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Interesting Metaphors in Song of Solomon

Toni Morrison’s novel Song of Solomon is peppered with many different unusual metaphors. Often appearing at unexpected moments, this figurative language enhances the text and offers more meaning into the characters’ minds. The following are a few of my favorite metaphors:
“There was the pain and shame of seeing his father crumple before any man–even himself. Sorrow in discovering that the pyramid was not five-thousand-year wonder of the civilized world, mysteriously and permanently constructed by generation after generation of hardy men who had died in order to perfect it, but that it had been made in the back room at Sears, by a clever window dresser, of papier-maché, guaranteed to last a lifetime” (68)
In this passage, Milkman reflects on hitting his father after Macon abuses Ruth. The act of retaliation represents Milkman’s loss of innocence and transition into full adulthood; he realizes that he no longer fears his father. Prior to this moment, his father, like the pyramid, is a mysterious object of wonder; he is both fearsome and omnipotent. Yet, just as if Milkman smashed a paper-maché pyramid, Macon’s image crumbles when Milkman retaliates. Milkman realizes that his father’s image is merely a façade, and that he is truly weak and vulnerable.
“Milkman closed his eyes and then opened them. The street was even more crowded with people, all going in the direction he was coming from. All walking hurriedly and bumping against him. After a while he realized that nobody was walking on the other side of the street. There were no cars and the street lights were on, now that darkness had come, but the sidewalk on the other side of the street was completely empty…not a soul” (78)
This passage highlights Milkman’s sense of isolation. After Milkman hits his father, Macon tells him about Ruth’s seemingly-sexual relationship with her father. This casts darkness on Milkman’s already strange relationship with Ruth. Furthermore, after Milkman hits Macon, Corinthians and Lena both look at him with disgust and anger. Rather than praise him for his heroism, they seem to disapprove of him, to think that he acted in the wrong.



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