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The Theme Of Love In Toni Morrison's Song Of Solomon

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In the 1977 novel, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. Morrison highlights the running theme of love. The theme of love is present in every relationship in the novel and is defined different from character to character. The women display love as a way of obsession whether it is over their spouses or over materialistic possessions. The men, however; define it differently, many are distant and secluded when it comes to expressing affection and love. This underlying theme significantly contributes to the overall storyline providing a unique characterization to each character, allowing the reader to really experience the character’s emotional development through the novel. The theme of love can be identified from the very beginning of the novel. …show more content…

This unwinding road of exploration beings with the idea of love. Milkman is portrayed to have a different definition of love, it is one that is young and naive. “When the two had managed to get the basket into the room, the girl stretched her back and turned around, facing them. But Milkman had no need to see her face; he had already fallen in love with her behind.”(43). Morrison explicitly establishes Milkman’s sexual interest in Hagar, showcasing a spark of love based on physical attraction. Morrison also establishes Hagar’s interest in the idea love in an indirect implicit manner. “Who was gonna feed us? Hagar was insistent. “Mama can go for months without food. Like a lizard.” “Lizard live that long without food?” asked Reba .“Girl, ain’t nobody gonna let you starve. You ever had a hungry day?” Pilate asked her granddaughter.” (48). Morrison indirectly showcases Hagar’s hunger as a hunger for intimacy and affection. Morrison’s expression of intimacy between the two characters, sets the foundation for an evolving relationship that is based on a physical attraction. As the characters of Milkman and Hagar develop throughout the novel, their views of love and attraction change, starting to mirror that of Ruth and Macon

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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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In the Toni Morrison’s critically-claimed novel, Song of Solomon, the protagonist, Milkman, goes on a journey to uncover his “people.” Macon, Milkman, Dead III has no identity, ambition, or passion for he is lost and has no idea who he is or what he wants. As Milkman discovers his family’s mysterious and largely unknown past, Milkman discovers something much more: himself. Only through his investigation into his father’s family does Milkman finally find his lost identity.

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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

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When Milkman is set on his odyssey in search of gold, he uncovers his family’s

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Hagar, Pilate, Macon Jr., and Guitar all vie for Milkman’s commitment pulling in him to achieve their goals for him. To Milkman, his life seems to lack an identity in which to base his life’s direction and purpose, “…trying to make up his mind whether to go forward or to turn back. The decision he made would be extremely important, but the way in which he made the decision would be careless, haphazard, and uninformed.” (Morrison, 69-70). Unwilling to commit himself to any one goal, Milkman rejects these options, choosing instead to continue his aimless drifting, cutting himself off from the people who care for him and the African-American community.

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Despite Milkman’s initial pursuit of Hagar, he fails to become emotionally invested and eventually loses interest in her. Their separation unfortunately evoked the loss of Hagar’s sanity, as her love for Milkman manifests into an obsession and she becomes consumed with jealousy and desperation. As a result, Hagar strategizes a plan in which she attempted to murder Milkman for their separation. When confronting Milkman, Hagar realizes that she lacks the courage to actually inflict harm upon him, as she is still emotionally invested in their relationship. Upon realizing that Hagar lacks the audacity to actually murder him, Milkman becomes silently overwhelmed with pride to which he proceeds to “pat her cheeks and turn away from her wide, dark, pleading, hollow eyes”

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He is represented with an oblivious mind, and sees everything around him irrelevant if it does not relate to himself in a way. As he continues throughout his journey, Milkman encounters, for the first time, a struggle of not getting what he wants. As he digs for the gold, for the first time, his mind shifts from the capitalistic north and embrace nature, “His watch and his two hundred dollars would be of no help out here, where all a man had was what he was born with, or had learned to use” (277). As he begins to separate himself from white culture, he embraces in his natural skills. This was just the first step to shape Milkman into embracing and seeing his ethnicity.

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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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Milkman describes the scene in which he was watching his mother through the window planting tulips, and they began to grow instantly, "[t]he tubes were getting taller and taller and soon there were so many of them they were pressing up against each other and up against his mother's dress" (Morrison, 105). Morrison uses imagery to show how disturbing this scene is, and she describes the tulips as having "bloody red heads that bobbed and touched [Ruth's] back" (Morrison, 105). When Ruth finally notices the flowers, she does not seem surprised. She playfully hits at them, even though "[t]hey were smothering her, taking away her breath with their soft jagged lips. And she merely smiled and fought them off as though they were harmless butterflies"

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Milkman eyes are warm and brown and can tell who she is by looking into her eyes. Reba and Pilate Dead try to comfort Hagar by disagreeing with her thoughts about Milkman’s likes and dislikes because she does not have to compare herself to a Caucasian female. With this in mind, Hagar Dead is not aware of her self-worth because she is too caught up in trying to impress a men that does not want her. Not along she should not trying to impress a man at all. A man

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In this scene Sethe reclaims the nourishment she was and human generosity she was denied as a slave and reclaims her identity as mother while preparing milk for the two young women she wishes to care for. The symbol of milk is prominent throughout Morrison 's novel. The milk 's symbolism allows insight into the overall themes Morrison is trying to project. Whether it be through its symbolism of motherhood, shame, or nourishment, milk throughout the narrative reveals the ways in which African Americans were stripped of their personal identities as well as their identity as

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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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As the story progresses, love is expressed in the novel. The author uses character perspectives to express the theme of love. Love is a common topic played in society. The many types of love include, love for an object or thing, family love, and the love for the

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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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His father ran a household that bred misogyny, greed, and a lack of emotion. His father barely even looks at the mother of his children, his wife. He does not listen to anything she says, and although Milkman tries to stand up for her, he still has tons of internalized misogyny in him. This is demonstrated in Chapter 11 when Milkman degrades the women in Shalimar and is beaten for it. It is also demonstrated in his relationship with Hagar .

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