The dictionary definition of a catalyst is a person or thing that precipitates an event or change. Change is something that often affects even the most stubborn character in a piece of literature or medium of entertainment. In Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, Pilate is the antithetical character to Macon, Milkman’s (the protagonist) father, but by doing so she carries the major ideas of the novel on her shoulders. Like Atlas in the Greek myth, the load she carries is indispensable to the evolution of Milkman, and the development of the concepts of flight, identity, and family values throughout the novel. There is no Song of Solomon without Pilate.
Pilate first enters the novel as one of the characters present at Robert Smith’s suicide which …show more content…
The reason she is a surrogate is because she taught him the important life lessons his mother could never teach him. Although she never directly tells Milkman her story, he learns these lessons by the way she lived. “Then she tackled the problem… nothing to fear.” (149). In this short passage, Pilate tells Ruth of how she came to be the woman she is now. Pilate learns what drives true emotion, what is necessary for survival, and what the real world is. In a sense, she teaches all this to Milkman as well as how to fly, who he is, and what family is about. By teaching him all this, the change within Milkman occurs and he is no longer a carbon copy of Macon. Milkman attains the ability to fly after Pilate’s death. The last line of the novel “For now he knew what Shalimar knew: if you surrender to the air, you could ride it” (337) shows how he is able to finally fly. His flight is an extension of learning his identity and learning what family is about. The song of Solomon is really a song passed down by Solomon’s offspring, the ancestor of the Dead family who first attained flight. The song was integral to finding his identity as it told the story of his predecessors and helped him figure out his roots. This never would have happened if he never saw the rebellion Pilate had against the identity she was given by society as a black woman. Yes she didn’t make much of her life, but Pilate was able to stand against any and all people who ever challenged her wellbeing or that of her family. Solomon’s flight and rejection of his identity leave a hole in his family which is reflected by the Dead’s tradition of being a terrible family. Pilate does not reflect this portion of Solomon showing Milkman the truth of what families should be. In a sense, Pilate is a reincarnation of Solomon’s flight and rejection of identity which leads to the catalysis of Milkman doing the same. He rejects the Dead identity to
Pilate first enters the novel as one of the characters present at Robert Smith’s suicide which …show more content…
The reason she is a surrogate is because she taught him the important life lessons his mother could never teach him. Although she never directly tells Milkman her story, he learns these lessons by the way she lived. “Then she tackled the problem… nothing to fear.” (149). In this short passage, Pilate tells Ruth of how she came to be the woman she is now. Pilate learns what drives true emotion, what is necessary for survival, and what the real world is. In a sense, she teaches all this to Milkman as well as how to fly, who he is, and what family is about. By teaching him all this, the change within Milkman occurs and he is no longer a carbon copy of Macon. Milkman attains the ability to fly after Pilate’s death. The last line of the novel “For now he knew what Shalimar knew: if you surrender to the air, you could ride it” (337) shows how he is able to finally fly. His flight is an extension of learning his identity and learning what family is about. The song of Solomon is really a song passed down by Solomon’s offspring, the ancestor of the Dead family who first attained flight. The song was integral to finding his identity as it told the story of his predecessors and helped him figure out his roots. This never would have happened if he never saw the rebellion Pilate had against the identity she was given by society as a black woman. Yes she didn’t make much of her life, but Pilate was able to stand against any and all people who ever challenged her wellbeing or that of her family. Solomon’s flight and rejection of his identity leave a hole in his family which is reflected by the Dead’s tradition of being a terrible family. Pilate does not reflect this portion of Solomon showing Milkman the truth of what families should be. In a sense, Pilate is a reincarnation of Solomon’s flight and rejection of identity which leads to the catalysis of Milkman doing the same. He rejects the Dead identity to