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Theme Of Silence In Toni Morrison's Song Of Solomon

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INTRODUCTION The novel Song of Solomon is fascinatingly Morrison’s only novel with a male protagonist, Milkman Dead. Milkman Dead journeys to find his heritage, which he searches is quite rich. His struggle entails a process of self-discovery Tar Baby has its protagonist Jadine Child, a black woman, lost in the cultural confusion resulting from Europeanization and who ultimately fails to find any solace even in her relationship with son, an African. Beloved reveals the continuous searing, emotional conflict in the psyche of its Protagonist, Sethe, and a representative of the holocaust of black slavery. Not only has her body been violated, but her Memories have been treated as saleable goods by the people. Memories become the collective memory of a community as with the Jewish holocaust, Russian revolution, or the partition of the Indian subcontinent. Slavery as a part of pain is one of the most disgusting tragic chapters of history. By the advantage of power, man has often tried to subdue and suppress lesser beings. But …show more content…

Yet the survivor/writer refuses to seek refuge in silence. The need to remember overcomes the seduction of silence. When the survivor/writer is confronted with atrocities of monumental inhumanity, silence can be a triumph of cynicism over the indignities suffered by the victims. The survivor writer feels compelled to remember and overcome silence and speak in order to bear witness. Speaking about the atrocities is a sacred memorial tribute to the sufferers. There are times when one feels that a gesture other than a verbal one is more effective as an expression of solidarity with the victims. However, we have to speak because we cannot offer a “blanket tablet of history and require future generations to inscribe it with the unreliable details of fading recollections.” Memory and insight work in tandem to at least recall a painful past that cannot be

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