Essay on the American Dream Revised in Song of Solomon -- Song Solomon

The the Statesn Dream Revised in var. of Solomon America was founded on the belief that all men are created equal. However, a question must be posed which asks who constitutes men and what is equal? Africans were taken from their country and enslaved in America. They had to fight to retain dignity and grace in circumstances that were deplorable. Even slaves who were well taken care of were not able to realize the dream of creation free again. In her work, Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison relates a story of the dream of Milkman. Although he is not a slave, Milkman is enslaved by the fact that as a child, he was compel to participate in a shameful act that he wanted no part of. Even his nickname was derived from this horrific act When he came into the subaltern room she unbuttoned her blouse and smiled. He was too young to be dazzled by her nipples, but he was old enough to be bored by the flat taste of mothers milk, so he came reluctantly, as to a chore, and lay as he had at l east once each day of his spirit in his mothers arms, and tried to pull the thin, faintly sweet mild from her flesh without hurting her with his teeth. (13) This act embarrassed Ruth and macon Jr. because he was neer able to shake the nickname and it did not improve either ones relationship with his father. Milkman could not control the whims of his mother though he suspected the act was wrong. Macon did not respect his sons voice as seen when Milkman strikes his father for striking his mother. Milkman does not want to hear Macons explanations for his behavior and is appalled that Macon insists on describing the indiscriminant nature of Ruths auxiliary to her father as the excuse for Milkmans fathers treatment... ...m is not an open invitation to Africans like it is to other immigrant groups. They are not voluntary participants in American society therefore, they must strike for less than others have to. They must fight twice as hard to have half as much as others. Works Ci ted De Arman, Charles. Milkman as the prototypal Hero. Obsidian Black Literature in Review 6.3 (1980) 56-59. Moraru, Christian. Reading the Onomastic Text The politics of the Proper Name in Toni Morrisons Song of Solomon. Names A Journal of Onomastics. 44.3 (1996) 189-204. Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York The Penguin Group, 1977. Peterson, Nancy J. Toni Morrison Critical and Theoretical Approaches. Baltimore Johns Hopkins UP, 1997. Storhoff, Gary. Anaconda Love Parental Enmeshment in Toni Morrisons Song of Solomon. Style 31.2 (1997) 290-309.