Song of Solomon

The novel’s plot circles back as different characters ponder the details surrounding certain events, such as Milkman’s birth, Jakes’s death, Pilate’s naming, the murder in the cave, and Solomon’s flight. What is the effect of such repetition? Choose an event and track how the story changes with each repetition, paying particular attention to how the storyteller influences the memories that are revealed.

Milkman is pleased to discover that the murdering, thieving Butlers, who did everything they could to secure their legacy, even killing Milkman’s grandfather, ended up with no legacy at all. What is Milkman’s legacy?

In many ways, this is a book about interpretation, as Milkman has to learn to read the signs of the world around him in his hunt for the truth about his past. Choose another character in the novel who also must learn how to read and reinterpret signs. How does the hunt for meaning transform their character?

Many of Toni Morrison’s books are told from a woman’s point of view, but Song of Solomon is told from the point of view of Milkman, a man who struggles to empathize with the women in his life, partly because of the patriarchal worldview he learned from his father. How does the novel change when the story shifts to reveal the perspectives of Ruth, Pilate, Hagar, Corinthians, or Lena? What do the missing voices, especially those of the missing mothers, such as Ryna, Sing, and Ruth’s own nameless mother, add to this gendered analysis, especially given that Sing’s last name is Bird, symbolizing her connection to flight?

When Corinthians comes home late, she sees a group of men talking at Porter’s house and then, just a few minutes later, she sees her father and brother talking at her house. How do Black men gather and support each other both in the North and in the South, providing security, especially against the backdrop of racism and segregation? Does the book show Black women benefiting from similar sources of communal support?

Guitar’s concern with social justice, especially in response to the brutal slaying of Emmett Till in 1955 and the four girls who were killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in 1963, can be seen as rooted in his own experiences with racism and poverty. He has little in common with Milkman, whose wealth insulates him from much of the injustice that many Southside residents suffer from. How is Guitar a mentor to Milkman? How is he a foil?

Pilate and Circe seem to have magical, mythic powers as well as a deeply realistic power of love. Both women use their powers to help Milkman on his heroic journey. Compare and contrast these two strong women and how they use their strength to help Milkman finally achieve his power to fly.

In Shalimar a group of young men attacks Milkman, while a group of older men embraces Milkman, allowing him to join their group. Why do these groups of men treat Milkman so differently?