Song of Solomon Essay

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uses Milkman’s life to, in a sense, communicate that entire races feelings toward racism. Morrison shows how Milkman grows through these experiences and how he should handle them. Milkman starts the novel as a somewhat selfish man who will do anything to gain independence and developed into a nonmaterialistic and morally selfless man. Milkman decides that he won’t let race define him and doesn’t feel the need to react in the same manner as most, which is violence and revenge. There’s always two sides to a story and this is the African American perspective of racism that she describes. It’s so important for students to see the entire picture to truly understand. But Morrison also uses sexism, a theme not often taught in school, to describe how not only people of color were oppressed but how the women were oppressed by even their own race.

Morrison’s few female characters are left behind. Her characters are trapped in abusive relationships and brought down by societal cliches. The men are described as flying or fleeing, while the women are associated with being grounded. We see them driven to the point of madness at the loss of a lover or rejection. “ She began to pout, sulk, and accuse him of not loving her or wanting to see her anymore.”(Morrison 98). Hagar was so dependent on her relationship with milkman that when he ended things she became enraged but this just shows how selfish the men are and don’t care about the feelings of the women in their life. She was just a “third beer” she was just there because he knew he could have her whenever he pleased. The women are dependent on men as a safe place, even though all these men treat their relationships as if they were nothing. The only women that can stand by herself and not be reliant on a man is Pilate. Pilate is a problem solver and a completely unselfish person. Pilate is perceived as man and woman, Adam and Eve. She has traits from both sides and that makes her the strongest female character. She is here to protect and care for her family by any means necessary. Morrison tackles various themes in this novel.

This novel is extremely controversial throughout the country, but why should some choice language and particular scenes be the reason we shouldn’t learn? Mature young adults should be able to see past the language to actually understand why the author used that language and why she decided to describe a murder. Societal issues, racism, and sexism are reoccurring themes throughout the book and also our everyday lives. This is a new learning experience and an analytical way to look at these issues. “Song of Solomon” is an educational novel that’s students could learn a lot from and it should be taught in schools.

Works Cited

North, Anna. "Banning Books Is Stupid And Insulting: Song Of Solomon Edition." Jezebel. Jezebel.com, 30 Apr. 2010. Web. 05 Mar. 2017. <jezebel.com/5528119/banning-books-is-stupid-and-insulting-song-of-solomon-edition>.

"Toni Morrison and Bill Moyers." YouTube. N.p., 16 Dec. 2014. Web. 05 Mar. 2017. <youtu.be/Gcr5v5DHqMg>.

Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York,NY: Penguin Group, 1977.