Song of Solomon—A Journey of Milkman Dead

閆楓

Abstract： American Scholar Joseph Campbell puts forward a more detailed model of heroes in which a successful journey usually contains three major phases：“separation”“initiation” and “return” . In Song of Solomon written by Toni Morrison， the hero， Milkman Dead leaves his family to the south to find his familys lost tradition and memory and the journey of Milkman Dead turns out to be a journey of understanding himself， his ancestry and African heritage. The journey also fits into the legendary model of heros journey “Separation—Initiation—Return” model.

Key words：Archetypal Analysis； Song of Solomon； Milkman Dead

Song of Solomon， the third novel of Toni Morrison， recounts the black male protagonist Milkman Deads journey down to the American South in search of identity， family ancestry and African heritage. In her novel， she always concerns about the evolution of self for African American during the journey. Its an initiation story of young black Odyssey who is looking for his home and roots through the book. This fits into the legendary model of heros journey “Separation—Initiation—Return” structure， which to help protagonist establish a vivid figure.

Ⅰ Theoretical Bases

American Scholar Joseph Campbell puts forward a more detailed model of hero of mythology， religion and story all around of the world. In his famous book The Hero with a Thousand Faces， he finds the common pattern of three major phases in a successful journey “separation”， “initiation” and “return” in almost all of the legendary. So some critics believe readers can understand the novel better to analyze how the hero interacts with his circumstance and this interact may influence heros development in return.

ⅡArchetypal Analysis of Song of Solomon

As for the novel， Song of Solomon tells us the journey of Milkman Dead into an discovering of himself， family ancestry and African heritage. At first， Milkman starts a journey down south to search for his fathers gold. He retraces the journey of Pilate that she undertook when she was young. By returning， Milkman discovers some more valuable spiritual treasure and his journey becomes journey of searching for family ancestry and his own identity that is just the characteristics of the archetypal journal of quest.

1.Separation

According to Campbell， before starting the journey of quest， the hero has to leave his familiar world to an unknown world. In general， dull and unsatisfactory life at home and the curiosity towards the unknown world are the main reason of heros leave. In Song of Solomon， Milkman Dead leads a boring， meaningless and nearly “dead” life which propels him to start a journey. Isolations from other people in community and poor relationship with family drive him out from his rich family.

As the first Black infant ever born in the Mercy Hospital where just receive white people. Milkmans birth can be regarded as a symbolic marker of his separation from other members in his community. When he grows up， he finds he is also physically different from the people around him， since he has an undersized leg. This also becomes a reason why Milkman could not get along with other people harmoniously. As Milkman grows old， his feeling of alienation becomes stronger. This alienation comes from his lack of awareness， sensitivity and consideration for others. These negative family environments may develop Milkmans selfishness and irresponsibility， he abandons Hagar who loves him with all her passion.

“I just want to be on my own. Get a job on my own， live on my own” （163）. This is what Milkman wishes for “the call”. In Campbells concept， hero always needs a outsider energy such like a message or a task to force him set out a journey. In the novel， the call is from Milkmans father. To answer the call， he decides to head down south to search for the gold inheritances which imply lost family history and self-identity.

2.Initiations

Milkman heads south to find the lost gold. Milkman is not strong enough to go through the suffering. Therefore， before he can transcend his alienation， isolation and selfishness， he must need some mentor to help him discard his vanity.

In Campbells theory， mentor or helpers always be regarded as “wise old man” in archetype. These people provide either direction or assistance to push hero forward to the quest for material or spiritual treasure. Milkmans first mentor is his aunt Pilat. Besides they have biological connection， Pilate also represents Milkmans spiritual mother who is perform as a knowledge-conveyor. In Song of Solomon， she is the one who succeed to the African tradition and passes her knowledge of it to the young folk like Milkman. Because of Pilates introduction of family history and early period of his father， Milkman may understand his family step by step.

Another important mentor is Circe who let the present begin to connect with the past. She guide the position of the cave where the gold or history lies， in addition， Milkman finds his root and self-assertion from her story.

Milkmans trip from woods to cave is an important part of his initiation. Before he gets into the cave， he has to go through the woods， bushes and hillside. His cigarettes and watch are symbols of the vanity of city life and they are dropped in the water. His shoes and socks are totally soaked and at last he also takes off his black tie which is a symbol of things bonding him. This thorough contact with wild nature forces Milkman to understand the wildness of nature. This is the test which let him get rid of the superiority as a “city boy” and go through his ancestors wild natural life again and develop familiarity with black community.

On his days in Shalimar， Shalimar men test him further by asking him for a hunt. Hunt is a tradition way for young person to be included in a tribe to show his enough power and strength. So this is the test from black people community. To gain the knowledge about his ancestry and his new identity， Milk must realize his weakness and get over them. And the story and old song he heard in Shalimar let him discover the mystery of his ancestry and family history. “I can play it now. Its my game now.” To this point， Milkman has acquired a new identity and knowledge about his ancestry. Then he is ready to go home to bring the relief to other people who need it as Pilate and his father Macon.

3.Return

On his way to home， Milkman understands why Pilate writes her name in her ear. It is because that the names have special meaning for a person：“when you know your name， you should hang on it， for unless it is noted down and remembered， it will die when you do”. He shares the story to Pilate and his family， to let the treasure memory or roots to benefit others. At the end of the novel， Milkman asks Pilate to go back to Shalimar and help her bury her fathers remainings in his birthplace. When Guitars gun shot Pilate instead of Milkman， she asks him to sing the song that was sung by Pilate and the Children in Shalimar for many years. By singing the song of his ancestors story， Milkman takes the responsibility of his community. Whats more， he will be the represent of Dead family， he is be a hero completely.

Ⅲ Conclusion

It is the willingness to take responsibility for his community and actions， the hero in the novel achieves a brand new identity. In this way， his initiation is completed. It is meaningful that Milkmans journey of quest is a epitome of the blacks journey searching for recognition from the community.

References：

[1]Toni Morrison. Song of Solomon，1977.

[2]王麗麗.原型視角探究托尼·莫里森的《所羅門之歌》[D].沈陽師范大學，2013.

（責編 張景賢）