Song of Solomon

Part 1, Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. Mr. Smith jumps off the hospital to his death. (Chapter 1)

2. Milkman is the first Black baby born at Mercy Hospital. (Chapter 1)

3. Unable to read, Macon I signs away his land. (Chapter 2)

4. Guitar is angry over the injustice of Emmitt Till’s murder. (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. Freddie catches Ruth breastfeeding Macon III as a young boy. Ruth feels shame over the discovery. Later, Milkman and his father can only guess the event that led to the naming, and they also feel shame. (Chapter 1)

2. Pilate’s father chooses her name randomly from the Bible. After being told its meaning, he says Jesus let his wife die, so the baby’s name will be Pilate. (Chapter 1)

3. In response to Mr. Smith’s desperation and Hagar’s claim that some of her days “were hungry ones,” someone sings a song about Sugarman flying away and leaving others behind. (Chapter 2)

4. Milkman knocks his father to the floor and warns him to stop hitting Ruth. In response, Macon II tells Milkman that he found Ruth lying naked beside her dead father while sucking his fingers. (Chapter 3)

Part 1, Chapters 4-6

Reading Check

1. Milkman writes a letter to Hagar and encloses some money. (Chapter 4)

2. Freddie says that Guitar is spending time with Empire State. (Chapter 4)

3. Milkman follows his mother to the cemetery where her father is buried. (Chapter 5)

4. Pilate’s lack of a navel isolates her from others in her community. (Chapter 5)

Short Answer

1. Pilate’s green sack is heavy and suspended from the ceiling. Pilate says that it holds her “inheritance.” (Chapter 4)

2. Milkman insults and abandons Hagar, suggesting that she should maim her womanhood with the knife. Guitar later takes Hagar home and chastises Milkman for his treatment of Hagar. (Chapters 5-6)

3. Hagar’s lack of a navel and white people are described as “unnatural.” Hagar appears not to have been born from a woman, and white people kill for fun. (Chapters 4 & 6)

4. The Seven Days is a group of vigilantes who kill white people in response to the killings of Black people. There is one killer for each day of the week. Guitar is Sunday. Mr. Jones and Mr. Porter are also past or current members. (Chapter 6)

Part 1, Chapters 7-9

Reading Check

1. Macon II asks Milkman to steal Pilate’s green bag, which Macon II believes is filled with gold. (Chapter 7)

2. Milkman offers Guitar one-third of the gold to join the theft plot. (Chapter 8)

3. First Corinthians begins a relationship with Michael-Mary Graham as her maid and Porter as his lover. (Chapter 9)

4. Milkman hurts First Corinthians by telling Macon II about Porter, and Macon II steps in to end the relationship. (Chapter 9)

Short Answer

1. Macon II and Pilate argue over whether to take or leave the gold in the cave. They fight, and Macon II leaves the cave. When he returns for the gold, he finds Pilate and the gold both missing. (Chapter 7)

2. The police arrest Milkman and Guitar after they drive away from the crime scene. The police find Pilate’s stolen green bag in the car. (Chapter 9)

3. Pilate’s green bag allegedly contains the bones of the white man Macon II killed in the cave. (Chapter 9)

4. Lena is angry with Milkman because he behaves selfishly toward the women in his life. She says that his mother and sisters have pampered him throughout his life, and he has never stopped to inquire about their well-being or offer a cup of coffee. (Chapter 9)

Part 2, Chapters 10-12

Reading Check

1. The Butlers kill Macon Dead I because they want his land. (Chapter 10)

2. Circe stays in the Butlers’ house to witness its ruin. (Chapter 10)

3. Guitar tries to kill Milkman during the hunting trip. (Chapter 11)

4. During their first meeting, Susan Byrd tells Milkman about a grandmother named Sing.

Short Answer

1. In Danville, Pennsylvania, Milkman learns that his grandfather owned a farm and was well-respected in the community. He also learns that the Butlers killed Macon I for his land and that Circe helped his children Macon II and Pilate afterward. (Chapter 10)

2. Milkman expects to find at least one skeleton and bags of gold. However, the cave is empty. (Chapter 10)

3. The “Song of Solomon” tells Milkman the story of his great-grandparents: Solomon and Ryna. (Chapter 12)

4. While in Danville and Shalimar, Milkman loses his suitcase at the general store, his clothes at King Walker’s gas station, and his watch to Grace. (Chapters 10–12)

Part 2, Chapters 13-15

Reading Check

1. Hagar dies of a broken heart. (Chapter 13)

2. “The flying Africans” are enslaved people brought to the Americas who are said to have the ability to fly. (Chapter 14)

3. Pilate’s green bag contains the bones of Macon I, her father. (Chapter 15)

4. Guitar shoots and kills Pilate. (Chapter 15)

Short Answer

1. Hagar, like Ryna, is the kind of woman who loses her mind over a man. (Chapter 13)

2. Susan Byrd reveals to Milkman that Solomon and Ryna were his great-grandparents. Their son, Jake (Macon I), married Sing and fathered Macon II and Pilate. (Chapter 14)

3. Milkman takes Hagar’s hair because he accepts responsibility for her death. He understands that “you can’t just fly off and leave a body.” (Chapter 15)

4. Milkman offers himself up to Guitar because he is free of all materialism and obsession. He can fly. (Chapter 15)