<i>Song of Solomon</i> - which characters were a help and which characters were a hidrance to the main character.

Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon is the coming-of-age story of Milkman, an African American man who grows up in Michigan during the forties, fifties, and sixties. Milkman goes on a search for gold, but ends up finding his heritage and the meaning and significance of his own life. During the course of the novel, several characters act as either aids or hindrances to Milkman: Ruth and Macon hinder his progress by providing false, conflicting, confusing, …

…fact, helps him the most. As with all humans, Milkman's past governs his future. Though he has many obstacles while searching for his past (and consequently, his future), he also has many aids as well. By the end of the novel, his life is no longer truly his, but a patchwork with each piece belonging to a different person. Only when he puts these patches together does Milkman really find what he is looking for.