ENGL1080 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Pilates, Flashlight
2 May 2018
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Quote:
Analysis:
“O Sugarman done fly
O Sugarman done gone…
Downtown the firemen pulled on their
greatcoats, but when they arrived at Mercy,
Mr. Smith had seen the rosepetals, heard the
music, and leapt on into the air. The next day
a colored baby was born inside Mercy for the
first time. Mr. Smith’s blue silk wings must
have left their mark, because when the little
boy discovered, at four, the same thing Mr.
Smith had learned earlier -that only birds and
airplanes could fly- he lost all interest in
himself” (9).
Mr. Smith’s plunging over the edge of the
building sets a precedent for Milkman’s
search of flight. His death is used to show the
impossibility of the male’s goals as well as
explain his restlessness. Milkman is trying for
most of his life doing something he perceives
to be impossible, which results in his
frustration with his life style and routine. It
shows how Milkman is motivated by freedom
and escape -what flight symbolizes according
to HTRLLAP- because he doesn’t want to be
controlled and he wants to explore world
outside of his town. However instead of those
things Mr. Smith does not fly, symbolizing
that instead flight death was his freedom.
This sets a restless tone for the beginning of
the story because like Smith was trying to fly
Milkman was always trying to escape.
“Macon Dead dug in his pocket for his keys,
and curled his fingers around them, letting
their bunchy solidity calm him. they were the
keys to all the doors of his houses (only four
true houses; the rest were really shacks), and
fondled them from time to time as he walked
down Not Doctor Street, to his office” (17).
This quote is important because throughout
the whole story Macon is intent on owning
everything (including people). His
possessiveness of Milkman as well as his wife
show his inability to loosen control. The keys
calm him becauses houses don’t sleep with
other people or try to move out. He believes
his ownership of things and wealth are what
give him prominence in the town and he
refuses to loosen that hold even for his own
family's happiness. His desire to own and
control is passed on to Milkman who is torn
between controlling the lives around him and
flight (being free from the commands of
others). When Milkman leaves town later in
the story it is because he wants to lose the
obsession with control he is beginning to
inherit from his father. This connects to
HTRLLAP because when Macon is
“unlocking” his wife he sees the many keys as
ownership of her as well, until they stop
because he sees her with her father, something
he could not control. He lost his “keys” to her
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similar to chapter 17 because their having sex
is about his dominance and control rather than
an act of love.
“A snake, I told you. Ever hear the story
about the snake? The man who saw a little
baby snake on the ground? Well the man saw
this baby snake bleeding and hurt. Lying
there in the dirt. And the man felt sorry for it
and picked it up and put it in the basket taking
it home. And he fed it and took care of it until
it was big and strong. Fed the same thing he
ate. Then one day, the snake turned on him
and bit him. Stuck his poisoned tongue right
into the man’s heart. And while he was laying
there dying, he turned to the snake and asked
him, ‘what’d you do that for? Didn’t I Take
good care of you? Didn’t I save your life?’
The snake said yes. Then what’d you do it
for? what’d you kill me for?’ Know what the
snake said? ‘But you knew I was a snake,
didn’t you?’” (55)
Macon is trying to warn Milkman about
Pilate, but he ends up foreshadowing events
with Guitar instead. Milkman and Guitar had
been friends since the boy was twelve even
though Milkman learns that Guitar has
become a killer he still trusts his friend, isn’t
worried about meeting him in Roanoke. When
Gunnar tries to kill him and ends up shooting
Pilate Milkman realizes he’s been trusting a
figurative snake. The passage connects to
HTRLLAP because it is a bible reference
when Eve was in the Garden of Eden she was
tempted by a snake to eat the apples God had
warned her not to eat. Snakes have become
symbols of corruption and false trust because
of this story. Morrison incorporates this story
into the text to show the way Milkman allows
many people including Guitar and his father
to manipulate him into a person he doesn’t
want to become. essentially when he leaves
for Virginia he is escaping or flying away
from the snake that whispers in his ear -his
friends and family who each wish to corrupt
him.
“For the Milkman it was the door click. He
wanted to feel the heavy white door on Not
Doctor Street close behind him and now he
might be hearing the catch settle into the
groove for the last time. ‘You’ll own it all. All
of it. You’ll be free. Money is freedom,
Macon. The only real freedom there is’”
(163).
This passage symbolizes the difference
between Macon Dead and his son. Macon is
obsessed with keys and Milkman is excited by
the door locking behind him. Macon tells
Milkman that money will make him free, but
Milkman believes that escape and flight will
free him. Macon’s advice is his way of
owning Milkman, but when the boy steps
through the door and leaves he is essentially
freeing himself and through leaving he begins
his coming of age story. This also symbolizes
the age gap between Macon and Milkman.
Macon’s father had been a slave who legally
couldn’t own property and then when he
finally could the property was stolen from him
by white people. This caused Macon to
associate freedom with ownership whereas
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Document Summary
Downtown the firemen pulled on their greatcoats, but when they arrived at mercy, Mr. smith had seen the rosepetals, heard the music, and leapt on into the air. The next day a colored baby was born inside mercy for the first time. Mr. smith"s blue silk wings must have left their mark, because when the little boy discovered, at four, the same thing mr. Smith had learned earlier -that only birds and airplanes could fly- he lost all interest in himself (9). Mr. smith"s plunging over the edge of the building sets a precedent for milkman"s search of flight. His death is used to show the impossibility of the male"s goals as well as explain his restlessness. Milkman is trying for most of his life doing something he perceives to be impossible, which results in his frustration with his life style and routine.
