While the white peacock in chapter 8 seems very random, it symbolizes both Macon's and Milkman’s personalities. The peacock is described as strutting around. Milkman often tries to strut around and show off. He tries to look heroic when hitting his dad to protect his mom, even though he often expresses how little he really cares about her. Macon also “struts around” in his car at the beginning of the book. He drives around with the intention of showing off to the community. Peacocks are often associated with vanity and arrogance, something that even Guitar points out. He says “All that jewelry weights it down. Like vanity. Can’t nobody fly with all that shit. Wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down” (Morrison 179). It’s no secret that Macon Dead is vain and arrogant. He often shows off his wealth and takes pride in being better than others. He seems to pass on his arrogance to Milkman as well. Milkman is much more ignorant though, and he struggles...
The first part of The Stranger is parallel to the second part. But, at the same time, they both focus on opposite versions of Meursault. The book is parallel in a very literal sense because of its physical structure. Meursault is a different person in the second half. He grows in unexpecting ways, and his character develops as he slowly indulges more information about himself. The main difference between the first and second parts is the sentence structure. Meursault narrates using concise and literal sentences in the first half of the novel. His longer sentences are describing literal things, facts, or his surroundings. He almost never analyzes his emotions, and we get little information on his past. In the second half, Meursault opens up a bit. He shows more emotion, his sentences get longer, and he shows a more analytical side of himself. Compared to the first half of the book, Meursault uses longer sentences. Even though the majority of his statements are just accounts of ...