Song of Solomon Characters Analysis

Macon Dead III - The protagonist of the novel is commonly called Milkman by most of the other characters in the book. He gains that nickname because his mother, Ruth Dead, breastfeeds him well beyond his infancy. Milkman struggles with his identity throughout the novel, as he is unable to connect with his loved ones or to become invested in the struggles of other African Americans like himself. Near the conclusion of the book, Milkman sets out to find gold but he ends up discovering the origins of his family, which helps him come to terms with his place in the world.

Macon Dead II - Milkman's father, and the husband of Ruth Dead, is also called Macon Junior. He is a wealthy landlord who has a reputation for being cruel, but he dotes on his son and includes him in his business as soon as he is old enough. Macon Jr. has a complicated relationship with his sister Pilate, whom he seems to despise on the surface, but he yet secretly watches her family as they sit and sing in their garden. Macon Jr tasked his son with retrieving a sack of gold from Pilate, as they had both discovered it right after Macon Dead I's death after Macon Junior had killed a white man in the cave while he had been defending himself.

Macon Dead I - Milkman's grandfather, and the father of both Macon Junior and Pilate. He had been an illiterate man, whose last name had come about due to the mistake of a drunk union soldier. Macon had then selected the names of the rest of the children with Sing, by looking at the names in the library and choosing the ones whose appearance he had liked. Milkman later learns that Macon had been an exemplary farmer who had been murdered for his land by a corrupt family of white farmers called the Butlers.

Pilate Dead - The daughter of Macon Dead, and the sister of Macon Junior, had grown up separate from her brother after the death of their parents. She had shared a close relationship with her father and had continued to see him even after his death, in fact, it had been her father's ghost that had led them to the cave where they had found the gold. Pilate spends most of her life being persecuted for the lack of navel and refuses to marry the man she loves because she prioritizes her freedom over all else. She is the mother of Reba, and the grandmother of Hagar, who eventually falls in love with Milkman. After Hagar's death, Pilate decides to exact revenge on Milkman when returns to town. She dies after burying the bones of her father, as she is accidentally hit with a bullet that had been aimed at Milkman.

Guitar Bains - Milkman's best friend is raised by his grandmother, who happens to be a tenant of Macon Dead II. Guitar nurses a hatred for white people because his father was killed in a sawmill accident, and the white sawmill owner who had been at fault had escaped without the law without any consequences. He is the only young member of the Seven Days group that kills random white people when a black man is killed and his death goes unpunished. Later in the book, Guitar turns against Milkman because he thinks his friend is trying to rob him of his fair share of the gold that they had set out to find together.