The father and Pilate hid in that cave when they were children after their father was murdered. Part 2 shifts the setting of the novel as Milkman journeys to find the gold that his father thinks is in a Pennsylvania cave. When Milkman finally breaks off the relationship when they are both in their 30s, Hagar becomes mentally unstable and tries to kill Milkman repeatedly, always unsuccessfully. Milkman doesn’t take the relationship seriously, but Hagar does. As Milkman grows older, he begins a 12-year sexual relationship with Hagar, even though they are cousins. But Milkman is drawn to Pilate’s simple home, and Milkman and Guitar visit often. Pilate lives with her daughter Reba and granddaughter Hagar in a house without electricity, making their living by producing cheap wine. His father and aunt are estranged the father despises Pilate and her unconventional ways. Milkman’s solace comes from his friendship with Guitar, who is four years older than Milkman and who acts as a mentor to Milkman.Īnother mentorship is formed when Milkman meets his aunt Pilate, his father’s sister. His sisters are much older than he is, and his parents have a difficult marriage full of resentment, which often takes the form of the father’s verbal and physical abuse of the mother. Milkman is also alienated from his own family. Because his family is wealthier than the families of his Black peers (Ruth’s father was a well-respected doctor and Milkman’s father is a landlord), Milkman finds himself cut off from other children. He lives an alienated, passive existence from an early age.
Part 1 describes the first 34 years of Milkman’s life. In 1931 Mercy opens its doors to its first Black patient, and Milkman is born.
However, her labor pains are triggered right in front of the hospital by the startling sight of a man who is about to commit suicide by “flying” off the hospital roof. Despite their wealth and privilege, Milkman’s mother would not normally be allowed to give birth in Mercy Hospital because she is Black and the hospital is for White people only. The family lives an upper-middle-class life in an unnamed suburb of Michigan. He has two sisters, First Corinthians and Magdalena, known as Lena. Macon Dead III, known as Milkman for most of his life, is the son of Macon Dead Junior and Ruth Foster Dead. This study guide refers to the 2004 First Vintage International Edition.
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