Milkman Finally Turns 18: The End of Song of Solomon


    We spent quite a bit of time on the ways in which Song of Solomon is a coming of age novel, and also on the ways in which Milkman, despite his age, continues to act like a child or a teenage boy. I believe that the final scene of the book shows Milkman as he finally comes of age, and, more importantly, is recognized by others as having come of age. 

    Pilate is one of the first to recognize Milkman as having come of age, when she hits him over the head and throws him into a cellar. Now, this may seem like a bit of a reach, but it makes sense in the end: Pilate has previously spent her time humoring and protecting Milkman, but now Milkman has killed her granddaughter, and so she recognizes him as an adult, capable of adult actions, and hurting others in ways that adults would. Milkman’s previous hostile actions towards Pilate (asking about her navel, stealing a bag he thought was full of gold) were childish ones, which she could forgive and move past. The death of Hagar, however, she cannot humor, defend, or ignore. From here on, she treats Milkman as an adult, and in fact is helped by him to lay her own father to rest, as opposed to bailing him out of prison or the like. 

    Guitar, at the very end, also sees Milkman as a fellow man. This recognition from Guitar essentially ends the novel, with Milkman’s transition to adulthood complete. Guitar was the one who rescued him from childhood bullies, but also the one who continually dismissed him as childlike and simplistic. Guitar believed that Milkman could not and would not understand what the Seven Days were, or why they did what they did, or his statements that ‘everyone was after the life of a Black Man’. Guitar mocks Milkman for hanging out with the Honore crowd, and for, in his opinion, not being able to make it in the South. In the end however, Milkman stands up to take the bullet which he knows is coming for him, and shouts “You want me, huh? You want my life?”, demonstrating his understanding of Guitar’s words about everyone’s desire for the life of a Black Man. Milkman, notably, doesn’t ask here if Guitar would kill him, as he does earlier, because the issue isn’t his death, it’s who can be allowed to possess his life. Guitar sees this understanding, and he sees Milkman stand, and he is finally able to see Milkman as an equal. As such, he puts down his gun, prepared to fight and possibly die as the equal of Milkman, instead of shooting him, or garroting him from behind as he did only a few chapters before. 

Comments

  1. Jenna LeeDecember 19, 2018 at 1:28 PM

    I really like this interpretation of the ending, and I never thought about how Pilate is the first person to recognize Milkman's growth. However, I wonder if this is truly the case when she hits him over the head with the bottle. When he was talking to her as he walked up to her house, I thought he sounded distinctly like he was still the same, and I kind of doubt that Pilate recognized his growth on sight. I think she was just going to make him take responsibility, or force him to grow up, but after he comes to and she realizes how much he's grown, she doesn't force that growth on him further.

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  2. Dominick LongDecember 21, 2018 at 4:31 PM

    I think that the exact point, if I had to pick one, would be when Milkman is attacked by Guitar in the forest, when his life flashes before his eyes. This is the moment I feel like Milkman's attitude really changes from childlike and boastful, to more humble.

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  3. Elizabeth RienstraDecember 21, 2018 at 9:42 PM

    I really like this interpretation of Milkman's aging over the course of Song of Solomon. I find it interesting that you say Milkman's previous actions toward Pilate were hostile, because they didn't seem all that hostile to me. They were childish, yes, but I feel like we as a society make a pass for actions children take that would be seen as hostile if they were adults because the children don't know any better. I never really thought asking whether Pilate had a navel was hostile, more of impolite if anything. Stealing the bag is another situation though.

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  4. Sparsh S.December 23, 2018 at 6:24 PM

    We also see Guitar recognize Milkman's transition to adulthood in how he refers to him. In Part 1 of the novel, Guitar describes Milkman as a "baby" whenever he tries to explain something to him. However, as the novel progresses and Milkman begins to take steps towards becoming an adult, Guitar beings to refer to him as a "man". For example, during the scene where Milkman stands up ready to take a bullet, Guitar calls out to Milkman with "My man...My main man" (337). Here, Guitar recognizes the newfound maturity in Milkman and treats him as such, instead of baby-talking him like he has done for the better length of the novel.

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  5. Nic RamkumarDecember 26, 2018 at 2:31 PM

    I feel like Milkman's maturation can also be seen through Lena. When he last sees Lena, she's scolding him like one would with a child but when he comes back, she is civil towards him, treating him like an adult.

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  6. BettyJanuary 4, 2019 at 9:22 PM

    I really liked how you described Milkman's maturation through his interactions with other people and how Pilate and Guitar both treat him differently at the end and beginning of the book. Milkman keeping the box of Hagar's hair and Pilate's treatment of Milkman in that scene (She doesn't baby Milkman and is angry that he hurt Hagar) really highlight Milkman's transformation.

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