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Biblical Allusions In Toni Morrison's Song Of Solomon

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Toni Morrison frequently incorporates her familial background into her literary works. She is an African-American female author who was told African myths and folktales by her family members, who she credits for “instilling in her a love of reading, music and folklore” (“Toni Morrison”). Morrison is fully in touch with and appreciative of her ancestral background, and because of this, she reiterates these tales in her writings. In Song of Solomon, Morrison employs a wide variety of African cultural traditions and folklores to create a unique narrative regarding an African-American man’s quest for self-discovery and his true cultural identity, one that is absent from his current community. One of the most prominent African myths discussed …show more content…

The most obvious example of a biblical allusion is present in the title, Song of Solomon. In the bible, Solomon is a wealthy and wise king of Israel, and also the son of David (“Solomon”). The book of Solomon celebrates the sexual and loving nature of a relationship, specifically between King Solomon and his alluring black wife, a Shulamite woman (“Song of Songs”). Morrison’s novel also discusses love and relationships between some characters, such as Milkman and his girlfriend Hagar and his parents, which thus demonstrates how Morrison uses the bible to address common themes of life. Morrison presents biblical allusions through the names of her characters. Many of the characters in Song of Solomon are named after individuals in the bible, and Morrison does this in order to reveal a deeper understanding of the characters and their experiences in the novel. For example, the biblical Hagar is Abraham’s concubine Sarah’s handmaiden, and bearer of Abraham's first child who is later ostracized with her son and forced to leave due to Sarah’s jealousy and bitterness (“Hagar”). The Hagar in Song of Solomon has a somewhat similar experience. Her relationship with Milkman starts off strong, but the more she loves him, the more he just uses her to appease his sexual desires instead of establishing a strong, loving relationship with her. Milkman eventually grows out of his former feelings for Hagar, and then abandons her, leaving her distraught and heartbroken. The overarching theme of abuse towards women regarding their comparable experiences is what makes these women’s stories unique in both the bible and Song of Solomon (SparkNotes

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In the novel, “Song of Solomon”, one of the older sisters of the main character is named First Corinthians. She got her name by her father pointing at a random word in the bible. First Corinthians in the bible is a letter from Paul explaining the resurrection of Jesus to the people. Her full name is actually quite ironic in this instance as her last name is Dead but the actual biblical First Corinthians is about the resurrection or coming back to life of Jesus Christ. The religious implications of her name, however, don’t seem to have any effect on her character.

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Throughout Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, Milkman Dead’s name serves as a constant reminder of his unhealthy relationship with his mother, Ruth Dead, which in itself is a reflection of her deep-rooted issues with her own personal life that are out of Milkman’s control. The significance of Milkman’s name has multiple layers to it. For example, it is important to recall that his real name is Macon because he makes a significant effort to distance himself from Macon Jr. and prove himself to be different from him. Ruth’s breastfeeding him well past his infancy results in his being stuck with the nickname “Milkman” before he is even old enough to understand the situation.

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Many of the names were chosen from the bible on the day of a child’s birth. Letting God choose a child’s name shows a level of faith in the parents which often results in awkward and weird names. The use of the name, Magdalena called Lena, is similar to the phrasing in the bible in names like Simon called Peter. Toni Morrison put a lot of emphasis into the characters' names in Song of Solomon. The main characters' last name of Dead has a lot of emphasis.

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In Song of Solomon, written by Toni Morrison, deep concern for not only the existence and development of the black community is shown, but also for human beings in general. Questions such as “Why and how are individuals isolated from society?” , “What voice is created in isolation?”, and even “How does an individual resolve conflict between personal ethics and social morality?” strictly apply to Song of Solomon. Milkman, the protagonist, embarks on an unwitting search for his roots and ties to the black community, all while feeling isolated from society.

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Toni Morrison’s novel Song of Solomon tells the story of Macon “Milkman” Dead, a character completely alienated from his community, his family and his heritage. The readers follow his journey, during which he attempts to find his “inheritance” of gold that his father, Macon Dead, believes was hidden by Pilate Dead. Instead, he travels to the fictional town of Shalimar where his family line began in America in order to fully understand the cultural heritage that has been left for him - in the process experiencing an understanding of the word home. Home is often represented by the motif of cherries, which different people in Milkman’s immediate family - eventually including Milkman encounter throughout the book. Even though these events are

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Toni Morrison’s novel Song of Solomon is an examination on the importance of self-identity in African-American society and the effects of a name. Names and labels are used to describe and symbolize people, places, and things, serving as a brief definition of the subject. Toni Morrison uses this definition in order to analyze the effects redefining or naming had on African Americans heritage and culture after their emancipation. Throughout the story, the central protagonist Macon Dead III or Milkman, searches his family’s history to reclaim his past and recreate himself. America’s history of slavery and it’s lasting effects have allowed African-American society and cultural identity to be dictated by the white majority.

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His legacy is left in the form of a song, as the people of Shalimar sing. The people of Shalimar sing his song, hoping for his return, but they know that he is never going to come back. In "Song of Solomon" another motif that occurs quite frequently is color. At many points throughout the novel, Morrison uses color as an added description of the scene as well as to point to a meaning in the story.

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Economic privileges generally blind people to the unfavorable social conditions of their community, as wealth is commonly used as a method of physical escape. As a result, many of those belonging to this socio economic strata continue to live under the illusions of an idealistic identity, as they fear to uncover a past that may disrupt their supposed utopian lifestyle. The rare amount of people who defy and challenge the blindness evoked by economic privileges are usually awarded with a mental awakening in which they will uncover a social purpose beyond the pursuit of materialistic wealth. In the Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison explores the social transition of Milkman, a privileged individual, through the use of a spiritual awakening. Due to

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He calls himself Qoheleth. Why do this? It was noted at the start that this name contains the idea of calling an assembly together. Solomon wanted his subjects to get back to the truth of how to live before a holy God; something which he himself wandered away from (1 Kings 11:1-11, 33). Clearly a number of Israelites did not fear God and keep his commandments.

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She was the sign of misfortune in the entire novel: deprived of sexual interaction with her husband for twenty years, delivering Milkman as a consequence of a shock from a frightening accident, and withstanding the physical violence of her husband even in front of their children. She was never respected or seriously loved by any male characters in the novel—Milkman was ashamed and careless of her, Macon her Husband hated her, and even her father was somewhat embarrassed by their intimacy which Ruth intended. Ironically, she was the daughter of the great Doctor who has a street named after him and the wife of Macon Dead, who is the richest person in town. This contrast emphasizes the tragedy of the character that despite her superior or seemingly advantageous status quo, she still led a miserable life. Morrison quoted that she started the book as an attempt to shatter some of the common stereotypes the 1960s has brought to African American community, which, as she reckons, has left out an enormous portion of the racial character for over-emphasizing the beauty and strength and thereby

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Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon beings in a very peculiar manner. The vivid imagery glistens in the novel’s first chapter and has the reader scratching his head wondering what exactly the novel can truly be about. However, the first few conflicts arise in the first chapter instantly hooking to the audience to continue reading the words of Morrison. For example, when Ruth continues to breastfeed her four-year-old child, it serves as a slightly humorous and creepy conflict to catch the reader’s attention. After I finished reading the part about Ruth breastfeeding her four-year-old son, my eyebrows cringed and I became grossed out.

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Zavala 1 To seek for Money,Power,and Freedom are the predominant result of racial segregation upon an individual's conscious. Many African Americans that lived during the period of slavery were traumatized by the idea that they lived under the control of white people. Many individuals fought for freedom but many ran away from problems. As shown in the novel "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison antagonist Macon Dead being a wealthy business man tends to fight for his own riches rather than his race. But to Guitar Bains being exposed to such violence during his childhood he was destined to take a “fight" to gain civil rights for African Americans.

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Though God gave Solomon wisdom which in turns brings him many great things, for Solomon still fails to listen to the word of God when God warns him to not worship other Gods. Solomon soon starts to commit sin and this is shown in the verse that states, “Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command” (1 Kings 11:10, NIV). Because Solomon allowed others to influence to turn his back to God, God had another plan for the land of Israel, and as a result of Solomon sin God tells this Solomon in the 1 Kings, “So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates” (1 Kings 11:11, NIV). Even though Solomon had success the narratives focused more on how Solomon sins of worshipping false Gods and his son Rehoboam eventually led to the division of the Kingdom and is played out in 2

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The superscriptions inclusion of Solomon can be interpreted in two ways, either as authorial intent, which would give authorship to Solomon, or more likely the Song of Songs is being attributed to Solomon, or Solomonic tradition. Bergant argues, “he seems to function as a symbol of wealth, a standard of comparison, or a fictitious way of according special honor to the man in Song of Songs.” As the text moves on, which will be seen later in this exegetical study, Solomon is not attributed as a noteworthy function within the poem. Therefore, the importance of the Song being attributed to Solomon is because it seems to give credibility to the work as a whole.

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“I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved” (Romans 9:25). Toni Morrison’s Beloved is filled to the brim with allusions, specifically and most often to the Bible. In using a verse from Romans as her epigraph, she sums up the entirety of her novel in a few simple words. The novel is about acceptance and a mother’s love. They who were not previously her people will become known as her people, and those who were not previously loved will become beloved.

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