Who should we sympathize with, Macon Dead or Ruth?
In Song of Solomon Ruth and Macon seem to dislike each other. They tell Milkman conflicting stories about the past, and there seems to be a continuous tension between them. Throughout the book, I find myself with a moral dilemma on who to sympathize with. That is why I decided to break down why I sympathize with both Ruth and Macon Dead in a blog post!
Although in our class discussions there is definitely a negative light shined on Macon, I believe that you have to give him some slack. When Macon grew up he was the son of someone who was looked up to as an inspirational figure. Ever since his father died, Macon had the pressure of being just as good as his father, and that is why I think he is so conscious about making money and different people's impression of him. He also has to live with the fact that his wife has some sort of unorthodox relationship with her father, who we know denied Macon money. Overall Macon has a great life and is seen as quite cold, but there is definitely a case on why Macon should be sympathized with.
Ruth I believe has plenty of reasons to be sympathized with. She, first of all, has a bad relationship with her husband and it can be seen that Ruth and her daughters are seen as inferior to Macon. Ruth believes that her father was the only one that actually cared about her and that is why she visits his grave so often. According to her, it was also Macon's fault that her father died which must have been devastating. Lastly, Macon did not have any sexual feelings toward Ruth and this had a big effect on Ruth to the point that she had to ask Pilate help. This only led to Macon wanting Ruth to abort Milkman when he got her pregnant. All these events make me want to sympathize with Ruth.
The other dilemma I had while deciding who I want to sympathize with was I did not know what was real and what was a lie. Ruth and Macon tell conflicting stories so I did not know what to believe. If I believed Ruth I would obviously sympathize with her, but if I believed Macon I would obviously sympathize with him. Help!
I personally sympathize more with Ruth as I got deeper into the story. Firstly, the scene where Macon smacks Ruth struck me as unjust and unnecessary. However, I went with it because of the time period this is set in and the societal norms at the time. The decisive moment where I sympathized more with Ruth was when it's revealed (or Ruth suspects) that Macon essentially led to her father death. Isn't that like borderline psychopath? Anyhow, from these two events, my perspective towards Macon became negative and sympathies went to Ruth.
ReplyDeleteI also wrote my blog post on this topic, but I think that it is easier to sympathize with Ruth. I think that parts of Macon's perspective are understandable, especially as we learn more about his father and the legends that surround him. However, I think that Ruth's story fits more with the perspective the Pilate gives when she tells her story and how she came to help Ruth. I think that Macon may have exaggerated parts of his story, consciously or unconsciously, to fit his narrative. There are definitely parts of both stories that have been shown to be true through other sources but I think that overall Ruth is more believable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that this is a complicated question and the two testimonies conflict. Honestly, I'm pretty sure that they both edited out all the parts of the story that made them each look bad, and as such the truth is probably a combination of both. So I more or less believe the allegations made by each against each other. But even so, I have to sympathize with Ruth a little more; while I understand Macon's frustration with Ruth and father, I don't believe that justifies his abuse. Additionally, I think that trying to kill Milkman is kind of not cool. Ruth might have been in love with her father, but that's a much more internal issue that doesn't really actively harm anyone outside of the two of them; even if she did torment Macon a little, it seems like it was largely a response to his abuse.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I sympathize more with Ruth. I think that when Macon hits Ruth, Macon lost all sympathy I could have had for him. That was really unmerited. I understand Macon's unhappiness towards Ruth's relationship with her dad, but that was a little too far. I trust Ruth much more than Macon.
ReplyDeleteI would sympathize more with Ruth. Macon literally smacked her. On top of that, Macon's nonchalance really doesn't make the reader to want to sympathize for him. Also, Ruth seems a lot more credible and trustworthy.
ReplyDeleteMacon had a tough life and witnessed his father’s murder right before his eyes. Ruth, on the other hand, was ‘stunned into silence’ with Macon’s mistreatment. She longs for affection so much that she makes the long trip to her father’s grave just to talk to him, because she feels that he is the only one who cared about her. I would lean more towards sympathizing with Ruth when I consider the psychological abuse she suffers at Macon’s hands.
ReplyDeleteEthan, great post! In fact, I wrote my blog post on the internal turmoil suffered by Macon Jr. I do share more empathy-rather than sympathy- for Macon Jr. than I do Ruth. However, that does not mean I condone some of Macon Jr.'s actions towards Ruth. I definitely do feel sympathy for her and her situation in a vaguely Clarissa Dalloway like context because she does not have very much power within the confines of society. Both characters provide compelling arguments to garner sympathy from the reader.
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