I am really interested in the topic of material life and letting go. It seems as if everything in the book ties back to being weighed down by something and the characters being unable to let go. For instance, the part in the book where Milkman and Guitar are talking about stealing the green sack from Pilate's house and they run intothe peacock symbolizes "weighing down." Guitar said that the peacock couldn't fly very well because it was being weighed down from all the jewelry it had. Not just in the book but also in reality, there are things in life that bring us down such as past specific events or even pride. Without letting go of the past or whatever it is that is weighing us down, we will not be able to move on. Like Guitar stated, in order to fly, we need to get rid of what is weighing us down. The peacock also symbolizes wealth and how it can blind people. Peacocks are very proud creatures and they like to show off their tails. I feel that having the peacock be present in the used car lot was foreshadowing the fact that Milkman and Guitar were going to have an unsuccessful burglary. The peacock distracted the boys from discussing the plan of how they are going to get the gold. Milkman is weighed down because he is concerned with materialistic things such as money and is also tied down by his arrogance. Because of these things, he is unable to "fly."


-Marina Mirakyan