Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon
Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon
Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon
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<strong>Toni</strong> Morrison’s<br />
<strong>Song</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Solomon</strong>
<strong>Toni</strong> Morrison: The Basics<br />
• Chloe Anthony W<strong>of</strong>ford<br />
• Born in Lorraine, Ohio (1931)<br />
• Attended Howard University & Cornell<br />
• Taught English at Texas Southern University &<br />
Howard<br />
• Textbook editor in New York<br />
• First novel: The Bluest Eye (1970)<br />
• <strong>Song</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Solomon</strong> published in 1977<br />
• Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993
Morrison’s Writing<br />
• Troubled characters<br />
• Explores the experience <strong>of</strong> black women<br />
in a racist culture<br />
• Male characters obsessed with flight<br />
• Few white characters<br />
• Magical realism
Morrison’s Purpose<br />
• Deep concern for validating and enriching<br />
African-American culture<br />
• Desire to counteract the loss <strong>of</strong> the folklore<br />
tradition<br />
• Believes truly good literature says something<br />
meaningful about what it is to be human
The Novel<br />
• A romance <strong>of</strong> self-discovery<br />
• A retelling <strong>of</strong> the Black experience in<br />
America<br />
• A family drama
The Novel<br />
According to Morrison,<br />
“<strong>Song</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Solomon</strong> is about the sort <strong>of</strong> political<br />
problem that young adults have, which is trying<br />
to combine upward mobility…with some kind <strong>of</strong><br />
respect and reverence for their ancestors.”
Structure<br />
• Shifts in narrative time<br />
• Strong, symbolic echo and re-echo <strong>of</strong> key<br />
details<br />
• Connection to oral storytelling<br />
• Extensive use <strong>of</strong> similes and metaphors<br />
• Symbolism
Biblical Allusions<br />
• “The <strong>Song</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Solomon</strong>”<br />
– Emphasizes age-old themes<br />
– Love song (God’s love, total human love,<br />
sexual love)<br />
• Names<br />
– Biblical names: Pilate, Hagar, Ruth, <strong>Solomon</strong>,<br />
First Corinthians…<br />
– Connection to epic heroes whose experiences<br />
transcend cultural and temporal boundaries
Themes<br />
• Flight<br />
• Abandoned women<br />
• The effects <strong>of</strong> racism<br />
• The intersection between sex and love<br />
• Culture and identity
Notebook<br />
What does the term flight mean to you?<br />
(Think about its various connotations). What<br />
is appealing about flying? Why do people<br />
like to fly?
Folklore, Myth, and<br />
the African Literary Tradition<br />
Flight Motifs<br />
• The Western individual & humankind:<br />
– A symbol <strong>of</strong> transcendence<br />
– An escape from a disagreeable situation<br />
• The African Diaspora<br />
– A collective symbol <strong>of</strong> resistance<br />
– Transcends a particular state <strong>of</strong> being: slavery
The Flying Africans<br />
• Based on an Angolan folktale<br />
• Story centers on a conjure man who<br />
empowers enslaved Africans to fly back to<br />
Africa<br />
• Popular among slaves (especially those<br />
on sea islands)<br />
Why?
Flight and Slavery<br />
• Suicide during Middle Passage referred to<br />
as “flying back to Africa”<br />
• Tales <strong>of</strong> flying Africans in response to the<br />
brutality <strong>of</strong> white overseers<br />
• Flight imagery seen in burial decorations<br />
in African American cemeteries throughout<br />
the South