is the story of Milkman's search for identity. He appears destined for a life of isolation and self-alienation. The Deads exemplify the patriarchal, nuclear family that has been a stable and critical feature of American society. The family is the institution for producing children, maintaining them, and providing individuals with the means to understand their place in the world order. But this same nuclear patriarchal structure of the family itself creates the problems it should be solving. What represses the Deads is the father, Macon: ....