Guitar

         What turn of events caused Guitar to seek Milkman out to kill him? They have been best friends throughout their lives and confide everything to each other, yet it is Guitar who puts the wire around Milkman’s throat in the forest. Guitar came on his day, Sunday, to kill Milkman which hints at this has something to do with the Seven Days. Guitar also whispered to Milkman, “Your day has come” right before he began to strangle him just as the Seven Days do before killing their victims. Was Milkman selected as a revenge killing like the other victims of the Seven Days? This wouldn’t make sense though the Seven days kill white people as a way to even the ratio of whites and blacks and revenge the deaths of innocent black people killed at the hands of whites. Milkman does not fit the profile of a Seven Days victim so is Guitar using the Days to mask his true intent which is to kill Milkman because of the way he has been acting about the gold? Even more odd about the whole situation is how calm Milkman is about the idea that his best friend is trying to kill him. He knows what Guitar is capable of and is clearly scared of him as Milkman wants a gun to protect himself, but he never mentions it to any of the old men rather he lets them make fun of him for falling in the woods and causing his gun to go off. Milkman now has two people who appear to be on a schedule to make attempts on his life. One of these people is now stalking him extremely closely.

         
        What makes the most sense is Guitar is trying to secure the gold for himself and the only way to do that would be to have Milkman lead him to it then kill Milkman. If this was true, why would Guitar attempt to kill Milkman before he had the gold? This question sort of haunts the chapter because it appears Milkman is not focused on Guitar and answering the question of why on Earth is Guitar trying to kill him rather he can’t get his mind off the gold. What does this fact add to the story? It’s a very confusing aspect that Morrison adds to an already deeply interesting quest Milkman is on. So what purpose does this added mystery serve to the overall story? I would argue it is a way to keep Guitar a central figure in the story because he has a key role to play in Milkman’s future. Every character has a purpose to serve in this story which is to advance Milkman’s understanding of himself.

Comments

  1. jwellschlagerOctober 5, 2018 at 1:20 PM

    I was also very confused with why Guitar was trying to kill Milkman. I think that he certainly could be trying to find the gold for himself, especially because of how angry he was when he and Milkman failed the first time, but I also think there are other possibilities. For example, it may be that Guitar believes Milkman has become too white—to the point that he can kill him much like he slaughters other white people. I am not sure why he would choose Milkman as his white person to kill given their past, but the fact that he says "Your day has come" suggests to me that his mission is related to the Seven Days. Overall, though, I think there are many possibilities for why Guitar is chasing Milkman but tend to believe that his reason is at least somewhat related to the Seven Days.

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