Introduction
Toni Morrison’s third novel, Song of Solomon, established her as a major American writer. The story of a black man’s search for his identity through […]
Song of Solomon
Toni Morrison
Like her character Milkman Dead, Toni Morrison came of age in a family that had only recently left the South and moved to the Midwest. […]
Plot Summary
A Part I Song of Solomon begins with the flight of Robert Smith, an insurance agent, from the roof of Mercy Hospital. Smith appears on […]
Characters
A Guitar Bains Guitar is Milkman’s best friend. As a child, his father was killed in a terrible industrial accident, and his mother abandoned the […]
Themes
A Coming-of-Age In some respects, Milkman’s story is a classic Bildungsroman, a coming-of-age story about the moral and psychological development of the main character. However, […]
Construction
A Motif The main motif in Song of Solomon is flying: the novel begins with Robert Smith’s flight from the roof of Mercy Hospital and […]
Historical Perspective
A Post-World War I America Though Song of Solomon is set during the 1950s and 60s, much of its action results from events that happened […]
Compare and Contrast
1963: President Kennedy is assassinated, plunging all Americans into mourning. 1970s: President Nixon resigns after being implicated in the Watergate scandal. Today: President Clinton is […]