Similarities Between Fantasy And Reality In Morrison's Song Of Solomon

Through the lives of many characters in Morrison’s Song of Solomon the contrast between fantasy and reality become evident. Most of the characters have an aspiration. However, for most it does not evolve into anything more than a dream, and if it does it eventually unravels and they struggle to pick up the pieces. Morrison particularly shows the divergence of fantasy and reality in terms of relationships in the novel. The man on top of the hospital’s dreams of flying were crushed, as was his body on the pavement; was a foreshadowing of the events to come in the novel.

For Guitar his vision was of the gold, he planned to use Pilate’s gold to guy explosives and get justice for the four black girls who were killed. The closer he came to seizing

the gold the more vivid his vision became, when Milkman and Guitar found that it was a bag of bones he was furious to have his plans disintegrated in front of his eyes. His fantasy had been so close to becoming a reality the two began to blur in his mind before it was ripped from his grasp. This made Guitar furious, “His anger was like heat shimmering out of his skin, making the hot air blowing in through the open window seem refreshing by comparison.” Before the mention of a bag of gold Guitar did not know how he was going to kill the girls in the church; with the mention of the possibility of money he held a firm grasp on his fantasy, unwilling to consider it might not become a reality. He was not infuriated he had to find another source of wealth.
Another example of the disconnection between fantasy and reality is Morrison’s portrayal of women, sexuality, and relationships. Ruth, Hagar, and Corinthians each manifested a fantasy for their relationships, however, the reality of each of them strayed greatly from the imagine they created in their minds. The idea of “happily ever after” has existed for a long time. Every woman has their fantasy of “the perfect relationship” with care and mutual respect. For Ruth and Hagar there was a disconnect between what they had dreamed about and what became their reality.
Ruth was a prize, the wealthy doctor’s daughter, and believed she should have been treated as such. Macon, however, was abusive both mentally and physically towards Ruth which destroyed her self esteem and caused her to act out in hopes for attention. Ruth became desperate for attention due to Macon’s neglect. She nursed her son until he was too old which earned him the nickname, “Milkman,” she also travels by train in the middle of the night to visit her father’s grave. Ruth cherished her father because he was one person who truly cared about her well-being. Macon drove her to a pathetic state as she kissed her father’s dead fingers in an attempt to have any bit of human contact. Although Ruth is seen to be a pitiful character, in reality she was driven to the state by her toxic relationship with Macon.
Milkman initially pursued Hagar because she was unattainable and he enjoyed the chase. As she began to be ready to settle down with him he suddenly became bored and left her. He selfishly tried to convince her -and himself- that he was doing her a favor in order to feel less guilty. When explaining his decision to Guitar he states, “I did what you do to some woman every six months-called the whole thing off.” In this line Morrison shows the contrast between a man and woman’s perspective on relationships. As Hagar was growing fonder of the idea of staying with Milkman, he was beginning to drift away. There was a shift in the dynamic of their relationship as the roles reversed. Milkman was no longer chasing Hagar, she was pining after Milkman.
Similar to her mother and cousin, Corinthian’s fantasy of the “ideal relationship” was not met by reality; she attracted the attention of a man whom she was ashamed of. He was not her image of a “prince charming” nor did she initially plan to have a relationship with him until she began to realize how lonely she was. Corinthians, like the peacock, was weighed down by vanity and pride and allowed her family name to stop her from accepting that Porter may be a nice man for her. By the time she came to her senses and put her pride aside, her dream was crushed by the reality of her father. Macon Dead would not allow his daughter to date one of his tenants, although she was a middle age woman who should be able to make her own decisions. Morrison shows through Corinthian’s encounters with this man that even when a person accepts the faults in their fantasy it can still be crushed by a more powerful force. Corinthians was willing to accept Porter but Macon was not.
Morrison shows a contrast between a woman’s fantasy and a man’s through the quest Guitar hopes to fulfill.

His vision was to steal gold; he planned to use Pilate’s bag of gold to buy explosives and get justice for the four black girls who were killed. The closer he came to seizing the gold the more vivid his vision became, when Milkman and Guitar found that it was a bag of bones he was furious to have his plans disintegrated in front of his eyes. His fantasy had been so close to becoming a reality the two began to blur in his mind before it was ripped from his grasp. This made Guitar furious, “His anger was like heat shimmering out of his skin, making the hot air blowing in through the open window seem refreshing by comparison.” Before the mention of a bag of gold Guitar did not know how he was going to kill the girls in the church; with the mention of the possibility of money he held a firm grasp on his fantasy, unwilling to consider it might not become a reality. He was not infuriated he had to find another source of wealth.

Milkman wanted the gold in order to leave and start over somewhere else. He wanted to build a name for himself elsewhere rather than to be sheltered by the name of his father. The gold was the key to a new life for Milkman. His dream was also crushed when they opened the bag and saw human remains rather than a pile of

riches.
Ruth, Hagar, and Corinthians did not achieved their “happily ever after,” what they had hoped would become reality remained an unattainable fantasy. For each of these women their fantasy was to be treated with respect by a man. Respect to these women was gold to Guitar and Milkman. The disrespect they faced was their bag of bones.
As Milkman put his pride aside he no longer came across bags of bones, as he travelled he learned to not have expectations and to let come what may. His experience with Sweet was much different than the experiences of the three previous women. He had no fantasy or intentions with Sweet, he was willing to let his reality take control rather than his fantasy. For this reason, their relationship was the most healthy of all the relationships in the novel. This relationship promoted mutual respect and appreciation for each other and was one of the many stepping stones to Milkman’s “coming of age.” Morrison originally portrayed Milkman as a kid who would turn out like his father, however, Milkman was able to shed his peacock tail and fly. He let go of his fantasies and accepted reality.
Unlike Milkman- Ruth, Hagar, Corinthians, and Guitar are unable to accept the world for the way it is. They each struggle with their portrayal of the way life should be in contrast with what is in existence. They each make the mistake of placing their fantasies in the hands of others. Each woman relies on a man to transform their ideal into actuality. Guitar relies on the notion that there may be gold in the bag hanging from Pilate’s ceiling to bring his illusion to life.