Song Of Solomon Milkman Analysis

While on his quest for the gold Milkman discovers moral value in his family history. While in Pennsylvania he loses all of his material possessions, which enables him to realize his life shouldn?t revolve around material items and sparks an interest in his family history. From information he gathers while in Pennsylvania he believes the gold he is seeking is in Virginia. While in Virginia Milkman learns he has family history in the town of Shalimar. While in the town Milkman realizes he somehow feels connected to the people there. This is a feeling he never had in his hometown. This connections reminds him of his feelings when he is with his aunt Pilate. This opens a strong need in him to find out about his family?s past.

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”.

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

“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.

Although he has left home to become wealthy, his family is still on his mind. When he is unable to find any gold in the cave of the Pennsylvania farm, he starts to think about his family history. In Pennsylvania on his family’s farm, Milkman meets Circe, a woman who helped deliver

Besides the children of Macon Dead, there are other biblical allusions in the names of people. One of these is Hagar, Pilate's son and Milkman's cousin. Though the biblical Hagar is not well known, her character in the Bible reflects, in some ways, the character in Morrison's novel. In the bible, Hagar is Sarah's handmaiden. When she bares the son

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.

Just like his father, Milkman tried to be blind to the racial issues that go on in his world. Being self-absorbed with his life doesn’t believe certain racial issues affect him. He comes from a wealthier family than the people in his community. When Milkman started working for Macon Jr., he started hanging out with Guitar more. This is when we see the obvious difference in their mentalities. In Chapter 3, Guitar and Milkman are in the barbershop and the men are talking about the murder of Emmitt Till. While Guitar and the other men feel passionately about the subject, Milkman tunes out the conversation and believe that it doesn’t affect him personally. As they grow up, Guitar continues to fuel a hate for white people and join a group called the Seven Days. This group performs any violent acts against whites to avenge the injustices caused against African-Americans. There are only seven men in the group and each

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

Before Milkman leaves his home in Michigan, he perceives the world in materialistic, unyielding terms that recall his father's behavior. Indeed, the search for gold that sends him to Virginia reveals his perception that escaping from his past and his responsibilities and finding material treasure will guarantee him a sense of his own identity.

Similarly, Milkman dehumanizes and objectifies the women around him. At the head of the fight, the novel introduces Milkman’s age as “twenty-two and… had been fucking for six years,” highlighting the prominent role that sex with women plays in his maturity and erasing the individuality of the women behind the “fuck” (64). On the surface, his defense of his mother and defiance against his father conjures kindness and compassion; however, Milkman reveals his motives to be of a less pure origin. He struck his father back, not out of love for his mother, calling her “too

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

Part one introduces readers to not only Milkman, but also to his family and friends.