Questions for Chapter 3 of Song of Solomon

 Directions: Answer these questions using complete sentences. Also, if you use words directly from the text make certain to put quotations around them and include the page numbers using parenthetical docuementation!

1.       What was the point of Railroad Tommy’s rant about what the boys were not going to be able to have?

2.       How did the fact that Milkman having intercourse for over six years change how he saw his mother?

3.       How does Toni Morrison characterize Doctor Foster using the opinions of Macon Dead Jr.? How is Dr. Foster’s influence seen in the personality and actions of his daughter, Ruth?

4.       What does Macon reveal to Milkman and how does that add to your understanding of the relationship Macon has with his wife?

5.       On page 75, Milkman begins to reflect on his mother. What does he say about her? More importantly, what does this characterization of his mother say about him?

6.       What does this revelation by Macon Dead Jr., cause Milkman to remember?

7.       List all of the men in the barber shop.

8.       What was the exchange between Freddie and Porter about? What allusion is referenced during this conversation? Where have we seen Porter before in the novel?

9.       Describe Mary’s. What made it so “special”?

10.   How does Guitar’s story about the doe relate to Milkman’s situation with his parents?

11.   According to Guitar, how do black people get their names?

12.   How does Morrison play on the name Dead at the end of Chapter 3?