Chapter 9
This chapter offers quite a lot and seems to raise just as
many questions as it answers. We haven’t seen much of either of Milkman’s sisters
until this chapter, but man, they do take over this chapter in a powerful
way. We also learn more about Pilate,
and her ability to both play into stereotypical gender roles and transcend
them.
Please take notes on your assigned character/questions. List at least 2 quotations (short, proper citation format) with
analysis in full sentences. You MAY NOT REPEAT.
Read what everyone else assigned to your group wrote first, then try to
add to what they wrote (with new evidence) or respond to a different question
(with new evidence) for your character. DO NOT try to answer all of the questions.
Females:
Corinthians
Males: Lena
Anyone (guys or
girls) who fits any of the following criteria: Pilate
Is left-handed
Is double-jointed
Listens to Country on a regular basis (at least 3 or more x
a week)
Has visited Kansas (stayed at least one night)
1) Corinthians:
What were her/her parents’ expectations for her life? Why aren’t they working out? Why isn’t she married? What are black, moving-into-middle-class men looking
for in a wife? Any of this remind you of
Death of a Salesman?
How does Corinthians change, first, by working for
Michael-Mary, and second, by taking up with Porter?
Who is Henry Porter (what do we know about him from previous
chapters)?
How did you react to the scene of Corinthians throwing
herself across Porter’s car? Is this the
act of a “doll-baby” or “grown up woman”?
Explain.
Significance /symbolism of the rose petals for
Corinthians?
What are Morrison’s overall messages in Corinthians’ story
about love, about the life of women, about individuality?
2) Pilate:
How does Pilate transform herself in order to get Milkman
and Guitar out of jail? Be specific.
What story does she tell? How
does this act demonstrate her understanding of her society? Is she being weak or strong here? Why?
Milkman says that this whole incident makes him feel
“shame…stuck to his skin” (209-210).
Why? Is this “shame” a step
forward or a step back in his character development? (To what extent is he
ashamed of himself, to what extent is he ashamed of his aunt?)
3) Magdalene called
Lena:
How does Milkman dismiss/disrespect Lena in earlier chapters
and/or leading into their conversation at the end of chapter 9?
Why is Lena angry with Milkman (one specific action, and
then more generally)? What does she mean by “there are all kinds of ways to pee
on people?” (214)
How has sexism and stereotypical gender roles played out in
this family, according to Lena? How does
Milkman’s statement that “I don’t carry no stick; I live and let live” (214)
reveal his fundamental misunderstanding of how these gender roles function?
How is Lena’s attitude toward the roses significant?
What are Morrison’s overall messages about the life of women
and the life of men that she is communicating through Lena’s story?
ReplyDeleteMilkman feels "shame," because he tried stealing the green tarp. This "feeling of shame,"(209-10) is a step forward to his character development. Milkman wakes up at noon and views his "abnormal leg," which is no longer a deformity. After acknowledging what used to be an insecurity, it serves him as a measure for his maturity. Milkman is deeply ashamed but the guilt he feels serves him in a positive way. He recognizes his leg to be the same length as the other leg; Milkman is also starting to consider others health into consideration. For example, (pg. 211) Milkman recognizes Porter and finds out he is a member of the Seven days, which he then tells Macon and confronts the issue. Although Milkman had the right intentions, Corinthians sees it as an act of harm because Porter is in a lower class. As Lena also tells Milkman she will no longer make the "artificial roses," this also acts as a symbol that "false love," will end. Roses are a symbol for love and passion; artificial is unnatural. This scene is ironic because although they are mad at Milkman, it foreshadows that he is getting closer to being a compassionate character instead of an egotistical and materialistic figure he set himself to be.
Ruth and Macon's expectations of Corinthians life consisted of marriage and motherhood. However, if that was unachievable they expected her to do something "intelligent and public-spirited." (pg.188) Unfortunately, Corinthians was unable to live up to either expectation. For one, she was a maid, the only job in demand for someone her age and colored, and two, she was unable to find a man to marry. Influenced by her mother, Corinthians was convinced that she was "a prize for a professional man of color," (pg.188) however when such a man did come around he was either unavailable or uninterested. Corinthians, although pretty, pleasant, and wealthy, was too comfortable and undriven in her middle-class status. Black men, moving into middle class, wanted a woman who was ambitious and could maintain the middle class status. They wanted a woman who would appreciate them and the sacrifices they made, and Corinthians, having graduated from Bryn Mawr and fluent in French, was a little too intelligent for most men and a “little too elegant.” (pg.188) Therefore, Corinthians was forced to accept the fact that she might not marry a man at all. However, being a maid taught Corinthians more than she ever learned at home. It taught her the act of “responsibility” and “confidence,” which was unheard of in the Dead home.
ReplyDeletePilate transformed herself in order to get Guitar and Milkman out of jail. She began to act like the black person white people wanted/liked, and she acted more proper. Pilate " even changed her voice (p. 205)." To Milkman, Pilate appeared to look different. She looked "short and pitiful (p.205)." Pilate deliberately changed her look in order to make her story more convincing. She told the police that the bones Guitar and Milkman found were here dead husband's, Mr. Solomon. This act illustrates how much Pilate knows and understands about society. She knows that if she were to have acted like her normal self, then the police probably would not have let Guitar and Milkman go. This act, while it may seem weak, is actually strong. Pilate is simply playing the system. She knows that certain people, specifically white cops, will help her if she acts like a certain type of person and/or acts a certain way.
ReplyDeleteWhy is this important thematically and what doe sit say about her as a person?
ReplyDeleteMilkman was very shameful about the whole incident because “he would have knocked senseless” (pg. 210) the woman he viewed almost as a mother figure for what he believed was gold, which emphasizes Milkman’s materialistic views of life and his inability to appreciate the little things. He felt shame in himself due to the fact that he needed “his father and his aunt to get him” (pg. 209) out of prison and also felt shameful that he acted like a child stealing a skeleton as a prank on Halloween rather than a grown man making a hit (pg. 209). He began to be shameful of his Aunt Pilate’s way of dealing with the situation. He saw that she portrayed herself as less than what she was and more like what society wanted her to be, a submissive and ignorant black woman. The shame that Milkman experiences serves as an improvement for his development as a character since it is at this point that Milkman begins to realize that he has taken his life and opportunities for granted.
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ReplyDeleteCorinthians is the sister of Milkman, daughter of Macon and Ruth. She has a college education and was seen as elegant and enlightened which makes her feel superior. "It had been assumed that she and Magdalena called Lena would marry well..." (pg 188).Because of this social status she has, no man wants to be with her. Th men in her community want someone who is basically like them in the way that they know how to manage themselves. "These men wanted wives who could manage, who were not so well accustomed to middle class life..." (pg 188).The only man who seemed to have an interest in her was Henry Porter. At first she doesn't want to be with him due to the fact that he is a yardworker and is of a lower social status than her but later realizes that no man other him wants her. She later accepts to be with him but secretly because of the embarrassment she feels towards being with someone like him. Although they keep their romance a secret from everyone they still see each other. But after a violent talk between them, after she leaves him to go back to her home, she decides to go back to him. She finds him in his car and she decides to jump on top and hit on his windows. This is seen as an act of love, but in actuality this symbolizes the dependence women feel towards men and the need for them since this is what is seen as a custom in their society.
ReplyDeleteEligible black bachelors Corinthians' age thought she was too accustomed to middle-class life. They want women with a drive, women who liked it took to maintain their status once they got it. Porter is Macon's tenant who got drunk, threatened other tenants, and promised to kill himself, with a shotgun from his apartment window. I found the scene of Corinthians throwing herself on the car on page 188 slightly humorous because it is something so unlike her character, which was usually meek and a small sense of superiority to those of a darker skin tone. This decision was that of a "grown woman". Corinthians saw a chance at a foreign freedom she had not experienced, sex, about to vanish. Instead of sitting by, wallowing in regret, she made a decision for herself and took control of her situation for the first time in her life.
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