Research on Ownership/Possession/Letting Go

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17              Macon’s keys

Material things

When looking into the relationship between a character and their physical possessions, Milkman Dead and Guitar are on opposite ends of the spectrum.

Milkman Dead places a high emphasis on his physical possessions, the location where he lives, and where spends his free time (such as Honoré Island). Guitar on the contrary, doesn’t care much about physical objects but rather about the ability for all blacks to control their own lives.

Macon Deads interpretation of the “inheritance” that the green sack hanging from Pilates ceiling contains demonstrates plenty about what he values, money. After attempting to steal the gold that he believed lied in the sack (with the help of Milkman and Guitar) he is shocked to discover that the contents of the bag are actually not valuable at all. In reality though, the several physical objects that Pilate has kept are extremely valuable to her because of the sentimental value that they posses.

It is interesting to note that the only attributes that Macon Dead and Milkman truly share (other than their name) is their “lover for good shoes and fine thin socks,” (Pg 63) a superficial and material thing. It likely represents their mutual feeling of superiority over other individuals, including other blacks in their community. Additionally, Macon Dead utilized his car to parade his family and as as a means to “...satisfy himself that he was indeed a successful man.” (Pg 31)

Lissette Estala

Song of Solomon Passages on Ownership and Possession Alex Chan

Ownership and possession is the common reoccurring trait that all the characters share in one way or another. One of the more obscure characters, on page 216, by the name of Magdalena tells Milkman about the time their father took her and her sister to the ice house and, “when he talked to the men, he kept glancing at us, us and the car. The car and us. You see, he took us there so they could see us, envy us, envy him.” (Morrison 216) She also said about the Macon Dead Jr., “first he displayed us then he splayed us.” Besides the car, Magdalena and Corinthians were considered objects that represented
The Second piece of evidence of ownership and possession comes from Circe the maid who worked in the Butler’s house. Circe states about the butler’s house, “They loved it. Stole for it, lied for it, killed for it. But I’m the only one left.” Ownership is shown to be a source of trouble because it makes a person need to maintain their status at the cost of other people’s lives. Circe also continues to mention how the loss of ownership was really the source of death for the last member of the butler line. “Do you know why she killed herself? She couldn’t stand to see the place go to ruin. She couldn’t live without servants an money and what it could buy. Every cent was gone and the taxes took whatever came in. She had to let the upstairs maids go, then the cook, then the dog trainer, then the yardman, then the chauffer, then the car, then the women who washed… The thought of having no help, no money-well, she couldn’t take that.”(Morrison 247) Toni Morrison tries to show that money will lead to nothing and that wealth is something that weighs someone down to the point where they are no longer capable of living without money.
-----Alex Chan