Song of Solomon is
a bildungsroman. After all, the novel chronicles the life of Milkman Dead as he
grows up and attempts to find meaning in life. Milkman has two defining
characteristics: self-absorption and a lack of identity. Throughout the novel,
Milkman seemingly acts in his own interests and ignores the well-being of those
around him. He becomes intimate with Hagar, but when he becomes bored, he
disregards her and refers to her as a third beer that one drinks simply because
it is there. Similarly, he hardly speaks with his sisters Magdalene called Lena
and First Corinthians, and he does not view his mother Ruth as a real person
with emotions, but rather as an extension of himself. Additionally, he feels
manipulated by his family members and friends. He thinks, “Somehow everybody
was using him for something or as something. Working out some scheme of their
own on him, making him the subject of their dreams of wealth, or love, or
martyrdom. Everything they did seemed to be about him, yet nothing he wanted
was part of it” (165). Milkman is so self-absorbed that he relates everything
that occurs in his community back to himself and presents himself as the “protagonist”
in each event. Yet, at the same time, his self-absorption and sense of being
manipulated indicates his lack of identity. Milkman himself recognizes that he
lacks a strong identity, for when he decides to rob Pilate, he “felt a self
inside himself emerge, a clean-lined definite self…a self that could join the
chorus at Railroad Tommy’s with more than laughter” (184). Milkman knows he
does not have an identity, but imagines that robbing Pilate will give him one.
Milkman’s lack of identity causes him to cling onto those around him–Guitar,
Macon, Ruth–and transform their own problems and goals into his own, and thus
he feels used by them. Interestingly, Milkman’s lack of identity and
self-absorption present a chicken-egg paradox and beg the question of whether
the selfishness causes him to cling onto others and not form his own identity
or if the lack of identity causes him to become self-absorbed and turn others’
problems into his own.
Song of Solomon is peppered with many different allusions. Ranging from classical myths to traditional folk tales, these stories enhance the text and establish parallels between Morrison’s characters and well-known figures. One such allusion is the Brothers’ Grimm tale of “Hansel and Gretel.” At the start of Part II in the novel, Morrison describes the tale of “Hansel and Gretel” and compares the two children’s journey to Milkman searching for Circe’s home. In “Hansel and Gretel,” two children abandoned in the woods by their parents who cannot afford to care for them anymore come across a witch’s house from which they must escape after she attempts to eat them. The story reflects an era’s financial hardships, but also a loss of innocence for Hansel and Gretel. “Hansel and Gretel” functions in Song of Solomon in two different ways. First of all, Macon and Pilate are Hansel and Gretel. After all, their beloved father is killed by racists, and the...
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