Like Father Like Son
The book called Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison, deals with many real life issues, most of which are illustrated by the relationships between different family members. One archetypal relationship that Morrison includes in her book is the father:son relationship. Although it is obvious that Morrison does talk about this topic, it is not so obvious what she is trying to say about it. So, one might ask, how does the author establish the father:son relationships throughout Song of Solomon and do they fit some sort of archetype? To answer a question such as this, it would be beneficial to examine the actual father:son relationships throughout the book. One established father:son relationships that is significant to this issue is the one between Milkman and Macon. From the start, Macon objected to Milkman even being born; he forced Ruth to do things to her body that could possibly kill the fetus. With a little help from Pilate, however, Milkman was allowed into the world. Macon, perhaps instigated by never having a mother and seeing his own father killed, has always appeared to be a cold and unforgiving parent even to his other children besides Milkman, but since Macon heard that his sonıs nickname was ³Milkman² he has seen him a
Milkman now saw that all those times that he spent with Macon down in the workshop and being taught how to run a business were his fatherıs mild way of showing love. Now he knew he had been saying something else. The only time Macon did spend time with Milkman, he spent it boasting about his own great upbringing, warning him to stay away from Pilate and telling him about the embarrassing actions of Ruth. Milkman finally figured out that Maconıs description of his time spent working with his father were meant to as a show of affection for Milkman and to cause Milkman to see the similarities between Maconıs relationship with his father and Milkmanıs relationship with Macon. ² One of the few good memories that Macon had of his father was spending time working alongside his father. ² Even though Macon was against Milkmanıs birth, he came to cherish his only son in his own way. Milkmanıs revelation is explained, ³That he loved his father; had an intimate relationship with him; that his father loved him, trusted him, and found him worthy of working right alongsideı him. As Macon and Milkman grow apart and go their separate ways, Milkman doesnıt even think twice about it and just continues on with his life as if nothing was different. s a symbol of his disgust for his wife and lost a lot of respect for his son and became even colder towards him. ² He most likely remembers gaining a great amount of respect for his father by learning and watching how his father made a living. This is the manner in which Morrison establishes the relationship between Macon and Milkman in the first part of the book. It is not clear whether Toni Morrison intended this part of the storyline to fit an archetype, but no matter what she intended, it does. Macon shared what he had with his father with his son. When Macon would tell Milkman about how he worked right alongside his father, he wasnıt bragging about how masculine he was when he was little, he was attempting to describe the only real time he ever had an intimate relationship with his father.
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Acceptance Essays
