Flying is freedom

1. Milkman lives a privileged existence in a town that is mostly owned by his father.
2. Because of his privileged life, he is unable to appreciate it and live it well.
3. Milkman feels locked up in his existence, and this manifests itself in his dreams of flying, and his leaving home later in the book.
4. "He had stretched his carefree boyhood out thirty-one years" (Morrison 98).
5. Milkman's life has been privileged and he has lived under the shadow of his father his entire life, even working for him when he is old enough. His longing of being able to fly are representative of his wanting to live life on his own, out from under the long shadow of his father.
6. I find Milkman interesting because he reminds me of someone that I met at TIP. This person came from an extremely wealthy family and was able to gain friends because of his sheer ability to buy people things. I personally did not befriend this person, but I did observe him from a distance and noticed that, like Milkman, only a few of his friends liked him despite his wealthy background instead of because of it. What I find most interesting is the contrast between the two. Milkman wants to be out of the shadow of his father and to live life on his own terms, but my "acquaintance" had no such desires and was perfectly happy to let his parents affluence influence his life to such a great extent.