1. What is the significance of flying in the novel? How does Morrison equate the act of flying with death and with freedom? The last sentence of the novel reads: "He leaped. As fleet and bright as a lodestar he wheeled toward Guitar and it did not matter which one of them would give up his ghost in the killing arms of his brother. For now he knew what Shalimar knew: If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it." Does Milkman die in this final scene? Why does Morrison leave it ambiguous?
2. Milkman's journey south is an odyssey worthy of Homer: he is challenged physically and spiritually, faces death, and emerges a changed and happier man. Discuss this odyssey in terms of its symbolism and what Milkman learns about himself and his past. Why are these lessons so important? How does this journey help tie together the stories of Pilate, her brother, and her father?
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1. I believe that Milkman dies in this scene. I think it only fitting that, after discovering himself, his family, and their heritage of flying, that he should die. It's a way to release himself and for him to be truly happy. I believe that Morrison leaves it the way she does because, truthfully, either one could die. I think it best she leave it ambiguous to let the reader imagine who would die. They can envision the ending however they want.
ReplyDelete2. The lessons Milkman learns - about his family, his past and everything - are important because they set Milkman free. He gets to see new places, setting him physically free and he finally learns about "his people" and their past, setting him spiritually free. He faces challenges and struggles along the way, but I believe they only made him stronger. In the end, these lessons were important because they led Milkman to become a better person and to become more sympathetic to the people he once felt so alienated from, such as his mother.
Sean Martley
ReplyDelete1. I think that Milkman dies at the end of the novel because that is the only way he can escape. He has made a really bad life for himself by being a selfish and cruel person. He was cruel to Hagar and so selfish that Guitar didn’t even think enough of Milkman to believe he would help someone lift a crate. That is what led Guitar to think Milkman was trying to cheat him in the first place. Milkman is not living in a good world because he has ruined it for himself, so the only way to be free from it is to jump off the cliff and die. Morrison leaves the ending ambiguous because she wants readers to decide for themselves whether Milkman dies or simply frees himself like his ancestor Shalimar did.
2. Milkman goes out in search of treasure, but he discovers something that is very important, especially for a black man of his time. His discovery of his family is the most important thing in the world for him, and it is his change in character that leads to his death. Guitar and Milkman start the novel as a good guy and a misled guy, and by the end of the novel they have switched places.
As Milkman unlocks the stories of his ancestors, the reader can finally see and make sense of some of the earlier stories from Pilate. Until Milkman discovers the truth about his family, the rest of the story is a mystery for the reader.
1.)
ReplyDeleteI think that act of flying is there to symbolize the freedom one feels once they are dead. They are no longer tied down to anything in the world and can fly freely. I believe that Milkman does die in the end of the book but it isnt a sad death, I think he knows that it is his time to go.
2.)
The lessons Milkman learns in the novel help to explain and piece together almost every question Milkman had. Milkman learns where his grandparents are from and where his father and pilate grew up. He sees the places in stories that his father told him and learned things he never thought he would. This journey puts all of the stories Pilate and his father told him so that he finally understood who was right. In the end I Think he learned a great lesson and came to except who he was now that he knew where he came from.
I understand that this response is late, but better late than never. The theme of flight does present itself often in this novel. I feel that it expresses the very beginning of Milkman's life; his whole life story on he came to be, and that all the knowledge that he gained from his journey acted as the key to the locked door that he has been standing in front of his entire life. It seems almost predictable that Milkman would leave this earth in the same fashion. I absolutely believe he dies, but its how he dies that I am on the fence with. Guitar, after shooting Pilate, could shoot again, ending Milkman's life giving Milkman a sense of flying/freedom has he hits the ground dead. What is going through my mind is that instead of taking on the a bullet from his former friend, Milkman is finally at ease with his life and, with the knowledge that he will not make it out of his current situation, throws himself off of the cliff that he and Pilate are on. This free fall is exactly connected with the sensation of flying, and it also acts as the gateway to Milkman coming to terms with is life and allowing it to end peacefully.
ReplyDeleteAll of the experiences that Milkman gathers in his travels are the missing pieces to the mental jigsaw puzzle he had going for him. He knew a lot of things just because of careful observation and a little bit of info that he gathered with brief conversations with Pilate, Ruth, and his father Macon. This journey completely put the full picture into view with Milkman of how everything that he knows came to be. He is now full of understanding of the life that he so graciously took advantage of without leaving room for consideration of other people. All of this knowledge leaves Milkman fulfilled and allows him to live that rest of his life, as short as it may be, in peace.
ReplyDelete1) I agree with Hillary. I believe flying symbolizes the freedom one gets when they die. I do believe that Milkman dies in this scene. He was a selfish and cruel person, but at the end of the novel he realizes it's his time to go. I enjoyed the ending because I could make up my own ending in my head.
ReplyDelete2)I think after gathering all the information from his travels, answered everything question that Milkman has in his mind. He finally feels that he fulfilled his quest for knowledge and he can now leave the world happy & in peace.