Literary Analysis Essay on Songs of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Introduction

Few other texts capture the imagination of readers of African-American literature more than works of Toni Morrison. In her enthralling novel, Songs of Solomon, Morrison explores the themes of the quest for identity and elusive love in broken relations in a racially-segregating society. The story features a protagonist named Milkman Dead or Macon Dead who, through his actions, reveals the experience of being an American and a black person at the same time. Throughout his life journey, Milkman interacts with various characters that accord him a leading role as the principal person in the story around which events revolve. Throughout the text, Morrison deliberately assigns characters certain roles, sets the story in selected towns, employs legends as well as creates scenes that depict the quest for self-identity in black America and how such desire affects love relationships.

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Set in the period before the Civil Rights Movement, the story from the onset records the struggles of African Americans in an unnamed town in Michigan. Atop one of the buildings in town is an insurance agent named Robert Smith who wants to fly by jumping off a building housing a hospital named Mercy hospital but does not admit black people (Ramirez 105-110). In the same incident, the reader is revealed of a street named NO Doctor Street because a black doctor worked and practiced there. As the incident unfolds, Smith jumps off and meets his death and at the same time a black is admitted at the hospital for the first time and undergoes a successful delivery (Morrison chapter 1). This scene is critical to the development of the themes and plot of the story. For instance, it brings out the issue of racism and how it entraps African Americans to an extent where they try the impossible free themselves as well as seek for their identity in black America.

The journey of the protagonist, Macon Dead, offers a telling account of the experiences that provoked the need to seek for self-identity. From an unknown town in Michigan to Pennsylvania and eventually Virgin, the trace of the family of the protagonist symbolizes the settlements of black people in America as slaves in the English colony of Virginia and how the slavery experience affected their dispersal to other parts of the country (Spalliano 510-13). This place is informative on the migratory journey of African Americans in seeking their identity as part of humanity but highlights the horrors that such group of people faced in their quest for self-determination. For instance, through this journey, the reader learns that Solomon, Milkman's great-grandfather, flew out of America to Africa to rejoin his ancestors to escape the struggle he was facing in America (Morrison). The act left behind his son and wife, Ryna, who was traumatized by the decision. The incident demonstrates the sacrifice African Americans made to in their quest for identity which involved even abandonment of their loved ones.

The character of Milkman plays a key part in building the quest for personal identity and love amid racial segregation in America. Milkman has been described by Morrison as "Solid, rumbling, likely to erupt without prior notice, Macon kept each member of his family awkward with fear"(Morrison 10). He lacks self-pity and seeks material wealth which alienates him from the African- American community by taking pride in his light-skinned family. He only sees material wealth as the most defining thing in life. Throughout his life, he shows contempt for women such as Ruth (Luo 109-114). However, Milkman transforms and began appreciating his identity as an African American and the worth of his African ancestors as an important part of his history (Morrison 5). This transformation is critical in defining his identity and highlights the various struggles one has to undergo with his conscious to free themselves from the shackles of entanglement. As noted by Spalliano, Morrison depicts her characters as individuals struggling to define themselves in the context of their communities and cultures and this style seek to highlight the continuity of black heritage in America (510).

At the center of the transformation of Milkman is a list of women that played a crucial in molding him from an arrogant young man to a mature man who finally acknowledged the inevitability of his African roots and the role that played in influencing his life as a black person in America (Wu 39). His quest for personal identity is supported by a host of female characters who impacted on his development either through love or rejection. These women include Milkman's aunt, Ruth, Hagar, First Corinthians, and Magdalene called Lena. Some loved but he did not acknowledge that and others rejected his desires. Although all the highlighted women did not have a similar influence on Milkman, their interactions with him opened some perspective about his identity thereby enabling him to appreciate his identity as a black person in early 20th century America.

Another important tool that Morrison utilizes to empathize the theme of identity is legends. The author does not hastate to use magical realism to show African Americans who could fly to escape the harrows of slavery in America (Lee 64; Du 234). This is important in the text as it helps to evoke a specific past about black experience in America and also introduces a mythical element to the story (Abed 55-56; Ramirez 105). Specifically, it shows how the desperation to lift themselves out of subjugation promoted the use of extraordinary means.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Morrison succeeds in building themes of identity and love relations in a powerful way. He sets the story in towns that are historically associated with the struggle of African Americans to create an authentic scene for her story. He develops her characters to depict the transformation they have undergone in searching for their identity. Moreover, she uses women to show how love and family affect the transformation of the characters. Finally, she employs legends to evoke magical realism about the story as it relates to the struggles of the characters.

Works Cited

Du, Ping. "Magic World in Song of Solomon: A Return to Black Culture." Comparative Literature: East & West, vol. 1, no. 2, 2017, pp. 234-245.

Lee, Dorothy H. "Song of Solomon: To Ride the Air." Black American Literature Forum, vol. 16, no. 2, 1982, p. 64.

Luo, Wanru. "Milkman's Identity Crisis Caused by His Trauma in Song of Solomon." Studies in Literature and Language, vol. 10, no. 4, 2015, pp. 109-114.

Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. Random House, 2014.

Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon: A Casebook. Oxford University Press, 2003.

Ramirez, Manuela L. "Icarus and Daedalus in Toni Morrison's "Song of Solomon"." Journal of English Studies, vol. 10, no. 2012, 2012, pp. 105-129.

Spallino, Chiara. "Song of Solomon: An Adventure in Structure." Callaloo, no. 25, 1985, pp. 510-524.

Abed, Sally. "From Feet to Wings: The Importance of Being Bare-Footed in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon." Utah Foreign Language Review 21 (2013).

Wu, Jin-lian. "Seeking for a Sense of Belonging: An Interpretation of Song of Solomon." English Language and Literature Studies 2.2 (2012): 39.