One theme that ran through the novel was the importance of identity, and the factors that create it. Milkman inherits his father’s name, as his father inherited his father’s name, but it does not have meaning to him. To Milkman, Macon Dead is the name for a man focused on wealth and property, even if he acquires these things at the cost of his friendship with other people within the community. Just being Macon Dead’s son makes Milkman an outcast, with Guitar as his only friend. Once Milkman rebels against his father by going to see Pilate, he learns more about the other Macon Dead, his grandfather, but does he does not feel a strong connection to him until he learns his true name, Jake, and the story of his father. History is important, both generations of history and the background given in the novel when Morrison reveals how Milkman wanted to fly like Robert Smith. Discovering that his great-grandfather had that ability and tried to bring the next generation with him fills the void in Milkman’s identity that he had been trying to eradicate with money and women. Freed from being “Dead,” Milkman feels that he belongs in this community with so many members of his family and without the sins of his father to pay for. Learning more about the men in his family gives Milkman opportunity to find a male in his family other than his father to look up to.
For Milkman and other characters in the novel, being part of the community is important, because they decide your name no matter what your parents called you at birth, hence Guitar and Empire State. Perhaps Ruth and Macon Dead keep their names because of the respect the community has for her father and their money. I also thought it was interesting that about half the time in the book Lena is referred to as “Magdalene called Lena.” This shows that she has not fully assimilated into the community, as she remains sheltered in her parents’ house and goes by two names. She seems like a flat character until she stands up to Milkman and serves as the catalyst to get him to leave Michigan. Milkman does not have a strong sense of identity at this point but even worse, he does not realize how poorly he treats his family. I liked how the female characters in the Dead family gained depth as the book progressed—the reader learned more about Ruth’s past, a different story from what Macon said about her, Corinthians lead a double life because the standards her father created could not be met, and Lena lashed out at Milkman and spoke for all of them.
To respond to Kira’s question, I was also wondering the significance of the novel to the book of the Bible of the same name and I think one parallelism is that its story is not often discussed. The Bible’s Song of Solomon is sensual, a dialogue between lovers, a natural part of life but not something that goes over so well with some Christians so it is ignored. We know it’s out there, we know it happens, but we don’t acknowledge it. The same can be said of African American’s stories. We know there is a rich past and so many stories to tell, ones not found in the traditional history books, or even the Western canon, but these stories are not discussed. Morrison creates a world and brings it to a large audience so that it can be acknowledged.
Here’s a link to Biblical Song of Solomon:
http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/www/Bible/Song_of_Solomon.html