SONG OF SOLOMONMatt Lamb

TONI MORRISON

• American novelist, editor, and professor born as Chloe Ardelia Wofford in 1931

• Graduated from Howard University and Cornell University

• Most famous novels:• The Bluest Eye (1970)• Sula (1973)• Song of Solomon (1977)• Beloved (1987)

• Achievements: Nobel Prize in Literature (1993), Presidential Medal of Freedom (2012), National Humanities Medal, Pulitzer Prize for fiction

• Married to Harold Morrison, a Jamaican architect: had two kids, divorced in 1964

• Feminist?

HISTORICAL AND LITERARY CONTEXT• African-American life post-slavery, the struggle

of society and racism

• 1930s-1950s Michigan, Pennsylvania, & Virginia

• Lots of violence and race crimes by secretive organizations

• Blending of race and class themes

• Coming-of-age stories

• Both mythical and realistic genres

• Deep connection to characters – models drawn from her own family

• Her literary voice is influenced by her experiences

LANGUAGE• Solomon’s song – reveals the secrets of Milkman’s past that he is

searching for• Religious and secular songs, spirituals and jazz• This defines the African-American culture

• Character specific language – Morrison manipulates her language based on the character who is speaking• This reveals one’s ability to handle reality

• Pilate uses puns, proverbs, parables, and folk sayings• “I’m already Dead.”• “You think dark is just one color, but it ain’t. They’re five or six kinds of black. Some

silky, some woolly. Some just empty. Some like fingers…saying something is pitch black is like saying something is green.”

• “Ain’t nothin natural about death. It’s the most unnatural thing they is.”• Macon uses bland statements, slang, and racial epithets• Hospital Tommy “talks like an encyclopedia”

LANGUAGE CONTINUED

• Slang and racial terms/grammar

• Literal vs. figurative language• Oral vs. written (the town of Shalimar)

• Similar sounds• Solomon/Shalimar/Sugarman/Charlemagne

• Verbal Irony: • “life insurance agent” • “Mercy hospital”• “Not Doctor Street”

THEMES

• Flight – used as a method of escape and liberation• Flight is self-empowering, yet harms those left behind

• Solomon flying away from Ryna and his 21 children• Milkman’s flight away from Michigan leads to Hagar’s death• **Pilate** can fly without leaving her feet

• Racism• Both between races and internally within black classes

• The Seven Days is created to retaliate the crimes of whites

• Neglected Women of Love• Hagar and Ruth are abandoned by their lovers

• Ruth breastfeeds Milkman past infancy, incestuous love affair with father• Women are made responsible for themselves, family, and community (Ryna)

LITERARY DEVICES• Motifs and Symbols:

• Singing• Guides characters on their journey to self-discovery• Sing (Singing) Byrd

• Allusions to the Bible• The biblical book Song of Solomon, a love story• The names of characters – Pilate, First Corinthians, Magdalene, Reba, Hagar

• Names• The Dead family• Milkman• Mains Avenue/Not Doctor Street• Circe – enchantress from the Odyssey

• Gold• Man’s obsession – Milkman violates his principals, driven by profit

QUOTES• Sex

• “When Ruth was naked and lying there as moist and crumbly as unbleached sugar, he bent to unlace her shoes. That was the final delight, for once he had undressed her feet, had peeled her stockings down over her ankles and toes, he entered her and ejaculated quickly.”

• Personal Favorites:• “You a big man now, but big ain’t nearly enough. You have to be a whole

man. And if you want to be a whole man, you have to deal with the whole truth.”

• “Let me tell you something, baby. Niggers get their names the way they get everything else-the best way they can.”

• “There are no innocent white people, because every one of them is a potential nigger-killer, if not an actual one. You think Hitler surprised them?...Hitler’s the most natural white man in the world. He killed Jews and Gypsies because he didn’t have us.”

• “If you wanna fly, you got to give up the sh*t that weighs you down.”

CHARACTER ANALYSIS• Milkman

• The Protagonist, the quester, the journeyer, the coming-of-ager• Born into a family of privilege• He has a physical flaw; behaves oddly• He echoes the actions of the past four Macon’s

• Pilate – “the singing woman”• Sort of the 2nd protagonist• Acts as a moral guide• Symbolic birth, born without a navel; she is a victim/survivor of racism

• Guitar – “the golden-eyed boy”• Milkman’s best friend and alter ego• He is instrumental to Pilate’s singing which leads Solomon to his past• Youngest and extremist member of the Seven Days• Paralleled to Malcom X

PERSONAL REACTION

• Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed Morrison’s compelling novel about an alienated boy who struggled to find himself as he grew up and was torn between many forces of love, faith, and fear. The vastness of characters and archetypes introduced in the plot were at times too complex and scattered, making it hard to keep track of the plot. However, Morrison’s language and ability to flow her words together lyrically while incorporating motifs in nearly every scene was astonishing and made the text seem original to her plot alone.

• I was unfortunately disappointed by the ending as I thought that many internal situations were left very unresolved, such as the relationship between Ruth and Macon Jr. Otherwise, Song of Solomon was an amazing story of journey, brotherhood, self-discovery, and flight.

MUSIC VIDEO

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-opi1Qre8Cc

TRAYVON MARTIN

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JT11oAjzjg

• “Everybody want’s a black man’s life”

• Relates to black crimes

• Song lyrics dedicated to his murder “we want justice” • Echoes the motives of the Seven Days