Today, it is common for someone to have a fear of heights or flying. This fear keeps many of us grounded, unable to see the world from a different perspective. However, in the novel Song of Solomon, there is no fear when it comes to flight. In fact, taking flight is the main goal for the characters, as it offers them a different approach to their lives. Through the motif of flight, Morrison develops the characters in their quest for identity. The novel opens with a man by the name of Robert Smith attempting to fly from the roof of a hospital. He wrote in a letter “I will take off from Mercy and fly away on my own wings” (Morrison 3). While this is clearly an act of suicide, the people may not have thought this to be true. “A few of the half
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“When the little boy discovered, at four, the same thing Mr. Smith had learned earlier-that only birds and airplanes could fly-he lost all interest in himself” (9). In this example, Milkman is feeling a similar imprisonment as Smith and Solomon, feeling trapped within his community and family. This leads Milkman on a mission in life to take flight and escape the reality that he has been forced into. After Milkman has grown up a little, he and his friend Guitar come across a peacock one day and “Milkman felt again his unrestrained joy at anything that could fly” (178). In fact, Milkman actually longs to be like the peacock, so Guitar tells him “Wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down”, and Milkman does just that (179). Milkman, leaving his family and community behind, goes on a mission to discover more about not only his ancestry, but also who he truly is. To start his trip he takes a plane ride, during which he discovers that “In the air, away from real life, he felt free, but on the ground, [...] the wings of all those other people’s nightmares flapped in his face and constrained him” (220). By saying other people’s “wings” constrained him, it shows that there is hope for flight back home, but it will likely be overcome by despair. After this plane ride, his desire for flight grows even larger as he continually talks about how desperate he is for flight, “unwilling to give up the …show more content…
In Milkman’s case, while his flight from Michigan frees him from the dead environment of his community, it is also selfish because it causes Hagar to die of heartbreak. Similarly, Solomon’s flight allowed him to escape slavery in Virginia, but it also forced him to abandon his wife and twenty-one children. One of those children, Jake, who is also Milkman’s grandfather, “was the only one Solomon tried to take with him”, but he ended up leaving him behind (323). Because of this, Jake made it clear to his daughter, Pilate, that “You just can't fly on off and leave a body” (147). Pilate, who is Milkman’s aunt, goes on to achieve flight herself, while also staying true to her father's words. “Without ever leaving the ground, she could fly” (336). This shows that because Pilate is able to escape reality without abandoning anyone, she is the only one who has truly mastered flight. Flight is unique to Song of Solomon, as it tells a story on its own. Many characters are able to achieve flight throughout the novel, all in different ways, but all for one reason, to escape reality. This adds to a common theme of the novel, a quest for identity, as the characters are trying to escape the life they are forced into in order to discover a better one. Because of this, Morrison is able to create this theme through the motif of
“When the little boy discovered, at four, the same thing Mr. Smith had learned earlier-that only birds and airplanes could fly-he lost all interest in himself” (9). In this example, Milkman is feeling a similar imprisonment as Smith and Solomon, feeling trapped within his community and family. This leads Milkman on a mission in life to take flight and escape the reality that he has been forced into. After Milkman has grown up a little, he and his friend Guitar come across a peacock one day and “Milkman felt again his unrestrained joy at anything that could fly” (178). In fact, Milkman actually longs to be like the peacock, so Guitar tells him “Wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down”, and Milkman does just that (179). Milkman, leaving his family and community behind, goes on a mission to discover more about not only his ancestry, but also who he truly is. To start his trip he takes a plane ride, during which he discovers that “In the air, away from real life, he felt free, but on the ground, [...] the wings of all those other people’s nightmares flapped in his face and constrained him” (220). By saying other people’s “wings” constrained him, it shows that there is hope for flight back home, but it will likely be overcome by despair. After this plane ride, his desire for flight grows even larger as he continually talks about how desperate he is for flight, “unwilling to give up the …show more content…
In Milkman’s case, while his flight from Michigan frees him from the dead environment of his community, it is also selfish because it causes Hagar to die of heartbreak. Similarly, Solomon’s flight allowed him to escape slavery in Virginia, but it also forced him to abandon his wife and twenty-one children. One of those children, Jake, who is also Milkman’s grandfather, “was the only one Solomon tried to take with him”, but he ended up leaving him behind (323). Because of this, Jake made it clear to his daughter, Pilate, that “You just can't fly on off and leave a body” (147). Pilate, who is Milkman’s aunt, goes on to achieve flight herself, while also staying true to her father's words. “Without ever leaving the ground, she could fly” (336). This shows that because Pilate is able to escape reality without abandoning anyone, she is the only one who has truly mastered flight. Flight is unique to Song of Solomon, as it tells a story on its own. Many characters are able to achieve flight throughout the novel, all in different ways, but all for one reason, to escape reality. This adds to a common theme of the novel, a quest for identity, as the characters are trying to escape the life they are forced into in order to discover a better one. Because of this, Morrison is able to create this theme through the motif of