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Milkman and his Name

In Toni Morrison's The Song of Solomon , we are brought into the life of the main character, Milkman. We learn that Milkman received his name because his mother breastfed him in secret late into his life. A janitor named Freddie witnessed this and called him Milkman, a nickname that carried over into his adult life. However, his birth name was Macon Dead III, and he is referred to by both of these names throughout the course of the novel. The two different names signify the different parts of his personality and represent the symbolic significance of naming in The Song of Solomon .  In the novel, Milkman gets into a conflict with his father. After his father gets into a dinner table argument with his mother, Milkman hits his father, Macon Dead II. Macon is initially stunned by Milkman's sudden outburst, but he then takes the time to pull him aside and explain his side of the story. Macon tells Milkman that the reason he hates his wife so much is because he thinks that she is a ...
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Why does Meursault get so angry at the chaplain?

     Throughout The Stranger, Meursault is characterized as someone who doesn’t really care about anything and goes with the flow. During class discussions, he was often described as “emotionless," as he shows no signs of emotion during extremely stressful times, such as his mother's death and after killing the Arab. However, near the end of the book, when Meursault is nearing his death, he has an outburst of rage when talking to the chaplain.     To understand Meursault's reactions to the chaplain, we have to look at the change in his state of mind after he learns that he is going to be executed, which is when he first starts to show signs of emotion. First, Meursault tries to bargain with the situation, thinking of ways he could escape his fate. He desperately tries to think of a way to escape the prison and wishes for the machinery to fail, but he quickly realizes that neither of those are feasible options for him. He then accepts his situation and sits ...
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Brett's Decision to Leave Pedro Romero: Noble or Selfish?

    Throughout  The  Sun Also Rises , Brett starts affairs with many men, but we as readers have a mutual understanding that all of the relationships will eventually come to an end. However, in the case of Pedro Romero, I was convinced that the relationship might have potential to last longer. After all, Brett doesn't have the same strong connection to the other men in the book (besides Jake) as she does to Pedro Romero. She dramatically claims that she is in love with Pedro Romero and asks for Jake's helping in setting the two of them up.      Nonetheless, much like Brett's other relationships, she ends up breaking up with Pedro Romero and telling him to leave. When Pedro Romero asks for Brett's hand in marriage, she immediately tells him that the relationship is over and makes him leave the hotel. She confides in Jake, telling him, "You know I'd have lived with him if I hadn't seen it was bad for him. We got along damned well." In this quote, she is ...
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Reflections of 20th Century Psychiatrists

     Mrs. Dalloway serves as a time capsule of England in the early 20th century, from the descriptions of the streets to how the characters changed because of their environment. I found the depictions of the psychiatrists from the time period to be especially eye-opening, as it really allowed me to see how much we have progressed as a society to be more accepting of mental health issues. The two doctors that are associated with Septimus in this book are Dr. Holmes and Sir William Bradshaw. Virginia Woolf had personal experiences with psychiatrists, and both doctors serve as an emblem of society’s views on mental health. Dr. Holmes represents the common man in England, the one who dismisses mental health and especially PTSD as a hoax. It is fitting that Dr. Holmes has the lesser title of the two (Dr. vs Sir), which represents how he is more like the average person. Holmes never truly believes that shell shock is real and suggests that Septimus can heal himself if he tak...
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Revelations of The Mezzanine in Chapter 14

    The Mezzanine is certainly not a book that conforms to the general structure of other novels. There is no general plot, Baker makes heavy uses of footnotes even though the story is fictional, and we don't see any of the characters develop over the course of the novel. In fact, these deviances from the norm make us wonder if we can even call the book a novel, but that is a discussion for another day. The purpose of the book may seem confusing to many, as it is simply a collection of the day-to-day observances of the main character, Howie. However, I believe that the purpose of The Mezzanine is clearly explained in Chapter 14.      Soon after starting Chapter 14, Baker uses the space in the footnotes to talk about... his interpretations of the footnotes. He starts by talking about how he has seen footnotes being used in Hartpole Lecky's History of European Morals  to bring historical characters to life. In one example, he remembers how reading abou...
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