Abstract
“Song of Solomon” is the third novel written by Toni Morrison and is a very remarkable and rich piece of fiction. Its power lies not only in the representation of African Americans century but also the author’s insistence on the necessity of healing the alienated and broken protagonist, Milkman Dead. His journey to the recognition of the cultural past can be viewed in the context of the mythic quest, as he follows it, first for gold, and then for knowledge about his ancestry. Significantly, in the novel, the writer employs classical myths, specifically that of Icarus and the traditional heroic quest, to respect for one’s cultural heritage and promote communal responsibility. Although a great part of the novel focuses on the protagonist’s search for identity, paralleling the heroic quest, the importance of Milkman’s journey lies not only in his creation of a separate identity but also in his discovery of a valuable link between the Black community and his individuality. Unlike most epics that celebrate heroic quests, “Song of Solomon” emphasizes the importance of losing self-centeredness and learning ancestral heritage. The protagonist of the novel, Milkman Dead, is an emotionally isolated and alienated black man who tries to avoid taking responsibility. Living with his parents and collecting rents for his father, he has not reached emotional maturity and sensitivity. However, during his journey to the South, Milkman undergoes significant inner changes, which are discussed in the paper.
Thesis statement: During Milkman’s lifetime, the character passes a long way searching for identity because he demonstrates arrogance and alienation from his family and community during his childhood and teenage years, realizes his faults during the quest journey, and, finally, grows into a responsible and conscious personality.
Milkman’s demonstrates arrogance and self-centeredness during his childhood and teenage years
As a child and teenager Milkman lives an aimless life.
Milkman values only material things.
Milkman’s nickname has a significant meaning.
The boy mistreats and disrespects his mother, sisters, and Hagar.
Milkman Dead is alienated from the life of his community.
The importance of Pilate in Milkman’s spiritual rebirth.
Milkman realizes his faults during the quest journey
Gold serves as Milkman’s primary motivation but tries to find another path.
Milkman begins to understand the importance of nature and signs; however, still demonstrates arrogance and separation from the blacks.
During the coon hunt, Milkman understands that money is of little importance.
Milkman, finally, grows into a responsible and conscious personality
The protagonist begins to value cultural and ethnic heritage.
Milkman realizes the significance of the nicknames.
Milkman Dead realizes his abusive behavior towards his family, women, and other people around him.
Milkman Dead is the protagonist of the novel “Song of Solomon” by Toni Morrison; nevertheless, he is not a heroic figure. Born into a noble and wealthy family, Milkman is an immature and selfish young man who drifts purposelessly through life. Enslaved by materialism and spiritually dead, Milkman is a selfish man who lacks respect and consideration for other people, especially his family. He is ready to go only where the party is, but the protagonist is alienated from his community. He has no empathy for people around him, lacks a sense of commitment to his family and cultural heritage, and unable to have a loving and close relationship with any woman. Striving for acquiring more gold, Milkman sees no obstacles to rob his aunt and even decides to go on a journey, which becomes his spiritual quest and helps to discover numerous things: his identity, rich cultural heritage, the meaning of Solomon’s song, and many other things. During Milkman’s lifetime, the character passes a long way searching for the identity because he demonstrates arrogance and alienation from his family and community during his childhood and teenage years, realizes his faults during the quest journey, and, finally, grows into a responsible and conscious personality.
Milkman’s demonstrates arrogance and self-centeredness during his childhood and teenage years. Milkman is a pampered son of wealthy parents who lives an aimless and pointless life. The boy’s childhood and teenage years are not spent in the anticipation that he will perform a great act for his family or community. Milkman barely engages in any serious activity and does not take important decisions. “Morrison ultimately intends Milkman as a heroic figure whose heroism can only be defined through dualistic, sometimes ambiguous action and whose qualifications for heroism do not depend on upon his goodness” (Bloom 17). The purposelessness of his life and the symbolic state of an infant is emphasized by Morrison when she writes that Milkman tries to decide whether to go forward or turn back; however, the way in which he used to decide would be haphazard and careless. It is also revealed that at the age of fourteen the protagonist notices that one of his legs is shorter than the other. This physical deformity symbolizes Milkman’s connection to an African deity Legba, the god of fate (Eaton 34). Legba is also depicted as walking with a limp and functions as a guide who leads people on a fateful journey. Milkman’s legs become even only when he realizes his path.
Milkman values only material things but does not try to work hard to earn money. During his childhood, Milkman does not think or act, he is a figure of little importance to anyone in his family. Milkman sees his father’s disrespectful treatment of his mother and how he evicts his tenants. Besides, Macon teaches the boy that material values and wealth, in general, are preferable to spiritual development. That is why, as a teenager, Milkman easily disobeys his father and goes to the house of Pilate. Pilate, Hagar, and Reba have welcomed him into their home, fed him, and Hagar even shared her bed with Milkman. Nevertheless, he wants to steal what is considered their most valuable possession. This intention indicates the fact that Milkman has no moral purpose or qualities that would excuse this incident. Self-centeredness, inadequate character formation, warped values all define Milkman’s vision of the world. Moreover, the boy is sure that money and wealth are the only power in the world, and they are the things that make a person happy.
Milkman’s nickname implies that he is emotionally and psychologically dead and lives in the world of his own. Milkman is ashamed of his nickname and rejects it. It can be assumed that this rejection symbolizes his estrangement from his race, community, and cultural heritage. However, Morrison hints at the possibility of Milkman’s atonement, and the answer lies in his another nickname. “Milkman” suggests immaturity and dependence that will finally lead to strength. “It also alludes to Milkman’s continued childishness, his failure to assume the appropriate adult attributes of intimacy, responsibility, and commitment to an idea or to others” (Stein 80). Besides, it implies nurturing by the woman, but the time will come and he will no longer need that nurturing. Nurtured initially by his biological mother, Ruth, he is nursed far beyond the appropriate time. She delays his maturity and development due to her own dissatisfaction with life.
Milkman does not express any responsibility or commitment to the people around him, especially his family members. Milkman sees his sisters as insignificant and shallow replicas of his mother and views the mother as a plain shadow of a woman. “Never had he thought of his mother as a person, a separate individual, with a life apart from allowing or interfering with his own” (Morrison 75). The boy’s undeveloped moral sense can also be observed in his harsh treatment of Hagar. The author writes, “He has used her – her love, her craziness – and most of all he had used her skulking, bitter vengeance . And she stood there like a puppet strung up by a puppet master who had gone off to some other hobby” (Morrison 301). Besides, he calls Hagar “the third beer” and he drinks her because she is always near. Milkman’s self-centered attitude is emphasized when he ends their relationship by writing a short letter. Milkman enjoys the sense of power provided by rent collecting for his father; however, he has no responsibility and respect toward other people. That is why he squeals on First Corinthians, pisses on Lena, and tries to rob his aunt. These acts prove the fact that family bonds are inconsequential to Milkman. Nevertheless, spoiled and childish Milkman has a special relationship to Pilate, who becomes his spiritual guide to another world, where materialistic values become of no importance in comparison to inner fulfillment.
Milkman is alienated and disconnected from life of the local community. Several important situations demonstrate that the protagonist is alienated from the traditions of his cultural and ethnic heritage. For example, Milkman is the last person to learn about the Seven Days, which is a violent revenge gang. Milkman is ready to exist with any sin in the world as long as it does not deal with him. The murderous activities of the Seven Day are insignificant for Milkman. Moreover, he neither blames nor applauds Guitar until he becomes his victim. Besides, Milkman demonstrates his ignorance and lack of his race awareness when responds to the conversation about the case of the vicious murder of Emmett Till, “Yeah, well, fuck Till. I’m the one in trouble” (Morrison 88). His sense of alienation originates from Milkman’s inability to emphasize with others. In addition, Bloom writes, “Milkman’s major problem is that he has been too complacent in his northern, middle-class existence, far removed from the stock of black people in the South who were tied to his ancestors who moved north” (Bloom 15). Having lived a meaningless and hollow life for thirty-two years, Milkman begins to realize that he is eager to undertake the journey to his selfhood. Under Pilate’s influence who serves as his guide, Milkman leaves the father’s house to gain knowledge about his identity and heritage.
When Pilate enters Milkman’s life, she becomes his real spiritual mother and leads him to the inner rebirth. Pilate is a sensitive and helpful mentor for Milkman, “Pilate, who never bothered anybody, was helpful to everybody, but who was also believed to have the power to step out of her skin, set a bush afire from fifty yards, and turn a man into a ripe rutabaga – all on account of the fact that she had no navel” (Morrison 94). The absence of the necessary bond between Milkman and Ruth makes Pilate the only appropriate nurturer for him. In fact, his immoral actions coincide with the “motherless” time in his life, and Pilate influences his long-delayed manhood and helps him acquire the necessary values. Pilate tells him numerous stories about his father, grandparents, and some episodes from her own childhood. These stories are intended to awake his race awareness and consciousness about the past of his family. Besides, she demonstrates on her own examples how a person can become responsible for his actions and his family. For example, the incident with Reba’s lover. “Pilate is not obsessed with possessions or appearance like her brother, and thus, she provides for Milkman an alternative perspective, one that he will draw on as he matures” (Gillespie 183). Moreover, she provides Milkman with the opportunity for reevaluating his attitudes to his parents.
Milkman realizes his faults during the quest journey. Traveling to Virginia and Pennsylvania, the protagonist acquires various levels of knowledge, including learning about the Deads history and about himself. Milkman undergoes certain changes which help him to reborn and become a sensitive human being. The process of stripping begins when he arrives in Danville because he hopes to find out where Pilate has left the gold. Milkman’s greed serves as his primary motivation. “Milkman begins at the point of restriction that comes from separation, from the hyperindividualization that grows out of the American culture of competition, capitalism, and racism. Like the traditional American initiate, he must recognize his own capacity for evil, but the knowledge of his past enables Milkman to ascend” (Furman 44). With his initiation, the protagonist moves from passive ignorance to an active participation in the life of the black community. However, his awakening is a slow process. It is not until the last chapters in the book that Milkman is able to understand his rich heritage.
Milkman gradually begins to learn how to read signs and nature. This learning process begins in Danville where Milkman understands the links between people, heritage, and places. Emotional readjustment symbolizes the beginning of numerous changes. For the first time, Milkman tries to impress a stranger when he goes to the house of Cooper to ask about Circe. The slight discomfort that Milkman experiences when he finds out that Cooper has known his father predicts his future adjustments. When Milkman visits Circe’s house, he is able to discern the smell of ginger. This also indicates his transformation into a sensitive person ready to discover his past and identity. When Milkman realizes that Pilate had returned gold to Virginia, he continues his journey without a clear sense what he wants to find. “To Milkman, the idea of mobility means an escape not only from the poverty of love and the drought of feelings but also from the indulgence in the parasitic materialistic comforts” (Perez 106). In general, journeys pose obstacles for travelers and the fact that Milkman goes further to learn about his ancestry is praiseworthy. However, the man does not miss a chance to show his arrogance and separation from the blacks he meets. Milkman does not call them by names and even did not tell his own one. “He hadn’t found them fit enough or good enough to want to know their names and believed himself too good to tell them his. They looked at his skin and saw it was black as theirs, but they knew he had the heart of the white men ” (Morrison 269). Milkman considers them faceless, but it is not surprising because he is the result of his father’s upbringing who considered money to be the only freedom and power.
The coon hunt forces Milkman to depend on upon the men he has scorned and tests his endurance and courage, and Milkman begins to realize that material wealth is of little importance. “There was nothing here to help him – not his money, his car, his father’s reputation, his suit, or his shoes” (Morrison 280). In addition, it is a part of his ritual testing and journey inward to understand his best qualities. Only in the dark forest during the coon hunt, Milkman understands all his faults and abusive behavior. In fact, a coon is a symbolic animal here. The word “coon” is also a derisive name for blacks, and to be called like this means to be reduced in value and be less than a human being. The attempt of Guitar to strangle the protagonist to death shortly after this hunt makes Milkman understand even better the nature of the material goods and sharpens his desire to live. A bobcat becomes a more prominent symbol of the man’s newfound awareness. The animal culminates his ritual of acceptance and by allowing Milkman to take the animal’s heart, those men accept him into their fraternity and forgive his former arrogance.
Milkman, finally, grows into a responsible and conscious personality. The puzzle of family history and nicknames become all important to the protagonist. As a result, Milkman acquires humanity and sensitivity, he realizes that the children in Shalimar are singing about his great-grandparents, Ryna, and Solomon. Besides, he understands that names and nicknames have a deep meaning and are extremely important to people in Michigan because it is a reality of black people’s lives. “The golden threads tying him to his family history are far more valuable than the original gold he has sought” (Bloom 27). The protagonist’s growth on the journey is quite measurable: Milkman changes from a self-centered and selfish man to an individual who is involved in communal and societal interchanges and understands the importance of cultural heritage.
Milkman feels commitment and responsibility that were negated by Solomon’s action of flying away from the family. He has also been leaving his family through his mistreatment of parents, hatred for sisters, and disdain for Hagar. Milkman understands his place in the community and learns how to treat women as it is demonstrated during his pastime with Sweet. Moreover, the protagonist is able now to lead other people when he guides Pilate to bury her father’s bones. His great-grandfather’s flying away symbolizes selfish freedom of a human being, and similarly, the protagonist has followed a selfish path throughout his life. Confronting Guitar in the final scene, Milkman proves his new status in the family of a committed and responsible man. He could escape and fly off, but he has evaluated himself and progressed greatly. His journey south helped the man value the family ties and break the shackles of materialism. Milkman transforms into a new man whose heart is filled with love and mercy and who feels that he is alive. He realizes how he has used all women in his life, especially Hagar, and how badly he treated his parents. It can be concluded that, finally, Milkman Dead appears as a true hero who succeeds in overcoming numerous obstacles on the way of searching for his identity, cultural heritage, and family bonds.
In “Song of Solomon”, Morrison presented the protagonist who during his lifetime passed a long way searching for his identity because Milkman is arrogant and alienated from his family and community during his childhood and teenage years; however, later, the man realizes his faults during the quest journey, and, finally, grows into a responsible and conscious personality. Milkman Dead is a character without rootedness, and he is unable to progress emotionally or spiritually until he recognizes and acknowledges his connection to African American past. Heir to the material advantages and born in the North, Milkman Dead searches for meaning in his life by going back into the territory of his ancestors. Initially, Milkman goes there for gold similarly to numerous generation of blacks went north in hopes of improving their lives and material wealth. However, the South is not the land of fortunes and riches, and Milkman ultimately returns there to find the things he can carry away in his mind: knowledge of his family history and ancestors, his conception of self-identity, and understanding who he is. The transfer of values to abstract things and people indicates that Milkman has undergone significant inner changes including the understanding of his place in the world and appreciating his family. Besides, Milkman’s journey to self-identity represents other African Americans who also need to go to the South to find their cultural heritage and connect the past with the present and future.
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