As Milkman and Guitar plan to steal Pilate’s gold, they see a white peacock, which immediately attracts their interest. However, this simple encounter has much more symbolism that what it initially appears to display, and I have multiple theories on what this symbolism could represent. The bird is described as “poised on the roof of a long low building” (178). This description directly reflects the earlier scene in the book, where Mr. Smith stands on the hospital roof, before leaping off. Milkman was born the day after Mr. Smith’s death, so Smith was a major part of Milkman’s beginning. Milkman’s encounter with the peacock occurs right before he starts his hunt for the gold, which continues in Part 2 of the novel. In this way, the peacock also represents a “beginning,” as Milkman then goes on a journey, where he starts to better understand himself and the world.
In addition, peacocks are often a sign of great wealth, with only the richest of people owning them. At this point in the novel, Macon Dead is pressuring Milkman to find the supposed bag of gold, which would make them an extremely wealthy family, so the peacock can represent what Macon wants. However, at the end of the scene, once Milkman and Guitar finalize their plans, “the peacock spread[s] its tail” (184). Within Western cultures, peacock feathers are often considered a sign of bad luck. Therefore, the scene foreshadows Milkman’s failures to find the gold, which is unfortunate for Macon Dead’s greed for wealth.
Lastly, the peacock can directly represent Milkman, in a few ways. Throughout the book, we frequently see Milkman’s preoccupation with flying, and his disappointment with his failure to fly. Peacocks are also unable to fly. Just like Milkman, despite its’ wealthy and extravagant appearance, it is lacking something that could be very important to it. The fact that the peacock is white could also have major connotations in the novel, which focuses on many issues involving race. For example, it can reflect how, in the time of the book, most wealth was centered in the white populations. However, it also can represent how Milkman develops “white greed”, or as people describe it later in the book “he had the heart of the white men” (266). This is in reference to how Milkman spends great amounts of money without worry or hesitation. Overall, the white peacock in “Song of Solomon” can represent many ideas, and these are my favorite theories!
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These are some interesting points, I personally believe that the inclusion of a specifically flightless bird was done very purposefully by Morrison when writing this scene. It symbolizes Milkman's inability to be "truly free" despite having the extravagant and wealthy appearance. On top of this there are lots of other parallels you could draw to the peacock and Milkman. For instance, only male Peacocks have the fancy feathers which represents Macon and Milkman's separation from the women in their lives, in regards to how they prioritize wealth. Overall great blog post!
ReplyDeleteAnother thing to mention is Guitar's comment on why the bird can't fly -- "You wanna fly, you gotta give up the shit that weighs you down". This is in reference to attachments, such as Guitar's attachment to his hatred of white people and how Milkman is tied to his family. The same thing applies to certain religions; buddhist monks let go of worldly attachments in order to find a oneness with God.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your post! The peacock is put in their on purpose to relate to Milkman and Guitar's current situation. The placing of the peacock is done to show the ideas you are saying about how he isn't free and can't fly away. The wealth he was trying to get from Pilate happens right after this and if Peacocks feathers are bad luck then that would relate to how they found bones instead of gold in the bag. Overall I think that Milkman can't be fully free because of his roots with wealth and the peacock represents this. Great post!
ReplyDeleteWow this is very well written and well done. It does a good job of taking an easy to overlook detail in the book and giving it a deeper meaning. I like the first idea that the peacock represents a sort of birth or rebirth for Milkman. I hadn't noticed the timing at which it occurred. I do think the second time around its a brith of him finding his identity and beginning to be his own person.
ReplyDeleteThe part about the white peacock representing how Milkman "has the heart of a white man" is really interesting! The white peacock's appearance in the book is so interesting because it signifies many different things. I definitely agree that it foreshadowed Milkman's bad luck with the gold, but it also led him to his family history, and by the end I think Milkman agrees that his history is worth more than the gold.
ReplyDeleteIt's very interesting how much symbolism you were able to find in such a small part of the story. To be honest, I barely remembered the scene with the peacock, and definitely didn't think much about it when I originally read that scene. I especially find the detail of the peacock being white very interesting. It's also very clever how you connected the peacock being bad luck with their failure to get the gold. I'm really curious about how the theme of flight fits into this scene, seeing as the peacock is jumping/floating off a roof- does it possibly say something about Milkman's own abilities of flight?
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of the peacock being a direct reflection of Milkman. Its even more interesting that Guitar actually chases the peacock wanting to kill it, like he does Milkman. And Guitar sees the peacock as a reflection of greed, and thus being unable to fly, as he comes to see Milkman. But the peacock can glide a little bit, if it tries hard enough (here is a compilation of peacocks flying to prove it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LgUbKEKJIw&t=2s). I think Guitar is chasing down the peacock because he thinks he is above it and its "greed." But Guitar is the one willing to murder Milkman for gold
ReplyDeleteIf we want to associate the peacock with a critical commentary on greed and vanity, which Milkman has rather literally inherited from his father, it's maybe significant that it appears (of all places) on the roof of a used-car dealership. Macon II's vanity and pride in his wealth (and his detachment from the rest of the Black community) is largely centered on his cars (a "new one every two years," as Milkman will boast near the start of his journey), which we hear all about in chap. 2. So neither Milkman nor Guitar "get the connection" here, but the astute reader sees the link between cars and vanity. (And later in the journey, when Milkman wants to just "replace" his car that breaks down, we see him showing some of his own vanity in relation to cars). Cars in this novel represent the opposite of "flying"--as the pinned-down hood ornament of the flying woman on Macon's car suggests.
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