Song Of Solomon Character Analysis Essay

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

Personalities are not predetermined, but developed over time based on social commodities like family situations or lifestyles. Traumatic or memorable moments, like barbarity, also shape individuals’ character. In Song of Solomon, through Macon’s use of violence and the effect of brutality on Milkman, Toni Morrison reveals how cruelty and actions define roles in society and how it affects the characteristics of individuals.

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.

To begin, Morrison introduces Milkman as a character that is afraid, insecure or believes of himself as inadequate through the first chapters of the novel. Macon is once again restating how he feels about Pilate, he thinks she has no benefits for Milkman. For instance, Macon state's, “...Own things. And let the things you own own other things. Then you’ll own yourself and other people too” (Morrison, 55). This shows that Macon’s love for material possessions was established through watching his father die trying to defend his property. As a result, Macon has rejected natural loves from humanity, instead he prefers wealth and power to a happy existence. Milkman has also inherited his father's lack of spirituality, and appears to be heading down the same path of destruction because he shows some signals of self doubt and being afraid to speak up for himself; do the right thing. Moreover, the narrator was describing some of Milkman’s important moments in his life in which his father was the bad guy. For example, it says, “And [Milkman] did try, as his father’s employee, to do the work the way Macon wanted it done. Macon was delighted. His son belonged to him now and not Ruth” (Morrison, 63). Milkman's low confidence and self esteem led to him doing things he wasn’t so happy but he had to do our right because of his dad. Macon had a lot of expectations and Milkman didn’t wanted to disappoint him so, he did everything correctly. Also, this shows that Milkman was trying to be less like his father because he was doing the opposite of what he’s father might have done; doing the right thing. To sum up, Milkman

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

Maturity comes with experiences in life. Some are exposed to those events early while others encounter them in their adulthood. These transitions cause character development within the protagonist, Milkman Dead. In the bildungsroman, or coming of age, novel Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, Milkman evolves from an ignorant and selfish being to a responsible and caring man. While trying to become an independent man, he both socially and personally developed.

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.

It can be said that Song of Solomon is bildungsroman which is defined by The Encyclopedia Britannica as “a class of novel that deals with the [coming-of-age or] formative years of an individual”. Furthermore, in a bildungsroman, a main protagonist usually undergoes some transformation after seeking truth or philosophical enlightenment. In Morrison’s novel, the plot follows the main protagonist Milkman as he matures within his community while developing relationships with others and discovering his individual identity. In an essay titled Call and Response, Marilyn Sanders Mobley notes that “What Song of Solomon does ultimately is suggest that a viable sense of African American identity comes from responding to alternative constructions of

Disregarding her lack of belly button, Pilate Dead is quite normal. It is the way people react to her that shape her into the lullaby-singing protagonist she is. Her brother Macon Dead is her incompatible male counterpart. Although they had the same parents, they separate and become opposites. Toni Morrison’s novel Song of Solomon raises awareness to Pilate’s continuous ostracization, as the heir of family misfortune, she perseveres despite the cruel intentions of her brother, Macon Dead.

   Song of Solomon tells the story of Dead's unwitting search for identity. Milkman appears to be destined for a life of self-alienation and isolation because of his commitment to the materialism and the linear conception of time that are part of the legacy he receives from his father, Macon Dead. However, during a trip to his ancestral home, “Milkman comes to understand his place in a cultural and familial community and to appreciate the value of conceiving of time as a cyclical process”(Smith 58).

As individuals grow and mature in different cultures, they become exposed to different values and beliefs from their families. They are taught that they must uphold these values or traditions because it is natural for them to do so in their society. The same can be said for several characters in Toni Morrison’s novels, Song of Solomon, Paradise, and Love. In these novels, some of the characters, who are men for the most part, experience and embody the traditions that have been passed down throughout their families or in their community. In Song of Solomon, Milkman Dead respects his father, Macon Dead II, who has provided him with an upper class lifestyle that others see as spoiled. As a result of this and his unawareness of who or where he

When someone looks up at a bird they see something soaring through the sky free from the world’s troubles. Through out man’s history they have been trying to find a way to be as free as birds and learn to fly. Unfortunately it has been an unsuccessful feat for man to accomplish. Although man has never really been able to fly on their own, they are able to fly with the help from a little machinery and ingenuity. Macon Dead Jr, or milkman, the nickname he adopted because he nursed from his mother, the protagonist of Song Of Solomon by Toni Morrison, had been trying to fly all of his life. But until he discovers his family’s history and his self-identity he unable to discover the secret that has