Biblical Illusions in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon

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Biblical Illusions in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon

Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison, is about a man named Macon Dead. Throughout this novel, however, he is known by all except his father as Milkman because his mother breastfed him until he was in his teens. The novel centers on Milkman's attempt to find himself. His family is a wealthy black family living in a poor black neighborhood, where Milkman's father prohibits Milkman from interacting with most of them, including his aunt. However, he ends up visiting her, and while there, he learns a little about his family's mysterious past and decides to look deeper into it. Throughout his journey into his past, one may notice a large amount of biblical allusions.

The first and most noticeable of these allusions is the title of the novel itself. _Song of Solomon_ is not only the title of this novel, but also a biblical book. This book in the Bible is also known as the Song of Songs and the Canticles. It is a collection of songs telling the story of a conversation between King Solomon and his beautiful Shulamite Bride, who happe...

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