Morrison on Song of Solomon
I was struck by Morrison’s storytelling in Song of Solomon, and I was very curious to
learn more about her and the inspiration behind the novel, with hopes of finding answers to some of the ambiguities in the story.
In an interview I found on YouTube, Morrison says she drew
inspiration from the rich culture of the African-American community in a
northern town. She reflects on her own experiences of growing up within this
culture, “The history was in their songs… and the history was in the tales they
told…” This theme of folk songs and folklore is a prominent feature of the
story; throughout Milkman’s journey, these songs and stories help guide him in
his quest for identity.
Morrison says that the story was inspired by a myth that had
always enchanted her, about slaves who came to the United States that would fly
back to Africa. When she looked further into slave narratives that were published
in the 1930s, she noticed that the interviewers would almost always ask about
whether the slaves knew of this myth. The slaves would either respond that they
had never seen it, but they had heard of it, or some said that they’d witnessed
it. Regardless of whether they’d seen it themselves, all of the slaves who were
interviewed had heard of it, and not one denied it or dismissed it as ridiculous.
As Morrison says, it is not a naïve, childish story, but it
is one that is about “flight”. The theme of flight often occurred in African
spirituals as well. Flight “has a lot of connotations,” Morrison reflects, “It’s
probably escape… it’s also the move away from earth to things that are more
spiritual…” It was this idea of flight that inspired her: “So I’m thinking, how
can I make a contemporary story about a young black man who learns to fly… or
who makes his escape? Not geographical escape back to Africa, but… a mindset.
How does he escape the cultural prison that he found himself in? And that was
his journey… but it was all embedded in those little questions you ask about a
very simple story.” With Morrison’s original questions in mind, Milkman’s
journey can be viewed as an escape story, reflective of the one about the
flying slave that originally inspired her.
Finally, in the interview, when talking about the myth,
Morrison says, “One thing you can say about a myth is that there is some truth
in there, no matter how bizarre they may seem.” I think this statement perfectly
encapsulates Song of Solomon. While
there are very mystical, unearthly, “mythical” aspects to the story, it also
feels very grounded in real human emotion and experience. In that sense, the
novel itself is like a modern myth.
Here is the link to the video interview if you are
interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTAQHbLFi84
Good job investigating this. I would definitely say that the sections you pointed out are where Morrison got inspiration in the novel. It definitely feels like the Dead family is separated from the rest of their heritage by being in the North. Milkman even says that he needs to "find his people". This implies that he somehow he has lost his people. Milkman's search for the gold his more a search for his family which you can definitely see from Morrison's interview.
ReplyDeleteThank you! This helps explain many confusing aspects of the novel. I had never thought of the theme of 'flying' as symbolism to represent Milkman following in his great-grandfather's footsteps and escaping the life he was chained to. Right from the beginning of the novel, we learn of Milkman's desire to not become like his father, but as the plot progresses, he slowly appropriates characteristics of his father. Discontent with himself, Milkman instantly takes a chance to escape and in the process learns of his ancestry and their attempt to escape their cultural prison. From this newfound knowledge, Milkman realizes he, too, will have to take this 'leap' to truly become himself, setting up the end of the novel and leaving us with the idea that Milkman has become a new man.
ReplyDeleteEven though we looked at the symbolism of flying many times throughout the novel, I never looked at it in the same way as you did. From the start we were told countless times about this theme of flying and looked back on it countless times. Yet, the idea of him flying to become more like his relatives was very interesting. I guess I should be surprised as he hated every idea of being like his dad, but when he went to a world where his dad is loved and praised, it made him change his mind.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting, that these myths about flight back to Africa existed and were very well known. It makes me wonder if any of the other characters in Song of Solomon from the North knew of these stories before Milkman began to talk about Solomon. Which, actually, on second thought, we do have evidence for, in Pilate's song "Sugarman done fly away". Pilate, is, of course, the obvious choice of someone to have heard these stories before, being the one most in touch with her past.
ReplyDeleteMorrison's commentary really help flesh out song of Solomon. And escaping the "cultural prison" can be seen in how Milkman escapes from his father's shadow and his lack of empathy for other people. I also found the connection to the myth of the flying slaves interesting since it's something that I wouldn't immediately connect with flight without prior knowledge. By evoking the myth of the flying slave, I feel like Milkman gets closer to his heritage and history and, thus, helped Milkman find his identity.
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