“[Guitar] We poor people, Milkman. I work at an auto plant. The rest of us barely eke out a living. Where’s the money, the state, the country to finance our justice? You say Jews try their catches in a court. Do we have a court? Is there one courthouse in one city in the country where a jury would convict them? There are places right now where a Negro still can’t testify against a white man. Where the judge, the jury, the court, are legally bound to ignore anything a Negro has to say. What that means is that a black man is a victim of a crime only when a white man says he is. Only then. If there was anything like or near justice or courts when a cracker kills a Negro, there wouldn’t have to be no Seven Days. But there ain’t; so we are. And we do it without money, without support, without costumes, without newspapers, without senators, without lobbyists, and without illusions!”
“[Milkman] You sound like that red-headed Negro named X. Why don’t you join him and call yourself Guitar X?”
“[Guitar] X, Bains—what difference does it make? I don’t give a damn about names.”
“[Milkman] You miss his point. His point is to let white people know you don’t accept your slave name.”
“[Guitar]I don’t give a shit what white people know or even think. Besides, I do accept it. It’s part of who I am. Guitar is my name. Bains is the slave master’s name. And I’m all of that. Slave names don’t bother me; but slave status does.” (Morrison 267 - 268)
In the Song of Solomon, Milkman and Guitar are arguing over the ethics of an organization called to Seven Days. The purpose of the organization called the Seven days is to launch reactionary attacks against whites to help balance out the racist attacks on blacks. At this moment in the story, Guitar told Milkman that he joined the Seven Days.
In the passage Guitar argue his justifications for joining an organization that kill innocent whites to retaliation against attacks against black to Milkman. The first thing that Guitar talks about how he works in an auto factory. Often factory workers are a representation of the working class. Toni Morrison must of make it Guitar’s job to shows that he is in the working class. The reason that this is relevant is because that it sets the stage for what is Guitar’s life is like. Back in the early 1900’s, factory work is hard and it did not pay very well. Some people may say that is where people best discover class consciousness. During Guitar’s long factory hours, he may have found the system unfair and did not like how it favored some groups over others. He furthers this behavior with Guitar’s description of the court systems. When he mentions “jews try their catches in court”. A stereotype of jewish people is that they are generally rich. Also “catches” is slang for beating up someone. Guitar may have said this to show that the rich are taking their fights in courts because the rich know they can win in courts rather than in an actual fight. After this statement Guitar talks about how the blacks can’t fight for themselves in court. Throughout this description he calls the fellow blacks, “negros”. The word “negro” is a word in history that has been used to dehumanizing blacks. He may have been using this word to show that blacks have no say in the same way as they have no say in the name given. All these little hints suggest that Guitar has gone through class consciousness and has realized that he is the oppressed class. Guitar learns this from the factory job he works, the unfair power given to the rich and unfair courts. All these actions are reasons that Guitar may have joined the seven days.
In the second part of passage, Milkman retorts by saying “...why don’t join a red-headed Negro named X. Why don’t you join him and call yourself Guitar X?” This is obvious reference to Malcolm X. Malcolm X was a African american Muslim minister who advocated for rejection of the idea of integration and nonviolence for blacks. He has been known to some as a hero and to others a perpetrator of violence and racism. It seems that Milkman is making an obvious comparison of Malcolm to Guitar. Milkman is probably saying that the path Guitar is going down get him killed. The reason that Toni Morrison may have put this analogy is to show how Milkman can’t except Guitar’s escape from societal norms. Just like the ambiguity of Malcolm X, Milkman can not seem to justify that whether or not Guitar actions are justified even if he breaking societal barriers. Then Guitar finishes the passage by saying, “... Guitar is my name. Bains is the slave master’s name. And I’m all of that. Slave names don’t bother me; but slave status does.” This quote shows that Guitar has reached class consciousness. He literal says that “slave status” bothers him. Guitar has shown to reached to class consciousness and reached to the point where he realizes his position in society. Although violent, Guitar may have used the Seven Days as way to get away from his society oppression. This shows that the passage is not on Milkman and Guitar arguing about the Seven Days but rather them arguing whether or not escaping the societal norms is justified.
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