The Degradation of the Dead Family

When Milkman goes searching for gold and meets Reverend Cooper and the rest of Montour County, the community has fond memories of Macon Jr., remembering that he “was strong as an ox … outran, outplowed, outshot, outpicked, outrode them all.” Milkman realizes that their description of his father is vastly different from the uncompromising man his father has become. On the surface, Macon Jr.’s current social standing and lifestyle are right in line with the successes of his father: Macon Jr. drives a Packard and has married the daughter of a doctor, while the original Macon developed an expansive farm from scratch. However, as Milkman knows, Macon Jr. is drastically different from the original Macon due to the motivations behind their actions. Macon Jr. blindly pursues wealth with little regard for the welfare of the community, striking fear in others. The original Macon served as an inspirational figure for his community, referring to them as his “brothers”.

Initially, I thought one of the messages in the book was that material wealth and morality are mutually exclusive. The characters who are wealthy, such as Macon Jr. and Milkman, are harsh and manipulative, corrupted by their desire for gold and material wealth. On the other hand, Pilate is wise and genuinely helps people through their troubles, yet she is poor. Macon Jr. and Pilate are both socially isolated because the community dislikes how ruthlessly Macon Jr. collects taxes and how Pilate does not have a belly button, labeling her as “unnatural”. The original Macon, however, becomes wealthy and successful in a morally sound way. The original Macon wins the respect of Montour County through hard work and sacrifice, serving as a role model for the rest of the community. Perhaps the original Macon is such an inspirational figure for Montour County because he is a farmer just like the others; he continues to maintain his roots in agriculture and embraces his identity as an African American. He tries to stand up to the white farmers rather than emulate white people, like Macon Jr.

I think a reason for Macon Jr.’s greed for wealth is that he continues to be traumatized by his father’s death. While Pilate willingly shares her past with others, Macon Jr. mainly keeps the past bottled up, only retelling it to Milkman on rare circumstances. Macon Jr. possibly believes that by becoming as ruthless and cold-hearted like the white farmers, he can prevent something like his father’s murder from happening to himself. Macon Jr.’s quest for wealth, however, is worth nothing as long as he endures a dysfunctional family life and social standing. Hopefully, Milkman’s visit to his past will help him reconcile with his family, allowing them to live a peaceful life just as the Deads once did.