What We Deserve
As we near Thanksgiving, we review and give thanks for all of the people in our lives that truly matter; the friends and family that are always there for us. Shortly after thinking about these people, I realize just how many fake, surface-level "friends" and acquaintances I have. We all have them. Those people that are either just nice to you in school, or avoid you altogether. You can't quite put your finger on it, but their tight smiles and short greetings clue you in to some secret dislike or annoyance. Maybe these people are in fact truly friendly, but you know that when it comes down to the tough stuff they wouldn't really support you. It is this attitude of indifference and superficiality ingrained in all people that keeps me from truly enjoying Thanksgiving. For all the people that we love, there are people that we just don't care about.
In Song of Solomon, Milkman eventually realizes that he has had this callous attitude all his life. He recognizes that his actions have sent the message to others that he is not responsible for their pain, and he requests that they "share [their] happiness...but not [their] unhappiness" (277). To a certain extent, this is what we all want; life would be much simpler if we didn't have to deal with other people's problems. We deceive ourselves into believing that we can care about people only halfway, but that they will still love us and give us all that we feel we deserve. Milkman thought he "deserved only to be loved... and given what he wanted"(277). The word "deserve" seems ugly in this way, entitling us to something that isn't ours; the love of others. I feel that it is our job as a community of human beings that we all try to love and support one another, but I realize that as people born with incurable faults we will fail at this duty. Too many of us look to others just to reap the benefits of a relationship or connection.
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Milkman leaves his hometown in search for gold, but this journey quickly becomes more about his history and identity, which he finds running and searching through woods and wilderness. I will admit that I accidentally read ahead in the novel, and toward the end, Milkman realizes that the word "deserve" has gone tired. He was always "saying he didn't deserve some bad luck, or some bad treatment from others" (276). I believe we all deserve this to some extent, because there is not one single person who has truly cared about every human being that they have ever met. We have all pretended to like people, and I'm sure we can all think of several people that have not been kind to us. Thanksgiving is a time for me to remind myself who my real friends are, and in realizing this I can remind myself how to treat them to show the gratitude I have for them.
On that note, have a happy Thanksgiving.
In Song of Solomon, Milkman eventually realizes that he has had this callous attitude all his life. He recognizes that his actions have sent the message to others that he is not responsible for their pain, and he requests that they "share [their] happiness...but not [their] unhappiness" (277). To a certain extent, this is what we all want; life would be much simpler if we didn't have to deal with other people's problems. We deceive ourselves into believing that we can care about people only halfway, but that they will still love us and give us all that we feel we deserve. Milkman thought he "deserved only to be loved... and given what he wanted"(277). The word "deserve" seems ugly in this way, entitling us to something that isn't ours; the love of others. I feel that it is our job as a community of human beings that we all try to love and support one another, but I realize that as people born with incurable faults we will fail at this duty. Too many of us look to others just to reap the benefits of a relationship or connection.
Milkman leaves his hometown in search for gold, but this journey quickly becomes more about his history and identity, which he finds running and searching through woods and wilderness. I will admit that I accidentally read ahead in the novel, and toward the end, Milkman realizes that the word "deserve" has gone tired. He was always "saying he didn't deserve some bad luck, or some bad treatment from others" (276). I believe we all deserve this to some extent, because there is not one single person who has truly cared about every human being that they have ever met. We have all pretended to like people, and I'm sure we can all think of several people that have not been kind to us. Thanksgiving is a time for me to remind myself who my real friends are, and in realizing this I can remind myself how to treat them to show the gratitude I have for them.
On that note, have a happy Thanksgiving.
I love how you tied it into the upcoming holiday season! Very though provoking and weel written.
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