Milkman and Guitar

Please finish Song of Solomon before reading because this blog post talks about spoilers!

Guitar and Milkman begin Song of Solomon as friends and end the novel as….enemies?  I got a bit confused at the end of the book and I thought I would try to make sense of what happened by looking at their relationship throughout the book.

Clearly, Guitar is pivotal in Milkman’s development. From a very young age, he is Milkman’s only friend. The two met in school when Guitar saves Milkman from bullies: “Milkman smiled, remembering how Guitar grinned and whooped as the four boys turned on him. It was the first time Milkman saw anybody really enjoy a fight” (264). Guitar is slightly older than Milkman, both in age and in attitude. Because he is a member of the Seven Days (and has an actual job I think?), Guitar is one of Milkman’s role models. As the two get older, Guitar repeatedly encourages Milkman to do something with his life, like settling down with Hagar or escaping from his father’s shadow.

Guitar has no actual family, but he proves himself apt at creating a group of people that he considers family. He is a friend to nearly everyone, exemplified when he is allowed in the bar, while Milkman is questioned. Guitar also attempts to help Milkman discover a potential familial group, because Milkman’s family is so chaotic, by revealing the existence of the Seven Days and encouraging Milkman to branch out in the African-American community and take notice of lynchings. Milkman doesn’t really listen to him at the time, because he is more fascinated by the concept of the Seven Days and the fact that Guitar is a member. He starts to distrust Guitar after this. Overall, their relationship went from friends to more-distant friends in Part One.

In Part Two, Milkman seems much more trusting of Guitar. As Milkman discovers his family roots and meets new people, he becomes more caring and kind, even helping a worker lift a crate. He also begins to see the world from Guitar’s perspective: “he thought he understood Guitar now. Really understood him” (278). Completely on the other hand, Guitar has followed Milkman and decided that he is going to kill him, because thinks that Milkman is taking all the gold for himself and he wants the gold for the Seven Days. He refuses to accept Milkman’s answer that there was not gold; instead, he continues to hunt Milkman down. To me, this felt like something very uncharacteristic for Guitar, rather, something I could see Milkman from the previous part doing. However, despite Guitar’s attempt on Milkman’s life, they are still cordial towards one another:

“’One more thing. Why the message? Why’d you warn me at the store?’

‘You’re my friend. It’s the least I could do for a friend.’

‘My man. I want to thank you.’

‘You’re welcome, baby’” (298).

Milkman appears to accept Guitar’s targeting of him just after he was almost killed, when the group is cleaning the bobcat. An earlier conversation with Guitar is replaying through his head and is seems to have gained new significance. In that conversation, Guitar explains to Milkman that people are trying to control his life so much because “they want your life” (222). However, Guitar says, they don’t do this to be cruel, they do it out of love. Milkman thinks about this conversation a lot in the immediate aftermath of Guitar’s attempt, and, to me, it seems to be suggesting that Guitar is hunting down Milkman out of love.

              Another parallel that I noticed between that conversation and the end of the book involved this exchange between Milkman and Guitar:

“’Nobody can choose what to die for’

‘Yes you can, and if you can’t, you can damn well try to’” (223).

By the end of the book, Milkman’s perspective seems to have reversed; he controls his own death and chooses to stand up and jump towards Guitar even though it meant he would probably die. I’m not totally sure what to make of Milkman and Guitar’s role reversal, or whether or not Toni Morrison meant for it to happen. I don't really see how Guitar can be hunting down Milkman out of love, but that seems to be what the book is suggesting? 

What do you think? Why is Guitar hunting down Milkman?