a secret society of black men called Seven Days, who murder white people when crimes against black people go unpunished by the law. Guitar tells Milkman that both Robert Smith and Henry Porter were members of the society. They are given days of the week and are expected to mirror the crime that was committed against a black person by performing the same act on a white person on that same day in the following week.

Milkman is horrified and attempts to remind Guitar that there are good white people just like there are bad ones. Guitar refuses to believe that argument as he counters that white people are unnaturally inclined towards violence. He defends the actions of the Seven Days as he claims that their actions prevent the white people from committing a systematic genocide of black people. Milkman worries that Guitar’s crimes would eventually become a habit and someday he might consider killing someone like Milkman. Guitar explains that the Seven Days society doesn’t kill Negroes, but Milkman reminds him of his name as he tries to establish that people’s identities consist of other things besides race.

Milkman meets with his father to discuss taking a hiatus from helping him with his work, but Macon Jr doesn’t want his son to take any time off from their work. Milkman happens to mention the green sack that Pilate has in her home, one that she claims contained her inheritance. Macon Jr’s tone immediately changes at the mention of the green sack, and he later recounts the story of his childhood to explain its significance. Macon Jr and Pilate had hidden at the house of their mother’s midwife after the murder of their father. They had eventually grown tired of living in hiding from the midwife’s employer in his home, and so they strike out on their own. They are led down the roads by something that appears to be an apparition of their dead father, which leads them to a cave. The cave happens to contain another inhabitant, a white man, who attacks Macon Jr. He manages to fend off the white man but he ends up killing him. He later uncovers the dead man’s belongings to find a green sack full of gold nuggets that immediately conjured in his mind dreams of luxury and high living. Pilate claimed to see the ghost of her father whom she followed out of the cave, but she later returned and prevented Macon from taking the gold. She explained that it would be stealing, and caused Macon to retreat out of the cave as she held him off with a knife. The calls of hunting dogs forced Macon to abandon the cave with Pilate guarding the gold, but he returned three days later to find Pilate gone along with the gold. He asks Milkman to get the gold from her for both their sakes.

Analysis

The book is set in the political climate of the 1960s that was burgeoning with the civil rights movement for African Americans. Guitar’s ideology initially represents the views expressed by radical revolutionaries like Malcolm X, but as we learn more about the character, his views soon gain resemblance to extremism. Milkman represents the upper-class black people from the northern states that ignored the plight of their brethren in the southern states. Morrison beautifully develops the theme of racism through the character of Guitar, as she demonstrates how racism breeds more racism through him. He is a young black man who has been at the receiving end of racism throughout his life, and that kind of persecution has now made him adopt a similarly racist view of whites. Milkman attempts to point this out to Guitar but his arguments sound right superficially given Milkman’s privileged upbringing and his dissociation with the struggles of young black men like Guitar. It is also important to note that Guitar claims to be the only young member of the group, thereby indicating that this extremist militant viewpoint was considered outdated and uncivilized. The black people of the 1960s could choose between the protest methods for their civil rights by selecting either Martin Luther King Jr’s peaceful protest or Malcolm X’s openly separatist demands.

The novel features some truly interesting female characters, as it has women described in both positive and negative aspects. Hagar and Ruth are shown to be weak and selfish individuals by their hunger for a man’s presence in their life. Hagar’s love for Milkman may seem selfless at first, but her inability to go on living her life without him demonstrates her unhealthy dependence. Ruth is painted in a similar light as she only sees Milkman as a form of protest to her husband, someone she has chosen to remain with despite their lack of love. She has continued to live in an unhappy marriage because it allows her the ability to keep enjoying the perks of his wealth. Pilate is a contradiction to flawed characters like Hagar and Ruth as she chooses to live a life of freedom without caring for the labels that society imposes on her. The author chooses to mark individually powerful characters like Pilate and Milkman with physical deformities as Pilate lacks a navel while Milkman has a leg shorter than the other.