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Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison - Coggle Diagram
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
THEMES
Flight as a means of escape
each character's quests to
escape
confining circumstances are
generally
doomed to fail.
Fight as escape: In escape of injustice,
perpetrators
, such as Guitar are still stuck in
poverty
, and Macon Jr. is trapped &
alienated
by his wealth
Abandonment as escape: Solomon’s flight is a physical demonstration of the liberation that is felt when a person escapes confining circumstances. However,
abandoning
his wife and children show that escape has negative consequences as well. Similarly, Milkman’s flight from Michigan frees him from the dead environment of Not Doctor Street, his flight is also selfish because
abandoning
Hagar causes her to die of heartbreak.
Justice (retributive vs restorative)
Retribution in the face of injustice drives a cycle that can only be broken through love & mercy
An example of the cycle it creates: Macon Jr's cruelty towards his tenants is immediately juxtaposed against milkman's more lenient attitude, despite this feather (a tenant) refuses milkman from entering his place
The seven days solely believes in retributive justice as the solution to racism where one act of cruelty sparks another. The negative consequences of this can be sene in Guitars character who becomes arrogant, corrupt, unmerciful, and dehumanized
Pilate refuses to respond with cruelty when treated wrongly by others. She gets milkman out of trouble for stealing from her and does not seek revenge from him for haggard death. Moreover, when she is killed her only concern is for not having loved enough.
This solution to violence and hate is what motivates milkman to understand why he loved pillage so much more than his father and best friend.
However, restorative justice is able to put a stop to cruelty through love & mercy
Identity
ties to one's community and ancestral past are key to one's true, deep identity. Without these ties, life is disconnected and it is difficult to relate in truly meaningful ways with others
Guitar has a ack of familial ties, his identity follows those around him and has no deep/true purpose of his own
Milkman, while disconnected from his family, he does bad things however the loose ties hold him back from pursuing the bad things until later when he discovers his true familial ties, he finds his own purpose to life
The Past as a Burden
Obsession with the past can function as a burden limiting ones ability to grow and move on.
While Macon Jr. builds his life around the desire to avoid the experiences of his father faced, it still deprives his happiness. However Pilate's response with love and learning from her family's past brought happiness to her life and positive guidance to those that followed her.
CHARACTERS
Macon Jr.
: Ruthless slumlord obsessed with accumulating wealth, has no care for others but taking their rent money. despises of his sister but is despised by his community
Ruth Foster Dead
: Macon Jr's wife, mother, and daughter of Dr. Foster. Growing up wealthy makes her alienated within the black community, she feels unloved by everyone but her dead father. despite this, she refuses to leave Macon, representing the trap of wealth that's difficult to overcome
Pilate Dead
: Has no naval which represents disconnection from family, her name was picked blindly from the Bible.
Guitar Banes
: Milkman's best friend, foil character - he is poor, father died, and hates white people. His moral beliefs and actions in the seven days highlights how retributive response does not solve racism, benefit the community, or is justifiable.
Milkman Dead
: The protagonist of the novel, born into privileged family; though trapped by their history. At first he compassion and is alienated from his community. However the discovery of his family history brings him purpose which makes him compassionate and caring.
Hagar
: Reba's daughter, Pilate's granddaughter and lover of milkman... is often just used and abandoned by milkman. Conveying the inevitable abandonment of women who love men too much.
Macon Dead
: Father of Macon Dead Jr. His real name was Jake, but decided to keep the name was given by the white oppressors
Dr. Foster
: The first black doctor in their town, although, he is arrogant and racist.
Reba
: Pilate's daughter, and mother of Hagar. She's very lucky but doesn't idolize her prizes, conveying unimportance of wealth.
First Corinthians
: tries to unify people as represented in her passionate love affair with Henry Porter, crosses class boundaries. proving that human beings of different backgrounds and ages can share a bond.
Magdalene
: Milkman's sister, who goes by Lena is submissive in Macon Jr.’s home but rebukes Milkman’s selfishness which demonstrates her inner strength.
Sing
: Mother of Macon Dead Jr. Her name commands Macon Dead I, Pilate, and Milkman to connect the missing links of their family history through Solomon’s song.
Robert Smith
: The man who jumps off Mercy hospital building wearing blue silk wings, wanting to fly. Represents how the quest to escape confining circumstances are generally doomed to fail.
Freddie
: Janitor employed by Macon Jr. who tends to spread rumors throughout the town
Solomon & Ryna
: Milkman's great grandparents, the great grandfather flew back to Africa to escape the slavery in the US however his wife and children were left in abandonment
SYMBOLS
Gold
Gold symbolizes the obsessive pursuit of wealth that is irresistible to men in the novel, who violate their moral in order to get it.
Milkman robs Pilate, because he wants to be wealthy and independent. Guitar desires gold to murder people. Macon Jr. spends a lifetime pursuing gold without any greater goal beyond accumulation.
The White Peakock
The white peacock revealing Guitar and Milkman's infatuation for the pursuit of wealth was a distraction, representing the corrupting influence of greed.
Pilate's name
Is a homophone for pilot which represents flying, she symbolizes guidance as she leads milkman to restorative justice, allowing him to fly
MOTIFS
Singing
Pilate’s songs about Sugarman (
"O Sugarman done fly away"
) encourage Milkman’s quest to Virginia.
Is a means of maintaining a link to a forgotten family history. Songs record details about Milkman’s heritage, allowing him to uncover his family history.
In Hagar's funeral, both Pilate and Reba cope with their grief by singing a song of mercy.
Singing also represents a healing power of song in African-American culture, where it brings people together through sharing of experiences.
Biblical allusions
Making a biblical allusion in the title of the novel implies that it addresses timeless themes/topics
Most characters also have biblical names randomly picked out of the Bible which infers how they are completely disconnected from their family's burden except each son who has Macon's name.
The biblical names of characters juxtapose against the modern setting of the story to highlight the struggle between finding identity in ancestral history and dealing with the unjust issues of a modern society