One interesting thread in Song of Solomon is the changing dynamic between Guitar and Milkman. Recently the reader has been introduced to a secret society/group that Guitar is part of called the Seven Days. Guitar uses his affiliation with the group as evidence that he is beginning to add purpose to his life and, unlike Milkman, is maturing and bringing something valuable to the world. In this post, I want to analyze how valuable Guitar's participation in the Seven Days really is, and whether or not it is an actual indicator that he is more mature than Milkman.
The Seven Days has a very dark moral background. The actions that it takes to help the civil rights movements are very violent, and somewhat unjustified considering the attacks are not targeting individual oppressors. I think a very rational argument that could be made is that the Seven Days' fundamental concept is unproductive because the act of attacking random white people as a whole is mirroring the actions that the group claims to despise. Therefore, the argument could also extend to say that Guitar's involvement in the group also mirrors the same unproductive sentiment. If we view Guitar's participation in the group as merely a manifestation of the ideology itself, it is quite clear that it is an unproductive venture.
However, when Guitar makes the argument that he is more mature than Milkman, he discusses how he is willing to die for a cause. This indicates that what is important to Guitar is not the ideology of the Seven Days itself, but that he is able to commit to some ideology and be passionate about something in his life. If we ignore the often cruel and senseless sentiment that is contained within the Seven Days, Guitar's participation could represent an ability to be passionate or proactive in his efforts to manifest his own ideology. In other words, Guitar is not mature because he is committing violent acts, but because he is able to sacrifice his comfort and safety for a cause that he believes in. In this way, I think the argument that Guitar is more mature is able to work.
I believe that Guitar's goal is mature, but his methods are much less so. In fact, he says that the group doesn't even spread who they are or what they are doing, so the killings are less of a threat and just revenge. I don't think this would necessarily be a good tactic, as it breed more hatred between the two populations, and doesn't appear to have a meaning behind it (if you don't know them). However, I also think that it is important to notice that Guitar realizes that there is actually something wrong in the world, while Milkman tends to view it through a rose-coloured lens, and Guitar is more mature in this way.
ReplyDeleteI really don't think that Guitar's resolve and dedication to the Seven Days cause makes him all that more mature than Milkman. Although it does show that he is passionate about something in his life and makes him feel like he has a sense of purpose, his cause is only a negative force for society because it only leads to death. The Seven Days cause and their methods will never end up bringing about any change for the state of racial injustice in America because everything about the organization is secretive. No matter how many times they strike back in revenge, no one will ever get the message of why the attacks are happening which makes the attacks and Guitar's cause look like a pointless endeavor. Milkman is immature in his own way, but because Guitar's cause is unecessarily violent and has no end-goal, he seems immature just like Milkman.
ReplyDeleteI think that although dedication to a cause is a sign of maturity, the Seven Days takes it far enough that Guitar has reached a point where it is no longer mature. Being willing to die for a cause to help the cause could be called noble, but I’m not sure Guitar is really helping the cause anymore. Particularly I think the fact that he is willing to kill Milkman because he is so desperate to get money for the Seven Days shows that he has lost sight of what the organization is really about. I think that at the beginning, Guitar was more mature than Milkman because of his interest in politics, the world, and people other than himself. However, I think that his involvement in the Seven Days has made him lose sight of his cause which makes his actions a lot less noble and mature.
ReplyDeleteI really like your take on this and I do agree with it. Throughout the book we see Guitar minimize Milkman because he has not had the same rough and tumble life that Guitar has. Guitar constantly says that Milkman is disconnected from the reality of the place he lives in. Guitar is more mature than Milkman in the sense that he can find something he believes in and dedicate himself to it. Milkman simply floats around in life, not taking anything too seriously and priding himself in doing so. Great post!
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the novel I definitely agreed that Guitar is more mature than Milkman, but after he explains the Seven Days to him it became clear how stubborn Guitar really is. Milkman had a lot of growth throughout the novel, but I feel like Guitar got so obsessed with his Seven Days's missions that he lost a lot of perspective. But, I think the way Guitar's ideology comes back in the last chapter of the book is really interesting.
ReplyDeleteI think there is a different from dedication and bravery to simply ignorance or being blinded by emotions, and I do believe Guitar's behavior is closer to the latter. Indeed he does have a goal in life that he is committed to, but could we really say that is mature when the goal is to murder innocent people? It is like asking a child what they would do to solve this massively complicated racial problem: "take revenge!!" that's what I would think a kid would say, not a grown man. Even violence in itself is viewed as childish, as often people believe talking it out is how grown ups do things.
ReplyDeleteI think you hit the nail on the head when you said that "what is important to Guitar is not the ideology of the Seven Days itself, but that he is able to commit to some ideology and be passionate about something in his life." In my opinion, this is a very shallow view of maturity; it's as if Guitar looked at his elders and people he admired, took their most shallow, surface-level attributes (willing to die for some cause), and assumed that was what made them mature.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Taehan. Another thing I would add is that Guitar is by far the youngest member of the seven days, further pushing the point that he is genuinely mature in some form, at least compared to Milkman. However, I do think that Guitar is naive in the way that he goes about his business. He is super paranoid, as we see him attack Guitar for helping a guy with a crate, and let's not ignore the fact that killing innocent people is a horribly stupid way of solving the problem.
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