Song of Solomon seeks the journey for cultural identity. It tells the novel of "Milkman" , a young man alienated from himself and remote from his family, his community, and his historical and cultural roots. He is mentally deprived and religiously lifeless, but with the help of his aunt, Pilate, he goes on a journey that allows him to reconnect with his past and realize his self-esteem. The book Song of Solomon chapters 1-9 is set in an unnamed town. It focuses on his spiritually empty, pointless life as a young man caught between his father's materialistic behavior and Pilate's traditional beliefs. Milkman is considered the main character of the novel. He shares qualities with heroes like Odysseus, in Homer’s Odyssey, and Holden Caulfield,
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Although Morrison hardly focuses on what Pilate is feeling or thinking, choosing instead to focus on Milkman’s journey, Pilate’s presence is felt all over the novel. She is usually leading someone who is in want of advice, such as the skeleton of her late father, or Milkman, during his spiritual quest. Morrison suggests that Pilate’s miraculous powers, great strength, lasting youth, and endless love come from Black cultural customs. Although Pilate undergoes the same obstacles as Macon Jr., she has the ability to conserve a tie to her family’s forgotten past. By singing folk songs about Sugarman’s flight, Pilate reawakens a past in which her ancestors take off the burden of persecution. Her reawakening of this past preserves the characters who live in present day. Both Macon Jr., who secretly snoops on her nightly singing sessions, and Milkman, who uses the songs to find his ancestral home, Shalimar, need Pilate to keep alive the remaining traces of their humanity. As Milkman recognizes at the edge of his journey, Pilate is the only person he knows who is able to fly without ever leaving the ground. That is, she is already free and does not need to flight to gain freedom. Ultimately, Pilate becomes the novel’s exemplary character, showing that strength does not have to come at the expense of gentleness, and that personal freedom is not necessarily negotiated by
Although Morrison hardly focuses on what Pilate is feeling or thinking, choosing instead to focus on Milkman’s journey, Pilate’s presence is felt all over the novel. She is usually leading someone who is in want of advice, such as the skeleton of her late father, or Milkman, during his spiritual quest. Morrison suggests that Pilate’s miraculous powers, great strength, lasting youth, and endless love come from Black cultural customs. Although Pilate undergoes the same obstacles as Macon Jr., she has the ability to conserve a tie to her family’s forgotten past. By singing folk songs about Sugarman’s flight, Pilate reawakens a past in which her ancestors take off the burden of persecution. Her reawakening of this past preserves the characters who live in present day. Both Macon Jr., who secretly snoops on her nightly singing sessions, and Milkman, who uses the songs to find his ancestral home, Shalimar, need Pilate to keep alive the remaining traces of their humanity. As Milkman recognizes at the edge of his journey, Pilate is the only person he knows who is able to fly without ever leaving the ground. That is, she is already free and does not need to flight to gain freedom. Ultimately, Pilate becomes the novel’s exemplary character, showing that strength does not have to come at the expense of gentleness, and that personal freedom is not necessarily negotiated by