As I was reading chapter 12 this weekend, I stumbled upon this quote- and instantly knew I needed to write about it. This quote perfectly describes Milkman’s character development throughout the book. In the beginning of the novel, Milkman can be seen as a selfish, money-obsessed black man that didn’t truly understand the power associated with wealth. He constantly tries to buy his way out of his problems, which highly offends the colored people he encounters. He simply doesn’t realize the impact this wealth has had not only on his personality, but his life as a whole.
As the novel progresses, Milkman slowly starts to realize his issues with vanity and selfishness. These realizations come with the oddly placed white peacock encounter. It is described as having a tail full of jewelry, which weighs it down. This symbolizes Milkman’s vanity and selfishness weighing him down- which he slowly realizes. However, he doesn’t really start to correct himself until he travels to Pennsylvania in search of gold- which is pretty ironic if you ask me.
In this
town, people get very offended by Milkman’s status. This is especially true
when he states that he would simply buy a new car since his broke down. He is
seen as materialistic, and that’s not a good trait to have. This all changes when
he decides to go on a racoon hunt with some of the residents. This is where he
truly recognizes his major flaw as a character. After this point, when he states
this quote, he is less materialistic and more likable to all that surround him.
The fact that he said this quote in the first place truly shows his development
as a character.
