Meaning

Before I continue reading I decided that I should look up the most evident and important allusions that aren't explained in the novel

Ruth
Like many other ones on the book, Ruth is a biblical name. Meaning companion in Hebrew, the name fits the character's role in the novel. In the Book of Ruth in the Bible, Ruth tells her mother-in-law that "Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay." In Song of Solomon, Ruth marries Macon and, although they kind of hate each other, she remains his oppressed and obedient wife. In both cases Ruth represents faithfulness, but Morrison shows it in a bad way. 

Pilate
Named accidentally after the procurator of Jesus trial, Macon's sister so far is a figure of bad influence in the book. Macon doesn't let his children know anything about her because she is a snake. She hasn't done anything in particular to make him hate her but he says her way of being is enough. Pilate's name also shows how African Americans' disadvantages, in this case education, stick to them through life. Her dad picked a name at random of the bible and unluckily chose the name of a traitor. Even though her name might mean that she's a bad influence, as Milkman gets to know her it seems more like it might represent that she was unfairly troubled since her birth, like Blacks were treated badly although they didn't do anything. 

First Corinthians
First Corinthians contains some of the most famous phrases of the New Testament. In the novel, she's the only one of the family that went to college, so Morrison perhaps used her name to show her knowledge. Some important quotations from the Bible book include "all things to all men," "without love, I am nothing" and "when I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I though as a child," all which relate to Morrison's thoughts. The book clearly comments on inequality and discrimination, feminism and growing up, reflected by these quotations respectively. 

Magdalene called Lena
Named after Mary Magdalene, Milkman's sister will probably represent either something controversial or support. In "history," she was suspected to be a prostitute, Jesus' lover or wife and/or another disciple. She helped him along his life, making her one of the most important women in the Bible. I haven't noticed so far how the biblical story might relate to the novel's character but I thought it's probably useful to have this possible allusion in mind.

Hagar
All the controversy going on with Islam and jihad is Hagar's fault. Apparently she gave birth to Abraham's first son, as she was his slave and his wife couldn't have children, but then his wife had another child. The brotherly fight between Ishmael, Hagar's son, and Isaac created two religions. In Song of Solomon, Hagar is Pilate's granddaughter and Milkman's crush. I have yet to see how Hagar's symbolic tale, which I oversimplified, relates to the novel.

Song of Solomon

Song of Solomon is the last book of the Old Testament, one that talks about love and sex. AKA the Song of Songs, this book or song is supposed to be one of the greatest. It also comments on the relationship between God and Israel. As in the last names I've mentioned, the title's meaning isn't clear still. I guess I'll write a blog post about it later. 

_____________________________________________

Vocabulary:

• Bereft: deprived or lacking something.
  

• Stout: fat or heavy built/brave and determined.

• Lilt: pleasant sound or accent.
  

• Sturdy: strongly and solidly built.
  

• Lithe: thin and graceful.
  

• Hearse: vehicle for carrying a coffin to a funeral.
  

• Pique: feeling of irritation or resentment.
  

Family Life

In my previous blog post I briefly mentioned gender roles, an issue that related to the way we act within our family. Morrison is clearly commenting on the problems of society (well, as most authors do), further than just about racism. A defined family structure might have its benefits, but as the book shows wanting an ideal lifestyle creates a problem as everyone has his or her own version of it. By showing Macon's frustration about family relationships, Morrison comments on the importance of family 
So far, the author has contrasted the loose organization of Pilate's home with Macon's old-fashioned style. Both versions of family seem rudimentary for twenty-first century standards, but it is important to see how each came to be. 

On one side, Macon tries to have a patriarchal home. He acts, and is, the leader and center of the household. Milkman grows up disliking his father yet bound to him probably because of his strict personality. As a child he wanted his father to explain things to him and communicate with him, but all he got was exclusion. As Milkman grew up, he began to love his father while holding a grudge for him. Eventually, he gets angry enough at him and hits him after Macon hit his mother. The fact that only Milkman stood up to her after years of fighting shows that only men could afford to do that in their family or even in their society. Even though Ruth probably contributed to their wealth and had enough power to shake him up, Macon represents oppressive men that, despite his reasons for being like that, impede women from progressing. Morrison shows his machismo, the narrator says, "Milkman looked at his sisters. He had never been able to really distinguish them (or their roles) from his mother" (pg. 68).  As Macon raised Milkman in a misogynist way, his son came to the point where he barely thought about his mother. Macon Dead's family represents the old-fashioned misogynist family that has been twisted by the situation of African Americans.

Meanwhile, Pilate has a completely different family life. She's a grandmother at a young age because both, her and her daughter, had early pregnancies. Neither of them got married and lived in a way that embarrassed Pilate's brother. Although Macon is rich and his family lives comfortably, Pilate's family seems happier. She sits with her daughter and granddaughter to make their fruit wine, which they won't sell much, and sing in harmony, enjoying the moment even though everything seems to be doing badly. Pilate doesn't get to live in one of the best houses in their town nor is married to one of the richest men, but she is freer and happier than Ruth, her sister-in-law. Morrison suggests that discrimination is worse than poverty.

Futureless Mentality

Despite their economic standing, the Dead family is stuck in its unfortunate past and cannot move forward, making them neither a poor African American family nor privileged White one. As the Deads aren't part of the clichéd categories the media portrays, Morrison makes the reader understand social issues in a different way. In this section of the book, the author has shown how Milkman can't look forward and progress and can't either truly understand his history. When taking a ride in the Dead's hearse, Milkman could only look back, something that later Morrison expands on when saying that, "It was becoming a habit--this concentration on things behind him. Almost as though there were no future to be had" (pg. 35). When I began reading this book I expected it to be about poverty-stricken African Americans, probably because of my lack of exposure to this subject, but the author is showing how racial issues go beyond wealth or slavery. Morrison is beginning to show how being different from one's stereotype can create a confusion about oneself. While the book shows how stereotypes can cause uncertainty about identity in African Americans, this is true about segregated groups as a whole. 

Clichés about African Americans are evident on the book but I believe there is a similar nature that affects other discriminated groups. In the case of women, even though they're not a minority, by being underrepresented they act like one and might end up in a situation similar to the Dead's. I recently read an article in Time about Sheryl Sandberg, a Facebook businesswoman, regarding her new book intended to reboot feminism. By reading the article and commenting on Lean In, Sandberg's book, with my sister, who read it, I've noticed that I share many of her ideas and can relate women's discrimination to some aspects of Song of Solomon. 

As society objectifies minorities, people begin to identify themselves not by their personalities but by the superficial aspects that separate them from others. The issue beneath discrimination isn't only the visible part of it but rather the mental part of it. In the setting of the novel, society taught White people that Blacks were different, but that didn't stop there. Minorities are even more susceptible to become mentally prejudicial against themselves. Corinthians declares that, "Negroes don't like the water"(pg. 35) and Mrs. Bains says that, "A nigger in business is a terrible thing to see" (pg. 22). Self-discrimiantion or differentiation has appeared more in the novel than the evident White bigotry to show that society penetrates our brains with bias. So far in the book, Morrison has shown that intolerance can go deep enough to the point where it influences all our thoughts. Feminism faces this issue in the present now that legal barriers have been overcome. As tangible discrimination is mostly over in the West (or the US at least), feminism slowed down because only mental carries were left. Sandberg proposes to fight against the deep-rooted aspects of discrimination that cause women from impede themselves from being successful. Just like characters in Song of Solomon have prejudices about themselves and Milkman is stuck with his past, many women that decide to work feel insecure about who they are and might try to fit into the male working model. Both cases of discrimination, against African Americans and against women, show that we need to get rid of social stereotypes because they make us limit ourselves, not to mention be treated unfairly by others. Milkman, when talking to his aunt, feels uncertain about his identity. His family is rich but their past, represented by Pilate, was miserable. As Blacks were put all together into one category by society, the Deads didn't quite fit in. Similarly, many people still have outdated beliefs about gender roles. People should change their way of thinking about labor and their "responsibilities" as men or women for life to be fair for all. Segregation or violence against a group are the effects of a discriminative mind that society creates. Although it sounds naive, for those issues to be resolved, there shouldn't be categorization in society. 

A Deliberate Creation

I began reading Song of Solomon a few hours after a discussion in my Spanish class about drafting novels. We were talking about Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, which involves many allusions, historical events, a criminal investigation and several plots, and even though we were all amazed that he spent around ten years writing the book, it actually seems reasonable. A good novel isn't just an amusing story but rather one that has no unnecessary parts because all construct the author's main ideas. As I began reading Toni Morrison's novel, admittedly with the help of the author's foreword, I could see that she chose every single detail deliberately to build up the plot and, I presume, critique something.

The opening line, as Morrison states in the foreword, is not just a brief narration I would likely go over quickly. She writes, "The North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance agent promised to fly from Mercy to the other side of Lake Superior at three o'clock." Morrison explains that she was mocking journalistic writing as she gave important signs or clues (like Eco). "North Carolina"and "Lake Superior" suggest a trip from south to north, the company's name is important because of "mutual" and "life," which apparently will mean something, and because it's owned by someone Black. As you continue to read you soon realize the importance of "Mercy" and Mr. Smith's story.

I began reading looking for signs or symbolism in the plot, perhaps motivated by the foreword, and although I don't understand some of them, I've seen that the book has a complex plot and meaning. One of the first things I noticed was the meaning of the names. The names have meanings, like Dead to show how life was miserable for them and that when Ruth became Dead, she joined Macon's sort of sad lifestyle, but what  I found interesting about them was the situation that lead to their existence. Many African Americans got their last names from slave owners many generations ago and have inherited since the unaffectionate designations. They had to "abide by a naming done to them by somebody who couldn't have cared less," (pg. 18)'s Morrison writes it. So far in the book, it is clear that Morrison will explore African American identity and the ambiguity in the lives of people like the Deads, separated from other Blacks by their wealth. Both Ruth and Macon have lived different lives from most African Americans around them but they keep looking back at their past. While she tries to hold on to something through her afternoons breastfeeding Milkman or her comfort when looking at the tablecloth's watermark, Macon had a hard childhood that makes his family be dead-like. The book shows African American reality through a broad spectrum clearly beyond the conventional depictions.

Song of Solomon has an interesting beginning that introduces several themes I adequately don't understand or even spot right on but I like the way Morrison begins to present them. The plot is amusing and, so far, insightful into the history of African Americans.

When We Are Not Sure, We Are Alive

The titles of chapters O, P and Q are contradiction, doubt and thinking respectively. I found these chapters interesting as they show the uncertainty of the human mind. We don't and will not understand everything and our thoughts aren't perfect or logical. This topic is relevant in the book as it deals with how we express and perceive ideas, which is ultimately our reality and our art. 
Humans feel superior to other animals, and well I guess we are, but we still have the same type of thinking. In studies to see children's emotional coefficients (EQs), scientists have seen that a lot simply cannot control themselves from eating candy even if they know they'll get a better reward if they wait. Some kids did wait and were rewarded, but short-term instincts are part of all humans at some point. Even when we know that doing something will not be good eventually, we often act upon impulses. Our brains are not completely logical so we must try to make the best out of them. 

Shields writes several antithetical statements like "This sentence is a lie" (pg. 135), "Something can be true and untrue at the same time" (pg. 135) and "There's nothing and everything going on" (pg. 137). The first shows that things can be contradictory. Two opposing ideas can coexist because there isn't one reality where things are either true or false, as the second antithetical statement says. The third points out that perception changes reality. Previous chapter included all these ideas but Shields is now showing not only that there are many realities, as I wrote in previous blog posts, but that the term reality is paradoxical. I guess that in our search for truth we will find many because our brains are genetically susceptible to see everything differently. I acknowledge that I have a very Darwinist way of thinking but humans simply are quarreling lost animals and don't have the capacity to be objective (there is "evidence" that genes influence politics). Shields writes, "The real story isn't the official story; the real story is my version (wrong, too, but I'm aware that it's wrong) of the official story" (pg. 139).  Since everyone sees things differently, there cannot be one reality. There are many realities, which is paradoxical with the definition of reality: "the world or the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them," according to my computer's dictionary.

There simply will not be one truth.

Representation Hunger

Humans crave a representation of their live making art exist. As chapter K says, people want to see aspects of their lives in TV. Those aspects, distortions of their realities, make them happy as they see richer or sexier lives with the same human problems. Others get some type of catharsis by seeing someone worse off or simply funny. When I read the first Harry Potter book, probably around seven, I honestly wanted a Hogwarts letter and incorporated the book series into my games (like fake Quidditch). I think commercial and superficial "art" reveals that humans by nature want literature that shows their lives reinvented. 

Michael Kimball (from the article) allowed people to see their lives in a summarized simple way that made them happy. As David Shields points out in chapters K, M and N, people want to see their dreamed reality in literature, as Kimball's postcards showed people's lives. The writer of the Guardian article, referring to the postcards, wrote, "It felt like being exposed, but also strangely satisfying; the postcard doesn't sum up my life, but what got me to where I am now. It's a snapshot of a moment." As a short and oversimplifying type of literature, the postcards show what people want to read. People like enjoy reading them and apparently can even cure their depression from it. Memoirs are the same. This genre is defined as a written account of someone's memory of certain events or people. Authors craft a version of their lives when choosing what and how to write. As everything we do and say is rhetorical, and people like to win, whenever you can show a reality you'll want to show your version of it. Art seeks to find fulfillment--its purpose is to satisfy its creator (I've never heard of anyone who writes or creates some type of art to hurt him or herself). It is clear that literature is biased in the author's interests. As people share existential problems, readers often find a similar satisfaction as the author.

Shields is trying to show that nonfiction doesn't exist. It is an abstract idea that is incompatible with the human mind. Section 385 describes that point: "The roominess of the term nonfiction: an entire dresser labeled nonsocks." Shields also quotes, "We make a mistake in thinking of memoir as nonfiction. It's really nonpoetry" (pg. 134). These chapters of Reality Hunger pointed out that the usual term of nonfiction doesn't work on human-made works.

Twisting His Words

Click on the image to see it larger.