The Narrator In Toni Morrison's Song Of Solomon

In the novel Song Of Solomon by Toni Morrison, the story is told through a third person omniscient narrator with a male point of view. Most of the characters in the novel are looking to escape from their lives especially, the protagonist, Macon Dead III aka “Milkman”. He is influenced by how his father, Macon Dead Jr., raises him. In the first part of the novel, Milkman is materialistic which makes him believe that he needs to leave his home town in Michigan because of his greed and desire for his independence. His journey begins in the second part of the novel with his search for the gold that his father claims his Aunt Pilate stole from him. Milkman’s journey ultimately opens his eyes about the truth of his family and changes his mindset

A main reason for his eagerness to flee from home is his father. Macon Dead Jr., Milkman’s father raised him to value objects. Morrison says in chapter 2, “Boy, you got better things to do with your time. Besides, it’s time you started ]earning how to work. You start Monday. After school come to my office; work a couple of hours there and learn what’s real. Pilate can’t teach you a thing you can use in this world. Maybe the next, but not this one. Let me tell you right now the one important thing you’ll ever need to know: Own things. And let the things you own own other things. Then you’ll own yourself and other people too. Starting Monday, I’m going to teach you how” (Morrison 55). Morrison shows here that Milkman is raised to believe that you can only be complete through the power of owning things/people because that makes you “manly”. His father’s influence on him gives him the mindset that he needs objects to be independent which ultimately leads to his departure in the second part of the novel. Milkman eventually becomes an extremely materialistic person, which makes him start to view everything in his life in a negative way, especially his relationships with other people, Morrison says, “She was the third beer. Not the first one, which the throat receives with almost tearful gratitude; nor the second, that confirms and extends the pleasure of the first. But the third, the

Upon hearing it, Milkman thinks that this song is about his family, and his thoughts are verified when he meets a woman named Circe who took care of his family in the past and he asks her if the song was indeed about his family. She said yes and then he realizes that this song can relate to him because his grandfather made a difficult decision to “fly” meaning to be free which then allows him to be “home”. Milkman also frees himself when he embarks on his journey and he returns home when he learns that he may have been the person to blame instead of his father because everyone chooses what they believe in, regardless of how you were raised. At this point in the novel, Milkman understands this and finally returns