Song Of Solomn Essay, Research Paper
Guitar loves his race and will do anything for it. He wants to keep the number of black and white people equal so that the whites do not become the dominant race. Guitar wants the blacks to have the ability to achieve a better life. But his love and attempts to preserve and advance his race actually turn him against himself and his race.
It was in Tommy s Barbershop when Guitar first lets out his rage towards the whites. A kid is stomped and you standin round fussin about whether some cracker put it in the paper. He stomped, ain t he? Dead, ain t he? He could not believe that a black boy was stomped to death just for whistling at a white girl. Guitar is sick and tired of hearing about blacks being murdered by whites. Guitar wants something to be done besides complaining. He does not want to sit around and see his race get murdered to extinction.
It has been brought to Milkman s attention that Guitar has been around Empire State, a known troublemaker, so he confronts Guitar. Guitar has become of member of the Seven Days with intentions of fighting for his race. Guitar states, I had to do something. And the only thing left to do is balance it; keep things on an even keel. A murdered white person for each murdered black person is far from solving any problems, let alone advancing a race. Milkman objects to Guitars participation in the Seven Days but Guitar believes this is a way of doing something. Murder cannot advance a race and is not the answer that Guitar needs but he believes this is the only way to fight the whites. Guitar even says, Not people, white people, while referring to whom he is going to kill, as if he considers whites and black two kinds of beings.
Guitar clearly says to Milkman, We don t off Negroes, but it is hard to believe him. If Guitar and the Seven Days can physically kill a white person than where would their problem be in physically killing a black person. Both Milkman and Guitar end this scene saying they are scared for each other. When Milkman receives the message of the Seven Days from the sales clerk down south it becomes obvious that Guitar is trying to kill him. Guitar attempts to strangle Milkman to death while he is out hunting. Milkman struggled for his freedom, Guitar is not able to kill him but it is clear that Guitar is no longer fighting for his race. His original intentions have turned him into a stone cold killer. Guitar said he himself that they don t kill black people but Milkman is definitely a black person.
Throughout Song of Solomon Milkman represents the advancement of the black race as he dives into his family s past. He is trying to make a better life for himself and the ones around him. This is what Guitar was trying to do to but he took a different path than Milkman. His path led him to a life of murder, and while in the beginning it was somewhat justified, in the end it was a manslaughter. Guitar shots Pilate and we are left to assume that he also shots Milkman but not without Milkman letting out a burst of glory. Guitar always wanted something to be done about the murdering of blacks. He was out to stop the murdering of blacks and with the hope of advancing his race. But in the end Guitar turns against himself and his race.