Essay Database

"Flight in the Song of Solomon" Throughout literature it has been common for authors to use allusions to complement frequent motifs in their work. In Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, Milkman learns that his desire to fly has been passed down to him from his ancestor Solomon. As Milkman is figuring out the puzzle of his ancestry, he realizes that when Solomon tried to take his youngest son, Jake, flying with him, he dropped him …

…cry of the abandoned woman still echoes throughout the land in Ryna's Gulch, an indication of the irresponsibility of men and the tendency of women to love them. Milkman has abandoned every woman in his life, including Sweet, who warms the bed and bathes his body in the last sections of the novel. Pilate alone is the woman who commands Milkman's respect and his love, for "Without ever leaving the ground, she could fly (p. 336)."