ipl-logo

The Great Depression In Toni Morrison's Song Of Solomon

592 Words3 Pages

Toni Morrison's novel “Song of Solomon,” is influenced by many historical events. The fictitious novel begins after the stock market crash in the 1928, making it take place in the height of the Great Depression. The Great Depression’s influence on the text can easily be seen in chapter one within a conversation between Macon Jr. (a landlord) and Mrs. Bains (one of his tenants). Macon Jr. arrived at his office to find “a stout woman… standing a few feet away” (23). Macon Jr. does do so much as greet the woman, implying that he already knows what she wants and they do not share a good history. Macon Jr. wasted no time in getting to the key reason why she came over to his office by asking “you got something for me?” (23). This is the first context the reader receives of their situation, and clearly depicts what drives their conversation: money. Instead of answering Macon’s question, Mrs. Bains describes her situation regarding her “relief check”. This is the first excuse that the reader hears from Mrs. Bains. This response was very similar to the circumstances faced by many during the Great Depression: economic adversity. Macon Jr. appears to heard this song and dance a plentiful amount of times, and proceeds to remind Mrs. Bains of her “four” dollar rent and her “two month” tardiness. While this seems harsh, Macon Jr. shows no “conflict” in his voice, and is simply doing his job. …show more content…

Bains sidesteps his question, and tries to further describe her situation in order to gain more sympathy, “...but babies can’t make it with nothing to put in their stomach,” (23) adding to the illustration of the economic burden she faces. This second attempt further proves Macon Jr’s initial assumption that she wants something from him, another extension for her rent. His frank response, “Can they make it on the street…?” (23) shifts his tone from questioning to candid. This is the second time that he show no sympathy to Mrs. Bains. Macon her until “Saturday” to rustle up the

Show More
Related
251 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
647 Words | 3 Pages

Both Bing Crosby’s song “Brother, Can You Spare A Dime” and Barbeque Bob’s song “We Sure Got Hard Times” conveys the fact that during the Great Depression, money was hard to come by no matter how successful you once were. It is clear by analyzing both texts that jobs were rare, most likely the cause and the result of high employment rate. In Bing Crosby’s song “Brother, Can You Spare A Dime” the artist used many literary techniques to convey the theme of poverty during the Great Depression and contrast the time before and during the Depression. For example, the repetition of the phrase “Brother, can you spare a dime” and “Buddy can you spare a dime” suggests that the speaker is desperate enough to ask his brothers and strangers for money.

Read More
593 Words | 3 Pages

In the book Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, the book is a very good representation of the racial lens. The racial lens is a lens that has to deal with with racial slurs or sequences the character in the book encounter. Milkman is Guitar's best friend, and due to the fact that Milkman was always wealthy from birth and he lived on the other side of town, Milkman does not understand how someone could be so radicalized as Guitar is. Throughout the book, we can see how Guitar was always passionate about his race since his childhood, and how what white people have done has really affected him life. When Guitar’s father died in a brutal accident at his father’s work place, a white man came to tell him and his family and offered Guitar candy for his father's death.

Read More
1121 Words | 5 Pages

Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon is a novel that is set in the 20th century, Michigan which follows the life of Macon Dead III, who gets the nickname milkman. His sisters are Magdalene, who is called Lena, and First Corinthians. His parents are Ruth and Macon Dead Jr. Unlike most African American families during this time period, the Dead family were financially stable and could afford things that were deemed luxurious. Even though they had money, they still were unhappy with their lives. This shows that you can be living ,but you can also be dead.

Read More
1279 Words | 6 Pages

The Great Depression was a devastating period in United States History, the economy collapsed, and a staggering 25% of the population was unemployed. During this time, there were large wage disparity gaps that were very prevalent, there was no middle class, you were either wealthy or you were poor. It was hard for family life to continue, parents had to take up two and three jobs to make sure their kids were staying safe, and well. Most of these jobs were odd-jobs, and were temporary with no sense of security. It was a struggle to find work, and no job was too demeaning for you to do, because you may not find work again.

Read More
850 Words | 4 Pages

Within society, materialism is often associated with success and prosperity. In the novel Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, there was a pattern of how even though the most successful characters were also the most materialistic, they were not always the happiest. Two characters that were at either end of the scale of materialism were Macon and Pilate. These very different lifestyles that Macon and Pilate lived, Macon being heavily materialistic and Pilate not at all, caused them to develop different attitudes that were influenced heavily by materialism. Through the analysis of the mystery of Pilate’s and Macon’s lifestyles, Morrison illustrates that materialism destroys people and prevents them from achieving freedom.

Read More
975 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel, Song of Solomon written by Toni Morrison, there is a group called the Seven Days, and they had goals and methods that this group believed in, the narrator had a specific attitude towards the Seven Days. The Seven Days groups an ineffective way to correct the social ills that were happening in the mid-twentieth-century African Americans. This part of the book demonstrates how torn apart our society was back then. Cynthia Davis talked about Toni Morrisons novel attracted a variety of audiences because it brought in “popular and critical attention for their inventive blend of realism and fantasy,” (Davis) but it’s almost realistic to a point that we could compare this to the society in the mid-1990’s.

Read More
223 Words | 1 Pages

In Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, the use of biblical allusions plays a crucial part in guiding the themes and plot of the story. By naming the characters of the book after figures of the bible, Morrison is able to correlate their experiences and roles within society during the time periods in which they lived in, as shown in Hagar, who is named after the Egyptian slave/handmaiden of Sarah and mother of Abraham’s, Sarah’s husband, son. In the bible, Abraham and Sarah had been told to wait for an heir, however, they were incredibly old. Sarah decides to convince her husband, Abraham, to sleep with her slave, Hagar. Hagar eventually became pregnant and gave birth to the son, naming him Ishmael.

Read More
866 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
1552 Words | 7 Pages

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

Read More
1288 Words | 6 Pages

Written by the great Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon is where the song of African- Americans is sung with the most genuine and sincere voice in utmost entirety. In this essay, the masterpiece will be examined with gender studies approach and cultural studies approach, the function of Pilate and Ruth would be examined in depth, the suggestion that the protagonist should be more loving and caring for others would be fully explained, and the value of this book will be carefully examined. Part One: Critical Approach A significant character in Song of Solomon, Corinthians the First, can be analyzed through the gender studies approach and the cultural studies approach.

Read More
623 Words | 3 Pages

However this ignorance “…has led many… to pass quickly over the serious depression that began in 1937…” ( ) This information is crucial for the reader to understand exactly what Mr. Simon was trying to portray in the play. The play is set in the year 1937, just as the Second World War was advancing, and the economy was in the midst of yet another downward cycle.

Read More
303 Words | 2 Pages

In the novel “Song of Solomon” by Toni Morrison, special attention is given to the names of the characters in the novel to develop the deeper social issues at hand during this time period. Social issues including racism towards African Americans is prevalent in the novel as well as complexities in family relations. Macon Dead the third is called Milkman due to the unconventional parenting methods Ruth imposes on him. In a peculiar manner, Ruth used Milkman by making him breastfeed with her far beyond the appropriate age. She enjoyed the sensuality of the event and her character is further tainted with references to her having an affair with her father and exhibiting creepy behaviors towards him while he lay dead in his bed.

Read More
952 Words | 4 Pages

Loss of work was an obvious struggle during the Great Depression and no doubt one the ‘Forgotten Man’ faced but the piece goes beyond surface. Man lost sense of community, motivation, and hope. The Depression may have caused citizens and the government to pull together in desperate need of support and comradery but that did not happen overnight. This piece shows a man, who is clearly not a hobo as he is dressed well and clean, being overlooked or as Dixon put it, forgotten. The frightful level of uncertainty the generation faced is unimaginable but they needed to remember they were not alone.

Read More
1665 Words | 7 Pages

“Speak up more.” “Don’t be bossy.” “Be confident.” “Don’t be arrogant.” Expectations are hard.

Read More

More about The Great Depression In Toni Morrison's Song Of Solomon

Related Topics

Open Document