Morrison in her essay 'Rootedness' emphasises the importance of the ancestral myth, she writes bluntly, 'when you kill the ancestor you kill yourself.' This is certainly true for Macon Dead in Song of Solomon. Macon has rejected his heritage for materialism and as a result remains a most discontented man despite the wealth produced by his materialistic values. Macon's unhappiness with his materialistic life is seen in the novel when he 'turned his back …showed first 75 words of 316 total…

…showed last 75 words of 316 total…spaces so that the reader can participate',. Thus when describing intimate scenes such as Macon recollection of his lovemaking with his wife, and Milkman and his intimacy with Sweet, she intended the reader to 'bring his own sexuality in the scene' and consequently interacting in 'a very personal way'. Thus the reader's have been given the chance by Morrison to 'participate' by building their own perception of what actually happened between Ruth and her father.