Characters
This character received a nickname when his mother nursed him as a young child.
Milkman
The first scene in the novel.
Robert Smith jumping off Mercy hospital.
The peacock is an example of this type of figurative language.
Metaphor
Milkman is searching for this throughout the novel.
Identity (also accepted: freedom)
The street where Milkman grew up.
Not Doctor Street
This character shares a name with a musical instrument.
Guitar
What Milkman begins to do when he becomes an adult.
Works for his father
This metaphor represents freedom in the novel.
Flight
Milkman finds the true meaning of this when he travels to Virginia.
Freedom (also accepted: identity)
Milkman goes here to try and find the gold.
Pilate's house
"Graveyard love" describes how this character feels about Milkman.
Hagar
The reason for Milkman's journey.
Find the gold
The myth that Morrison references in the novel.
The myth of the Flying Africans
This central ideas is illustrated in relationships, like Milkman and Hagar, and Milkman and his mother.
Love
The state where Milkman lives.
Michigan
The only black doctor was the father of this character.
Ruth
What Milkman begins looking for when he gives up his first goal.
His heritage/family identity
References to myths are an example of this type of figurative language.
Allusion
Pilate's journey is a representation of this idea.
Community
The place where Milkman's family is from.
Shalimar, Virginia
This character was the only son of Solomon.
Jake (also acceptable: Macon Dead I)
The last scene in the novel.
Milkman's leap is finally a leap from his past, his burdens, and his dependency
Milkman's dream about his mother and the tulips is an example of this type of figurative language.
Imagery
This underlying idea is threaded throughout the characters' lives because of their identities and the time period.
Race/Racism
The place that Milkman, his father, and his grandfather are named for.
Macon, Georgia