Essay on the Myths of the African American Woman in Song of Solomon :: Song Solomon essays

Defying the Myths of the African American Woman in Song of Solomon Throughout slavery, myths were created that tainted the image of the African American woman. These myths go on the misconceptions that African American women are promiscuous and are virtually useless. These myths caused these women to be degraded in the eyes of others as well as themselves. In Toni Morrisons Song of Solomon womanhood is defined in shipway that have done for(p) these myths. Womanhood is defined according to ones sexuality, spirituality, beauty, identity, relationships, and motherhood. Song of Solomon begins with one of the most cop scenes in our centurys literature a dreamlike tableau depicting a man poised on a roof, about to fly into the air, plot cloth rose petals swirl above the snow-covered ground and, in the astonished crowd below, one woman sings as another enters premature labor. The child born of that labor, Macon (Milkman) Dead, will eventually come to discover, by his complicated progress to maturity, the meaning of the drama that marked his birth. Toni Morrisons novel is a romance of self-discovery, a retelling of the black experience in America that uncovers the nontransferable poetry of that experience, and a family saga luminous in its depth, imaginative generosity, and universality. It is also a trisolelye to the ways in which, in the hands of a master, the antiquated art of storytelling can be used to make the mysterious and unseeyn aspects of human life apparent, real, and firm to the touch. Milkmans independent aunt, Pilate, serves as the best but not the only example of the retention and use of African ways and culture. Pilate is seen as a conspire woman and this fact is made bare by her unnatural birth and the distinguishing feature of being born without a navel. This sets her apart from the rest of the community giving her almost immediate witchlike status. Not only can she be seen as a conjure women she should also be seen as a keeper of A frican cultural ways. She proves to be the the strength and preservation of her heritage and culture. Pilate in keeping with the African Spiritual culture seeks to repair the relationship of Macon and Ruth at Ruths request. So with this knowledge gained from what seems, another world source, Pilate gives to Macons wife Ruth a greenish powder to put in Macons food to induce him to snuff it sexually active with Ruth again.