Theme Of Love In Toni Morrison's Song Of Solomon

One’s cravings for love can cause them to act out of their character and perform rash and violent acts. The loss of a true love can drive a person mad, leave them empty, and even make them go to violent ends to ease the pain they feel. Toni Morrison explores these concepts in her novel, Song of Solomon. Through the actions of her characters, Morrison analyzes the extremes that a person will go to when they have experienced a deficit of love and affection. Morrison personifies this concept in the character of Ruth. She claims that the reason she had an inappropriate relationship with her father and continues to see him in the graveyard is because she never had anyone else who cared for her. When speaking of her father, she says that he was “The only person who ever really cared whether I lived or died...and there was, and is, no one else in the world who ever did. And for that I would do anything. It was important for me to be in his presence, among his things, the things he used, had touched. Later it was just important for me to know that he was in the world. When he left it, I kept on …show more content…
Empire State married a white girl in France, and, after he brought her home and lived with her for six years, she left him for another black man. Following this, he never said a word, and only had a job because Railroad Tommy was kind enough to hire him in order to keep him out of the workhouses. Macon Dead appears as though love is not something that really affects him, however, this is likely due to the lack of love in his life. He knows that Ruth loves another man more than she loves anyone else, including Macon: her father. The lack of love that Ruth has for Macon compared to the love that she has for her father causes him to not feel love towards her and be aggressive towards her, creating a vicious cycle that they just can’t seem to