Macon Dead Jr.'s Mindset
The Song of Solomon is filled with interesting characters worth analyzing, but today I want to take a closer look at the mindset of Milkman's father. His father is not obsessed with money or an extreme cheapskate. Macon Dead Jr. is obsessed with ownership. In his mind having money and wealth will give him the freedom and respect that he's denied because of his race. Macon's obsession with ownership isolates him from the community around him. He has no "people" in Michigan, as shown by the Macon's hearse, "Others watched the family gliding by with a tiny bit of jealousy and a whole lot of amusement, for Macon’s wide green Packard belied what they thought a car was for," and how he collects rent from Porter in the beginning of the novel before ruining him later on. Despite the isolation, cruelty, and overbearing nature that Macon's mindset brings him, Toni Morrison doesn't completely reject the validity of Macon's ideas about mone
