Solomon MacIvey (Sol) was the son of Zech MacIvey and Glenda. Sol was just like his father and grandfather in the sense that he wanted to always be around the action and help out even at a young age. Throughout the book I noticed that Sol was different from Tobias and Zech in the fact that he wanted to be more independent and do more things on his own; like owning land and making money. These two things were not that important to Tobias and Zech but Sol made a point to put this as a priority in his life. He was very supportive to his family and was always willing to help out whether it was around the house or out herding cattle, but he always remembered how people treated his family especially when they went to Palm Beach. After that visit to Palm Beach Sol was definitely determined to out due the rich that treated his family like they were nothing; I think this was the defining moment when Sol realized he deserved more.
Photo Concept by: Rick Powers
Sol unlike everyone else in his family grows up in the time were development is really starting to pick up. He does live off the land and gets supplies from trading posts with the money they earned from herding cattle, but he also sees the environment that he once knew changing and actually capitalises on these changes. In one section of the book that I found really funny is when Sol, Zech, and Glenda go to Palm Beach and Sol notices all the beautiful birds in a bird shop; he then goes inside and after asking prices for different birds he decides to just buy 24 bird cages. The next day after climbing a tree and catching buzzards Sol goes into the market and people swarm him to buy the birds thinking they are actually exotic birds; he ends up earning $600 and winded up buying his first piece of land with it. This really made me see how smart Sol was and that he was definitely aware of the changing times and knew exactly how to change with it.
Photo Concept by: Paul Stafford
In the story Sol feels a real attachment to his Kissimmee home in the hammock with the rest of his family, because this is the home that he has always know and everyone he loves is here. However, as Tobias, Emma, Zech, Frog, and Glenda die Sol becomes less and less attached to this place because of all the memories that remind him of them. He eventually, leaves and makes his home in Okeechobee and later receives two letters urging him to come back to Kissimmee; when he gets there he realizes that the house his grandfather built is now gone and in his place orange trees. It is at that moment I saw how devastated Sol was that the house he had known and loved for so long was gone, and how much he regretted leaving a place he called home.
Photo Concept by: Rick Powers
Unlike the other characters Sol was the one who left behind the biggest legacy. He benefited from selling lands that he and his dad both owned, as well as, buying land when the market went under. He built hotels, houses, condominiums, bank, and growing his MacIvey empire more and more. So many buildings and parks in Miami had his name on it as a way to honor such a great man and all the development and growth that was made possible because of the man Sol MacIvey. No matter what happened to Sol what he left behind would be continuously used for generations to come.
Photo Concept by: Morris Carter
I chose Sol MacIvey because I think he is the best representation of people in our society today. I know we have grown a lot since Sol's time but we all still have that mentality of growth and expanding not realizing the destruction that we are causing. I know for me I enjoy the malls, buildings, and other developments that are around now, but not if it cost the destruction of the environment around us. In the end Sol realized the mistakes he had made of destroying land that his family worked so hard on just for a profit and I think that is the same with us now; we are realizes we need to save the environment and the land around us or there will be no future for us.
Photo Concept by: Adrian Helleman
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