Character Development In Song Of Solomon

The utilization of traditional and non-traditional gender roles in the novel “Song of Solomon” written by Toni Morrison shows the influences, expectations and impact that the gender roles have and place not only on the individual characters but on men and women in general and within the different communities.

In the opening chapter of the 1977 novel Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, the author presents a distant relationship between Macon Dead and his estranged sister, Pilate. Macon is shown staring into the window of his sister’s house, watching Pilate, her daughter Reba, and granddaughter Hagar. By simply observing them from the outside of their house, he demonstrates the complex relationship between himself and the family members he is watching. Morrison conveys this conflicted relationship through his use of setting, musical motif, and symbolism behind “Dead”.

Growing up is a journey, to be specific it 's a journey in a maze. We go around in different directions in hopes to find out who we indeed are. Left to right in every direction we run into things that change our mindset and by the end of the maze, we are entirely different people. Most mazes have doors; open one door new beginning, shut another end of that chapter. Specific events in life alter our young minds, and we tend to grow from these experiences. Personal and social encounters come our way and turn us into adults. Milkman in the novel Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison goes through various incitements and awakenings that force him to change his ways and enhance his

Macon jr.’s father, Macon Dead sr., began milkman’s curiosity about his family’s history. Macon Dead sr., puts his personal fears on Macon jr., making it harder for him to find his personal identity. Macon Dead sr. became obsessed with money after his father, Jake, was shot and killed for his property. This devastating event from his childhood made him close-fisted, insensitive, and stingy. Macon Dead sr. becomes a money hungry machine, because he does not want to suffer the same fate as his father. Macon Dead sr. does not to tell

In Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, Pilate Dead is labeled as the forbidden aunt in the novel; Macon regards her of little worth by calling her a snake. Yet she possesses a mystical quality that holds other characters in the book such as Macon Jr., Milkman and Guitar “spellbound” (37). Milkman Dead lives a life of higher status than that of his destitute aunt, yet he is drawn to Pilate and intrigued by her outlandish characteristics rather than being let down by her lack of a comfortable lifestyle. The gravitating pull Pilate has on Milkman is shown when Macon Jr. forbides Milkman from visiting his aunt. She is more appealing to Guitar and Milkman because of “all those unbelievable but entirely possible stories about his father's sister/ the woman his father had forbidden him to go near/ had both of them spellbound” (37). Pilate is like the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Her eccentric ways and the mere fact that she is forbidden to Milkman makes her all the more tempting. It is because of her strange ways that she is first introduced to Milkman, planting a seed to his self-discovery. Pilate’s mystical influence on Milkman grows stronger from the time they first meet at her house to the end of the novel where her transforming powers lead him to realize that it is because of her satisfaction with her lifestyle that she does not need to fly. Pilate’s association with nature imagery, her connection to her African origins, and her love of others, push Milkman to come to

People often admire and yearn for the natural state of bliss a child has due to their ignorance of what 's going on around them. Although it is said that ignorance is bliss, but it is not always a good thing. As an adolescent, that bliss works to your advantage, but as a person gets older it only hinders your growth. Most times one does not know that they have remained stagnant until it has become known. In the novel Song of Solomon, by Tori Morrison, Milkman was unaware of his current state until it was made known to him.As a result, he unconsciously came of age through inner and external revelations.

“Doing the right thing takes courage and strength.” (Blair Waldorf). Some people have struggles growing up and cannot express who they truly are because they always tried to hide under someone’s shadow. Throughout the first half of the novel Milkman is the incarnation of an immature young man drifting aimlessly through life. He also inherited some qualities from his father; they both had strong materialistic values, arrogance, his sexist, and aggressive attitude towards women. In Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison uses minor characters in the novel as form of guidance counselor for Milkman’s development.

Toni Morrison’s novel, Song of Solomon, encompasses many themes that were prevalent in the other novels written in the same time period. Morrison produced this novel in 1977 just as racial issues and discrimination were at its peaks. “She [Morrison] was the first African American to receive the Noble Prize in Literature.” (Milliman 5) However, the setting of the story is in the 1930s when World War II was taking place. The novel is based on an African-American family residing in Michigan who are victims of racism and social discrimination. The story focuses on Milkman Dead, the main character, who is naïve and leaves his family and friends behind to become an independent, wealthy upperclassman. “Milkman discovers the intricacies of his

Guitar Bains has been Milkman's best friend since they were children. The two share many memories and through them developed a strong bond. As Guitar and

The African American families in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon present abnormality and dysfunction. Normalcy, seen in common nuclear families, is absent. The protagonist, Milkman, is shaped by his dysfunctional relationships with parental figures.

Initially, Milkman’s journey leads him down a path that resembles cultural influences of mainstream America. This is the same direction in which his father, Macon Dead, Jr. navigates his life—seeking wealth, prosperity, and likeness to White Americans while remaining undisturbed by the problems inherent to his community. Milkman tries to imitate this characteristic of his father’s until he grows older and realizes that one of his legs is shorter than the other which requires him to walk with a limp. At fourteen, “Milkman feared his father, respected him, but knew, because of his leg, that he could never emulate him” (Morrison 63). Once again Milkman’s sense of identity is stumped and while he tries to imitate his father, he becomes different, nonetheless, in his behaviors.

As people grow up, they shape their opinion of themselves as well as their opinion of others around them. These opinions morph over time into self-worth and value. In Toni Morrison’s “Song of Solomon,” her characters all carry great amounts of influence on one another. Ruth Dead, mother of the protagonist Milkman Dead, lives her life passively and often finds herself at her father’s grave pondering about life. When Milkman approaches her one day about her habits, she responds with a story about his upbringing and her own. Throughout this conversation (p.p.g 124-126) Morrison defines character as being composed of the type of influence one has on others around them. This is explored through Ruth’s changing perspective on her own character as well as the qualities of Pilate and

Milkman inherits masculine possessiveness and dispassion from his father, Macon Dead, who makes a living through a cold

Milkman's journey starts in a town called Danville.  Danville is the town where his father grew up and his grandfather was shot by white land owners.  In Danville Milkman learns a lesson about hospitality by the revered who takes him in for no reason other than to help him.  In Danville he also meets Circe who was his father's caretaker after the death of his grandfather.  Circe fills in some of the gap in Milkman's heritage by telling him the

Despite his father’s prohibition, Milkman travels to Pilate’s house, and when he visits, he questions Pilate if she is Macon Jr.’s sister, which in turn invokes a story about her past. In her narrative, Pilate tells Milkman how Macon Dead I’s killers “snuck up from behind and blew him five feet into the air,” (40) and afterwards mentions seeing her father’s ghost lingering in the woods when she and Macon Jr. were hiding. Utilizing magic realism, Morrison employs Macon Dead I’s ghost to symbolize the oppression that African-Americans faced and the lack of power to avenge or to change the bigoted society they live in. Rather than presenting any other supernatural entity, Morrison uses a ghost to symbolize the lingering souls of the dead blacks.