"Song of Solomon"

Book Review # 104167

English > Analysis
Literature > American

"Song of Solomon"

A review of Toni Morrison's "Song of Solomon".

1,229 words () | 5 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how in her novel "Song of Solomon", Toni Morrison uses the history of one black family and covers the period from the end of the Civil War to the time of the Civil Rights Movement. It looks at how the women of the family are witnesses to the disintegration of the black male and so of the black family and how, even as the family disintegrates, these women achieve a form of regeneration as they gain wisdom.

From the Paper:

"In Chapter 6, the idea of truth is seen to be based not on simple facts but on a broader and more encompassing truth involving history and patterns. Some of the patterns are revealed in the foreshadowing, as when Milkman says Hagar has been trying to kill him for months, and such allusions are numerous in the text to set the idea of violence and murder to come. The mention of the white robe is also one of many, with a repeated and vivid connotation to any object or person described as "white" in this novel--with little or no positive implications at the time. This particular example not only suggests the white robes of an angel with a halo, but also the white robes of the Klu Klux Klan."

Sample of Sources Used:

Batchelor, Doug. "Keys to Bible Symbols." 2006. 13 May 2007 <http://www.mostamazingprophecies.com/Resources/KeysToBibleSymbols/tabid/157/Default.aspx>
Morrison, Toni. (1977, 2004). Song of Solomon. London: Vintage.
New Totalitarians. "Song of Solomon." 2006. 12 May 2007 < http://www.newtotalitarians.com/SongOfSolomon.html>
University of Maribor. "Symbolism." 2005. 13 May 2007 < http://www.pfmb.uni-mb.si/eng/dept/eng/text/symbol.htm>
Von Tol, Naomi. "Folklore and Blues in 'Song of Solomon.'" 2006. 13 May 2007 < http://spiny.com/naomi/thesis/>