Dr. Foster


So far in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, we don’t know much about Doctor Foster, aside from the descriptions of him that each character provides. Today, I wanted to analyze the first detailed description the readers get of him, through Macon Dead’s eyes as he has a talk with Milkman after Milkman hits his father (page 71, pictured below).

 
The first thing that stood out to me while reading this excerpt was the fact that while Dr. Foster was delivering Ruth’s two children, “each time all he was interested in was the color of their skin,” even though he was a colored man himself (Morrison 71). This implies that the doctor favors lighter skin and is racist towards his own culture, his own people, and Macon Dead even tells Milkman, “He would have disowned you” (Morrison 71). Thus, this justifies Macon Dead’s statement that “a bigger hypocrite never lived” (Morrison 71). The audience also learns for the first time that Dr. Foster was addicted to a drug called ether, which causes us to lose a sizeable amount of respect for him and gain a strong disliking, considering he was one of the best doctors in town but practiced while under the influence. Macon Dead also says, “Negroes in this town worshipped him. He didn’t give a damn about them, though. Called them cannibals” (Morrison 71). This part truly shocked me because it reveals Dr. Foster’s deep arrogance. He makes his community, people just like himself and his family, seem so inferior to him just because they have less money than him and aren’t as prestigious. This reminds me of something a white man would say, a white slave master perhaps, since everyone in town glorified Dr. Foster the same way slaves would glorify/honor their masters. Pretty disgusting, if you ask me…

Macon Dead’s description makes Dr. Foster out to be a repulsive man - an internalized racist filled with dark secrets. However we don’t know if Macon is telling the truth, do we? I mean, he doesn’t have the best reputation himself either. I guess we’ll have to keep reading to find out the truth about this madhouse of a family.

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 19, 2017 at 1:49 PM

    Very nice analysis Rima!! I liked how you added lots of textual evidence to back up your writing. I especially love the quote about how Dr. Foster was the biggest hypocrite who ever lived. True! Well written as always!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownNovember 19, 2017 at 3:57 PM

    I really like how you went very deep with your analysis on Doctor Foster. This brought up a lot of insight and a better idea of who he is as a person.

    ReplyDelete

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