Song of Solomon: Part 2, Chapter 11 Summary & Analysis

In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Milkman, who is used to seeing women carrying purses, is struck by the lack of possessions women carry with them: no purses, keys, wallet, etc. He has arrived in this place by trying to track down the town where Pilate lived: it’s called Shalimar, not Charlemagne, as Circe had previously told him. After leaving Pennsylvania, he bought a cheap car and has begun to enjoy his travels. In Shalimar, his car breaks down. While he waits for the car to be fixed, he rests at Solomon’s General Store. As he speaks to the owner of the store, Mr. Solomon, he learns that someone from Michigan drove to Shalimar looking for him; Milkman realizes that Guitar must have come to the store, and thinks that he must be in trouble.

As Milkman walks outside the General Store thinking of Guitar, he sees children playing and chanting a nursery rhyme about Solomon. He remembers that he never played so happily when he was a child, and this makes him think of getting in a fight as a boy and being rescued by Guitar. Guitar beat up the four boys who were attacking Milkman, and then lent Milkman his baseball cap so that he could wipe the blood off of himself; when Milkman was finished doing this, Guitar put his cap back on his head.

Milkman walks back into the General Store, and makes the mistake of complimenting the women of the town on their beauty. Mr. Solomon becomes hostile, and tells Milkman that there are no places to stay in town. Milkman also remarks that he might have to buy a new car; this makes the other men regard him as a rich snob. One of the men in the store, Saul, picks a fight with Milkman, and pulls a knife on him; Milkman fights back, but winds up with cuts on his face and hand. Mr. Solomon breaks up the fight, and Saul leaves the store.

An old man named Omar asks Milkman to go hunting with them; Milkman lies and says that he’s a good shot. Omar tells him to meet them the next morning at a nearby gas station called King Walker’s. Milkman sleeps in his car that night, dreaming that Guitar is looking down on him. The next morning, he goes to meet the other hunters, Calvin Breakstone and Small Boy.

During the hunt, Calvin is cheerful, and assures Milkman that they’re in no danger from bears or other animals, since they’re armed. As the day passes and the light fades, and the hunters use lamps. Milkman thinks to himself that he shouldn’t have participated in the hunt; he doesn’t know what the people he’s hunting with are capable of. Calvin runs after a bobcat, and in the chase, Milkman falls behind, and sits down to rest. He thinks that the people in Shalimar are wrong to despise him because of his wealth. As he thinks this, he realizes that he has a bad habit of claiming not to deserve bad luck or abuse; he’s always assumed he deserves to be loved by everyone around him, even when he’s not lovable at all. He realizes also that all the things he liked about his life back home — his father’s reputation, his money, his car — are useless to him in Shalimar; only instinct and cleverness can help him as he walks through the forest.

Milkman walks through the forest thinking of women, especially Hagar. As he walks, he hears a voice say, “Your Day has come,” and feels a wire slip around his neck. Milkman is quick enough to put his hand between his neck and wire, and he fires his gun into the trees. Guitar, who has been trying to murder Milkman, runs away, startled.

The other hunters run toward Milkman; they find him alone on the ground. Milkman claims that he tripped and his gun went off, not mentioning Guitar. The hunters laugh and display the bobcat they’ve caught. They leave the forest and travel to King Walker’s Gas Station, where they meet a man named Vernell. He cuts the bobcat open, slicing off its genitals and offering Milkman the heart. Milkman accepts, thinking about what Guitar told him about how everyone wants the life of a Black man. As he contemplates the disgusting sight of the dead bobcat, a peacock flies onto a car.

Milkman asks the hunters if they knew Pilate, Sing, or Macon’s father. Vernell, remembers Sing as a light-skinned girl; he reveals that her last name was Byrd, and that she lived in a nearby area. Vernell thinks that Susan Byrd, another member of the family, still lives there, near a rock formation called Solomon’s Leap. At first, Milkman wants to go there immediately, but the other hunters convince him to spend the night resting first. Milkman stays with Sweet, a woman who lives nearby. Sweet feeds Milkman and takes care of his injuries from the past two days. He pays her for sex and says he’ll see her again soon.