Characters / Family Map
What are the FULL names of Milkman's two sisters?
Magdalene (called Lena) / First Corinthians
What does Pilate call the green sack hanging from her ceiling?
Her inheritance
What is a critical lens?
(Definition, not examples).
An interpretive approach to a text; a way of looking at a text that facilitates analysis, interpretation, meaning-making.
Where did Toni Morrison grow up?
Ohio (more specifically, Lorain)
Soaring vs. Knowing
In the song the children of Shalimar sing, many family characters are revealed to Milkman. Identify 2 of them and explain who they are.
Heddy = Sing’s mother, Indian woman, took care of Jake when his father Solomon left him and his siblings behind
Sing’s full name = Singing Bird
Crow = Crowell Byrd, Sing’s brother, Susan’s father
Ryna = Solomon’s wife who cried when he flew off
Solomon = "flying African"
When Macon II watches in on Pilate and her family's house, what does he observe?
The three women singing.
What is the main thing the socio-economic lens look at in texts?
Power dynamics
Where did Toni Morrison attend college?
Howard University
Why does Milkman ask Guitar if he is the only young person who is a member of The Seven Days?
Because he believes that “young dudes are subject to change the rules” (161)
Who reveals that Macon I's real name is Jake?
Circe
Describe what happens to Macon II and Pilate immediately following their father's death.
Variations will occur: They are hidden at the Butler's house by Circe for two weeks, go out into the wilderness where they are haunted by a ghost that looks like their father, kill a white man who has gold, Pilate + Macon separate and start a long lasting feud over who was right vs. wrong and who has the gold.
Who developed the psychoanalytical lens?
Sigmund Freud
Where did Morrison work for a majority of her career?
Random House Publishing in NYC
Name 2 of the people who go hunting with Milkman in Shalimar.
Omar, Luther Solomon, Calvin Breakstone, and Small Boy
What is the FULL name of the insurance agent who "took flight" in the opening scene of the novel?
Robert Smith
Milkman tells Guitar in great detail a dream he has about his mother. What happened in that dream?
Ruth is working in the garden and the flowers around her start to grow, eventually smothering her and pulling her underground. Milkman watches from a distance, never going to help her.
What are the 3 stages of the Hero's Journey?
Departure, Initiation, Return
Name THREE of Morrison's novels, not including Song of Solomon.
Sula / Beloved / The Bluest Eye / Tar Baby / Jazz / Playing in the Dark / Paradise / Love / A Mercy / Home / God Help the Child / The Source of Self-Regard
What is the color + name of Macon's car that he drives the family around in on Sundays?
Green Packard
Who owns the barbershop Milkman and Guitar frequent?
Railroad Tommy and Hospital Tommy
What does Milkman dream about while sleeping at Sweet's? What is the significance?
Dreams about flying over the sea where someone is applauding him.
*Understanding of significance can vary*
Name ONE of the two functions of the ecocriticism lens.
Function #1: examines the intersection between environment and culture of a piece of literature
Function #2: helps readers understand the value of ecology and environment and to explore their own relationship with nature
1993
What is Pilate's final wish before she dies?
(Hint: this is a reflection on her life, and it is one of Ms. Murphy's favorite quotations from the book!)
“I wish I’d a knowed more people. I would of loved ‘em all. If I’d a knowed more, I would a loved more” (336)