Song Of Solomon Literary Analysis

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

The Middle Passage (or Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade) was a voyage that took slaves from Africa to the Americas via tightly packed ships. The trade started around the early 1500s, and by 1654 about 8,000-10,000 slaves were being imported from Africa to the Americas every year. This number continued to grow, and by 1750 that figure had climbed to about 60,000-70,000 slaves a year. Because of the lack of necessary documents, it is hard to tell the exact number of Africans taken from their homeland. But based on available clues and data, an estimated 9-15 million were taken on the Middle Passage, and of that about 3-5 million died. While the whole idea seems sick and wrong, many intelligent people and ideas went in to making the slave trade

The abandonment and betrayal of women has been seen throughout history and novels, including Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison. Morrison uses the relationship of Macon Dead II and Ruth to express this in her book. Morrison also expresses how women are to reliant on their men for support, she uses Pilate to show this. Macon Dead II and Ruth are married and the parents of Milkman, the protagonist of the novel. The novel starts out in 1931, the birth of Milkman and narrates his life till about 1962. They are a middle to lower class African American family living in Michigan. The theme abandonment of women is shown through the relationship of Macon Dead II and

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.

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

Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison, is about a man named Macon Dead. Throughout this novel, however, he is known by all except his father as Milkman because his mother breastfed him until he was in his teens. The novel centers on Milkman's attempt to find himself. His family is a wealthy black family living in a poor black neighborhood, where Milkman's father prohibits Milkman from interacting with most of them, including his aunt. However, he ends up visiting her, and while there, he learns a little about his family's mysterious past and decides to look deeper into it. Throughout his journey into his past, one may notice a large amount of biblical allusions.

The division and classification of human beings. This is the idea behind “race”. For centuries this term was used by so called superior humans to justify their discrimination and violence towards the people around them. It continues to be associated with such an ominous past and has come to shape attitudes around the world. Even in our modern society conflict and tension because of race continue to hinder our species unity. In the United States of America tensions between blacks and whites have existed ever since the birth of the country and there is no end in sight. Numerous samples of American literature have directly spoken of race. Remarkably, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison through its insightful storytelling and the uniqueness of its characters manages to give very thought provoking views on the subject. The protagonist Milkman Dead is an African American man who has always lived a complacent lifestyle. Never truly understanding the hardships of other African Americans his attitude toward the subject of race is one of ambiguity. This completely contrast his own family and friends as their perspectives not only reveal their character in their truest form but also the folly of ignorance.

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

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

   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).

In Toni Morrison’s award-winning novel “Song of Solomon,” she fills the novel with deep symbolism. Macon Dead III, nicknamed “Milkman,” is a symbolic character throughout the novel. Not only is he as a character symbolic, but his name is as well. Milkman’s aunt, Pilate, has a significant and symbolic role in the novel. To her father, she represents the child who killed her own mother and took away his wife. In the Bible, Pontius Pilate is the Roman who is responsible for the execution of Jesus. With that information, one can say that the name Pilate seems to coincide with her father, Macon Dead’s, opinion on what Pilate represents. What’s ironic is that Pilate is a good person and is murdered in the end, just as Jesus was by Pontius Pilate. Guitar, Milkman’s best friend, is another significant character in the novel who portrays deep symbolism. Guitar is named after something that he wanted very badly as a child. “I saw it when my mother took me downtown with her. I was just a baby. It was one of those things where you guess how many beans in the glass jar and you win a guitar. I cried for it, they said. And always asked about it.” This unreachable goal describes his character throughout the novel. He is never able to overcome the obstacles that stand