Song of Solomon Precis
Development within Song of Solomon
In the fiction novel, Song of Solomon (1977), Toni Morrison, Pulitzer and Nobel prize winning author, explores the inside workings of a society, "the Seven Days" (Morrison, 155), that religiously follows the proverb, "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" as they exact their vengeance "...this society selects a similar victim at random, and they execute him or her in a similar manner if they can" (154) on those of the opposite race "Not people. White people" (155) and how they lose their minds, or flight for freedom, in the process. Morrison allows the reader to envision these processes through the mind of Guitar, how he loses his sense of proper judgment "We don't off Negroes" (161) and participates in, essentially, a society of murderers "You kill innocent people" (159); his mind becomes warped in the process as he claims "What I'm doing ain't about hating white people. It's about loving us. About loving you. My whole life is love" (159) and Morrison helps the reader see these changes in Guitar through allowing the reader to experience Guitar's life in this bildungsroman as the novel unfolds over the span of 30 years. Using these thoughts of ignorance, Morrison establishes a society built upon the murders of innocent people in order to constitute a world where justice is as corrupt as the crime "...trying to make a world where one day white people will think before they lynch" (160). Morrison takes on the tone of a storyteller as she gives the reader a chance to recognize the differences in Guitar's behavior through the eyes of Milkman and how revenge can alter one's life "What kind of life is that" (159).
Chapter 9 Precis
In chapter 9 of Song of Solomon (1977), Nobel prize winning author, Toni Morrison, demonstrates the
Chapter 11 Precis
Chapter 15 Precis
Nobel Prize winning author, Toni Morrison, in chapter 15 of her fiction novel, Song of Solomon (1977), demonstrates one last renewal of Milkman Dead as he yearns to find a large body of water to engulf himself in ("I need the sea! The whole goddam sea!" (326)) that displays his 180 degree turn around from an angst-filled Milkman to a rejuvenated Milkman. Morrison presents to the reader Milkman's complete change through his elevated thought process as he finally understands the importance of names ("When you know your name, you should hang on to it, for unless it is noted down and remembered, it will die when you do." (329)), a significant theme within the novel, and through the aid he gives Pilate as he takes her on one last journey to bury her father's, his grandfather's, bones, to finally lay them at rest the way the dead are meant to be. As Milkman takes his final journey with Pilate, Morrison allows Pilate to lose her life in the feud between Guitar and Milkman in order to let Milkman stand on his own and not in the relaxing shade of a tree, to give Milkman a chance to build up his courage, realize what he loved about Pilate ("Without ever leaving the ground, she could fly." (336)), and take flight ("Without wiping away the tears, taking a deep breath, or even bending his knees--he leaped." (337)). In this final chapter of Song of Solomon, Morrison takes on a jubilant tone as Milkman goes through his final rebirth and she gives the reader one concluding lesson in the last line of the novel, "If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it" (337), leaving the reader with a feeling of wholeness as the entire novel comes together; Morrison also ends the novel without allowing the reader to see what happens between Milkman and Guitar, giving the reader a chance to ponder on how the rest of Milkman's life plays out.