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Research in african american literature
Religious imagery in the song of solomon by toni morrison
African American literature essay
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Recommended: Research in african american literature
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 family’s heritage, a discovery that connects him to life and, ironically, simultaneously frees him from life.” (Prescott 8). Milkman starts and ends his journey with his family by overcoming obstacles in his path. Milkman realizes that his identity and race are important to know for his journey and enters a whole new world once he discovers his family’s history. While Milkman was living at home with his mother and father, he felt as he did not receive the comfort of family as he should. Milkman’s father, Macon Jr., despises his wife and abuses her. Milkman does not stand for this and fights Macon Jr. for his mother, Ruth Foster Dead. Milkman begins to feel uncomfortable after Macon tells him that Ruth imbibed her father’s fingers after his death. Macon Jr. is selfish and greedy about becoming wealthy and drives his family to misery. Macon Jr. is who influences Milkman to go on his own and become wealthy. Milkman, at this point, is confused as to who he is. He does not know in which direction his li... ... middle of paper ... ...tar. The last few lines of the novel indicate all of the obstacles Milkman had to go through to achieve what he wanted on his journey. The journey is a symbol of Milkman being independent and being able to learn how to “fly” just like his great grandfather Solomon was able to. The time period in which Morrison wrote Song of Solomon was tough on racial issues. Having a prize winning novel written by an African American female was an accomplishment during that time as race and gender discrimination were prevalent among many communities. Works Cited Milliman, Craig A. "Song Of Solomon." Literary Criticisms, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 March 2012. Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York: Knopf, 1977. Print. Prescott, Jeryl J. "Song Of Solomon." Women’s Literature Series (1995): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 7 Mar. 2012.
In the first part of the novel, Milkman is his father's son, a child taught to ignore the wisdom of women. Even when he is 31, he still needs "both his father and his aunt to get him off" the scrapes he gets into. Milkman considers himself Macon, Jr., calling himself by that name, and believing that he cannot act independently (120). The first lesson his father teaches him is that ownership is everything, and that women's knowledge (specifically, Pilate's knowledge) is not useful "in this world" (55). He is blind to the Pilate's wisdom. When Pilate tell Reba's lover that women's love is to be respected, he learns nothing (94).
When Milkman goes to Pennsylvania to look for the gold, he was actually in search of his family’s past. One of the themes in the story is how the history of African Americans histories are not clear and unrecorded. The fact that the history of Milkman’s family history is so unclear and unrecorded he goes through a long journey to find it. Along the way he goes through many places and meets many people that help him find his family history.
Macon, perhaps instigated by never having a mother and seeing his own father killed, has always appeared to be a cold and unforgiving parent even to his other children besides Milkman, but since Macon heard that his son¹s nickname was ³Milkman² he has seen him as a symbol of his disgust for his wife and lost a lot of respect for his son and became even colder towards him. The only time Macon did spend time with Milkman, he spent it boasting about his own great upbringing, warning him to stay away from Pilate and telling him about the embarrassing actions of Ruth. This is the manner in which Morrison establishes the relationship between Macon and Milkman in the first part of the book.
... lives of the Dead family members; Milkman, unable to live any longer in an environment composed of animosity, drives him to leave his home and search for "his people." Serendipitously, although no single individual gains control of either Milkman's living or dead life, Milkman's need to escape from his collective family and surroundings unwittingly captures him and the life he so fervently aims to keep from the control of others.
In Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, men discover themselves through flight. While the motif of flight is liberating for men, it has negative consequences for women. Commonly, the women of Song of Solomon are abandoned by men, both physically and emotionally. Many times they suffer as a result as an abandonment, but there are exceptions in which women can pick themselves up or are undisturbed. Morrison explores in Song of Solomon the abandonment of women by men.
In Song of Solomon, through many different types of love, Ruth's incestuous love, Milkman and Hagar's romantic love, and Guitar's love for his race, Toni Morrison demonstrates not only the readiness with which love will turn into a devastating and destructive force, but also the immediacy with which it will do so. Morrison tackles the amorphous and resilient human emotion of love not to glorify the joyous feelings it can effect but to warn readers of love's volatile nature. Simultaneously, however, she gives the reader a clear sense of what love is not. Morrison explicitly states that true love is not destructive. In essence, she illustrates that if "love" is destructive, it is most likely, a mutation of love, something impure, because love is all that is pure and true.
Milkman experiences many changes in behavior throughout the novel Song of Solomon. Until his early thirties most would consider him self centered, or even self-loathing. Until his maturity he is spoiled by his mother Ruth and sisters Lena and Corinthian because he is a male. He is considered wealthy for the neighborhood he grew up in and he doesn't socialize because of this.
In part two, Milkman goes south to his father's hometown. He is looking for a fortune that his father and aunt had found long before. When he does not find the fortune he begins trying to find where it went. This takes him to where his great grandfather and mother originated. Milkman eventually is led to the town where he is a direct descendant of the town's legend, Solomon. It is in this town that Milkman finds himself and becomes his own m...
When one is confronted with a problem, we find a solution easily, but when a society is confronted with a problem, the solution tends to prolong itself. One major issue that is often discussed in today’s society that has been here for as long as we’ve known it, is racism. Racism is also a very repetitive theme in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon. Almost every character has experienced racism whether it be towards them or they are the ones giving the racism in this novel. Racism is a very controversial topic as many have different perspectives of it. In Toni’s novel, three characters that have very distinct perspectives on racism are Macon Dead, Guitar, and Dr. Foster. These characters play vital roles throughout the novel.
When reading the text, it is interpreted that Morrison exposed the Biblical book of Song of Solomon in order to show the relationships between the characters but mostly focusing on Sethe and Beloved’s relationship since it inherits a deeper connection. This is also analysed by Peggy Ochoa who is the author of the article “MELUS” as she goes on stating that the use o...
In fact, community is not only the end of his quest but the means; Milkman makes progress only as he acknowledges community. In the characterization of Milkman's father, Macon, and his father's sister, Pilate, the novel sets up a distinct conflict between individualistic and community values. Her communication with her father's ghost, for example, demonstrates her belief that human relationships have substance; her use of conjure in Milkman's conception has helped carry on the family; and her song, "Sugarman done fly away," becomes the clue to the family's history. Macon, on the other hand, represents the individualism of "progress."
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).
...ba (112). Throughout the novel, Sethe is devoted to the search of her husband just like Solomon’s beloved wife. Although Sethe never reunites with her husband because he was killed by slaveholders, Morrison creates a replacement in the character Paul D, another former slave. Paul D satisfies the biblical beloved’s description of Sethe’s bridegroom: “I am my beloved’s and his desire is toward me” (7:10), thus fulfilling the promise of a requited love that is pictured in the union of Solomon and Sheba (120).
...ticle, Solomon has an unpleasant attitude of blaming others and complaining about the issue without proposing any real solutions. It also seems that he divides people into two categories: readers (good) and non-readers (bad), and he look down upon those who do not read. This will cause the readers to be emotionally uncomfortable and to reject his arguments and opinions because of the bias behind it.
One of the outstanding themes, oral tradition, is used to retell events throughout the book in a manner consistent with the beginning. On the first page we are introduced to an insurance agent by the name of Robert Smith. We shortly thereafter learn that he will "fly" form the top of Mercy Hospital. On the Wednesday of his flight a group of fifty people gather around the building to witness this event. While waiting for his "flight" or jump a woman in a contralto voice begins to sing the words "O Sugarman done fly away/ Sugarman done gone/ Sugarman cut across the sky/ Sugarman gone home…"(6) This lady simply describes Robert Smith's flight "home" which we later learn is really him committing suicide. Much later on in the book Milkman is listening to a group of children singing "O Solomon done fly away/ Solomon done gone/ Solomon cut across the sky/ Solomon gone home."(3) In this song Sugarman, or Robert Smith, is replaced by Solomon, or the Great Grandfather of Milkman. The song describes his "flight" from Shalimar, his home town, and the events that happened after his "flight." In general, oral traditions are used in this book to retell past events for both our understanding and for the characters. They take the form of song, story, and fairy tale and are very important to the meaning of the story because they are a major medium of narration.