Song Of Solomon Racism Analysis

The world of Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison is a place racism and inequality are predominant, affecting every character’s life in some significant ways. This world runs parallel to America in the twentieth century between 1930’s to the 60’s. Morrison illustrates this societal divided amongst racism in a mythical interpretation. She gives of a first person account of life for a relatively well off black man in the time and viewing the world through his lens allowing us to observe the effects of racism during this time period where racial tension were at a new turning point. We see how racism is both socially and economically perpetuated and structured into our society. Examining the progression of racism in America seeing where Morrison’s

The setting in Song of Solomon is a good comparative area beginning in Pittsburgh an industrial city closer to the North yet closer to the south than other northern states. When Milkman travels to Virginia it’s like entering a whole new world compared to where he came from. Milkman and Guitar both had family experience with racism to align their view form a young age about the world they live in. Milkman’s grandfather Solomon ‘flew’ away from his life because of slavery, and Guitar’s grandfather died because of his white employers. While it seems as if everyone in the novel is trying to flee the grip of their families past as slaves, in reality, they are only further enslaving themselves. For example, Macon Dead tells Milkman that if he wants to be free, he must have money, so that he can own people, which is a direct reversal of his own past, yet it traps Macon in a position where he is enslaved to his job while society simultaneously works against him. These connections to slavery that Milkman and Guitar’s families possess, keep them from being able to escape the captivity of this ideology. This can make you think if the Seven Days are justified in what they do with all the things going against African

The history spirits of the black culture are intensified in these old songs. Milkman 's search for his ancestral roots finds meaning in such sources as the blues songs and especially in the Song of Solomon. He links himself with the past by unceasingly piercing it all together. Morrison recognizes that oral tradition or folklore can more directly convey the truth than relying on the analytical descriptions based on Western logic "and traditions. She wanted to utilize the black folklore, especially the magic and superstitious part of it, in her texts because black people believe in magic and it is part of their heritage. This, she says, is the reason for using flying as the central metaphor in Song of