Song of Solomon Ch 10

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Song of Solomon CH 10
Chapter 10 is a chapter that speaks volumes about several things. It speaks of race and racism, identity, history, and family. The chapter follows Milkman’s trip back to his father’s original home. While he is on the journey, Milkman learns a lot of things about his family, the importance of money and social status in the eyes of black men, and his identity as the son of Macon Dead. Even though his eyes are still fixed on the gold, there is a lot that Milkman ends up learning by the end of the chapter. Below is an elucidation of a few things that Milkman learns while on his trip.
The first thing he learns is that his father and grandfather were heroes in the eyes of their comrades and that there was an expectation that he would also end up following in their footsteps. While listening to the stories by Reverend Cooper, Milkman learns that his grandfather was a special man in the eyes of the people, and his father followed in his footsteps. Further, it dawns on him that his father was pushing him because he wanted a similar relationship he had with his grandfather. “Milkman thought then that his father was boasting of his manliness as a child. Now he knew he had been saying something else. That he loved his father; had an intimate relationship with him; that his father loved him, trusted him, and fond him worthy of working “right alongside” him” (234). This is a great lesson that should have changed Milkman’s view of his father and his approaches to generating an intimate relationship with his son. Milkman’s father was simply extending the same love that he learned from his own father. He did not know any better and thought he would achieve the same with Milkman.
The second thing that Milkman learns is that his family has always been regarded as a cornerstone for the black community. The same adoration and admiration with which they viewed Macon Dead and his son was the same they were according to his son. While speaking and sharing the stories with the old men of Danville, he noticed that they had lost something with the death of his grandfather. The men made it clear that his grandfather was the “magnificent Macon Dead, whose d...