Background on Author, Genre, and Context Themes and Symbols Song of Solomon Background on Author, Genre, and Context Themes and Symbols

Toni Morrison: Biography Chloe Ardelia Wofford February 18th 1931 Lorain, Ohio “Toni Morrison” Howard University  Master of Arts from Cornell Master’s Thesis Birthdate is the date the novel begins; Morrison’s family, like Milkman’s, migrated from the South to the North around the turn of the century during the Great Migration of blacks from rural South to urban North (from Alabama-Ohio); granddaughter of sharecroppers and 2nd of 4 children; at age 12 converted to Catholicism and received the new name “Anthony”- which is where we get “Toni” (her mom was Episcopalian)- Morrison is the name of her husband whom she has divorced; undergrad at Howard and Master’s on suicide in Faulkner and Virginia Woolf

Career and Honors Teaching: TSU, Howard, State University of NY, Rutgers, Princeton (86-06), Oberlin Oxford and Rutgers: honorary Doctorates Other notable novels: The Bluest Eye, Sula, Beloved 1987(Pulitzer Prize and American Book Award) 1993: Nobel Prize in Literature (First black woman to receive ANY Nobel Prize; 1st African American to receive Prize in Literature) Presidential Medal of Freedom: 2012 1st novel was The Bluest Eye (1970); Sula (1974); Beloved (1987); Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for Beloved; 1993: 1st Black woman to receive Nobel Prize in Literature; 1st African American to receive it in literature; same year as Nelson Mendela; Presidential Medal of Freedom 2012

Style Realistic Settings and Characters (Verisimilitude) Modernistic Techniques: Multiple Narrators Interior Monologues Discursive, Non-Chronological narration

Magical Realism An artistic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend with the real world Differs from pure fantasy primarily because it is set in a normal, modern world with authentic descriptions Professor Matthew Stretcher: “what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe.” Conflicting Perspectives: Rational Thought and the Acceptance of the Supernatural

History of Magical Realism 1920s-1950s: An art movement that began in Germany; Realism that incorporated mysterious or fantastic elements, but still portrayed everyday life. Term only applied to literature beginning in the 1960's. At first it was used in reference to works of Latin American writers, such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez. More recently, applies to films

Other Genres Bildungsroman: Coming of Age story in which a character goes from a state of ignorance to self-awareness and fulfillment Epic Hero’s Journey (Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth): Separation Initiation Return Epic Hero’s Journey: hero is called to quest from mundane life, is tempted by himself of others to ignore the call, crosses the threshold of adventure where he/she encounters numerous tasks and challenges as well as helpers and objects, is almost defeated, achieves the goal, returns home Bi The Matrix follows the hero’s journey as well

Song of Solomon 1977 “interweaves folk and fairy tales, magic and root medicine, history and imagination” to shape Milkman Dead’s classic hero’s journey (separation, initiation, return) Karen Carmean

Historical Context Set in 1950s-60s Much results from earlier events Great Migration Progress and Loss WWI and Aftermath Black Soldiers Summer of 1919 Civil Rights Emmett Till Four Little Girls Great Migration at turn of century- progress of independence; less oppression; loss of heritage; roots/ WWI- improve status in society- hope for economic progress and improvements in civil rights; discrimination during the war- influx of KKK afterwards= Summer of 1919 very violent- AA had new willingness to defend themselves; led to more activism; influence of this is seen in The Seven Days, whose older members are WWI vets; Emmett Till 1955 visiting Mississippi from Chicago- flirted with white grocery store clerk: from WIKIPEDIA: Several nights later, Bryant's husband Roy and his half-brother J. W. Milam arrived at Till's great-uncle's house where they took Till, transported him to a barn, beat him and gouged out one of his eyes, before shooting him through the head and disposing of his body in the Tallahatchie River, weighting it with a 70-pound (32 kg) cotton gin fan tied around his neck with barbed wire. His body was discovered and retrieved from the river three days later; horrific, gruesome murder and the men were never punished- open casket- support for civil rights- the men were acquitted and confessed to a magazine months later but were protected by double jeopardy; The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama was bombed on Sunday, September 15, 1963 as an act of white supremacist terrorism. The explosion at the African-American church, which killed four girls, marked a turning point in the United States 1960s Civil Rights Movement and contributed to support for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Song of Solomon: Themes Epigraph: “That fathers may soar And the children may know their names” What does this statement tell us about the book? PRIMARY THEME: Gaining identity through recovery of a stolen and forgotten past Epic Hero; Joseph Campbell- Monomyth; archetype

Other themes Contrasting gender roles Cultural restraints and opportunities (race and class) Atonement and forgiveness Volatile dynamics of family connections and interactions

Motifs Flight Naming Biblical Allusion Song Magic Folklore

Solomon Song of Solomon Ruth First Corinthians Mary Magdalene Pilate Allusion Activity: You will receive an allusion to research online. Write a paragraph about your character or book, and share with the class. Include a proper MLA citation. Solomon Song of Solomon Ruth First Corinthians Mary Magdalene Pilate Hagar Rebecca Circe Jacob

Morrison talks about Song of Solomon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTAQHbLFi84