Milkman is on a mission to prove to not only Guitar but his father and sisters that he is his own person. He has been a follower his whole life and a bystander, just letting things happen and being nonchalant about everything. His father's reputation casts a big shadow over milkman and gives everybody in his town a impression on him before they even meet him. So when Milkman finally made a decision for himself to fly to Pennsylvania on his own to find Pilate's bag of gold. While it is his father who wants it this was the first step in Milkman's journey of finding himself.
Yes, that's what I believe this whole journey is about. Milkman wants a name, not one that was made up, one that is truly his. As he enters this small town in rural PA, he finds out more about his family, he finds out good things bad things, but the most importantly he finds out he has roots. He learns that his family has history before his grandfather and father. He finds out that they touched lives in a positive way rather than the negative impact back in Michigan. As Milkman finds out more about himself and his family he also starts to lose the weight of luxury and takes his first steps away from his father. While he's been living his whole life trying to be the opposite of his father, while he was not walking directly behind his dad he was walking next to him in a parallel line. Now he's starting to diverge and go his own way. After he finds out that the gold isn't in the cave like his father said it might be he heads south to Virginia.
The funny thing about rainbows is that technically they never end, you may see it ark down and kiss the horizon but if you were to walk there it would turn out to end in another place. Milkman might soon find this out, and he may never find the gold at the end of the rainbow or maybe he's finding it bit by bit...just not in a literal sense. Thoughts?
I like the analogy and agree with you that while Milkman may never find the gold, he is finding his own identify because this wild goose chase takes him away from the influences of his family and friends who fight over Milkman's identity. Instead, Milkman gets to learn about the people his family has left behind and in someways become self-sufficient for the first time in his life.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I think Milkman can't better himself if he is solely focused on becoming the antithesis of his father, and I think what's funny about the second act is that by caring less about it, he actually fulfills his goal. Milkman might not be a saint, but the difference between him and his dad is that he wants to better himself.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Milkman may not find the gold but I think him trying to get to the end of the rainbow is more important than the gold itself because along the way he learns more about his family and his heritage. Milkman realizes the importance of family and he become more responsible and humane. He is more sympathetic/understanding of others around him.
ReplyDeleteThis book is clearly less focused on the idea of treasure hunting, and more on the journey to that treasure. Milkman, as you said, is developing a persona for himself, but also building it with his past in mind. As of writing this, he has kind of started to learn what to do and not do without his fathers' shadows making things easier, and I think this will develop further.
ReplyDeleteMilkman does not find the gold but finds something that turns out to be much more precious to him - his family, and his family history, something that he is proud of. Such knowledge allows to him to mend various bonds he has broken in his home in Michigan, and this knowledge might as well be the gold at the end of the rainbow.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I like the idea of Milkman's quest as a search for a name. It kind of reminds me of fairy tales like Rumpelstiltskin where names are a central theme.
ReplyDeleteI like that you bring out how much Milkman is gaining a sense of self. However, I think what he's searching for is also validation of his own family to find validation, and I'm not sure how long he can continue to follow that, and as you said, maybe he'll helplessly keep searching for the end of the rainbow, or maybe he'll finally learn that it never ends and be happy with where he is.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the point of his development is that it will end. After all, humans are constantly learning and changing no matter what. The analogy of this rainbow is good in the sense that he will continue to search for more, but his goal wouldn't be to find the pot of gold, rather, it would just be to chase after the rainbow.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Milkman tried to differentiate himself from Macon II but doesn't really ever have his own personality. When Milkman heard all the good things about his family he claimed the name of Macon. However, he only claims the name of Macon II when it is in his benefits. When the entire town hates him, he want to ditch the name Macon. He is greedy guy like his father.
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