In the last scene of the novel, Toni Morrison describes Pilate’s death as a process of liberation as she “flies” away, which suggests that Milkman also achieves freedom through his death.
Through this connection, Morrison implies that Milkman dies at the end with his attempt to fly, but certainly chooses what to die for and does so willingly, as he dies with a feeling of fulfillment after realizing his odyssey is complete. By making Milkman’s last words be an offer for Guitar to take his life, Morrison shows how the two parts of the book are connected. Milkman initially disagrees with Guitar, believing that “nobody can choose what to die for,” but, in the last scene, Milkman submits to Guitar’s theory by letting Guitar have his life and choosing what to die for (223). In chapter 10, Guitar tells Milkman that “everybody wants the life of a black man,” but believes that every man can chose something to die for (Morrison 223). This conversation between Milkman and Guitar, which could be taken for granted, actually offers a lot of foreshadowing to the events that follow the conversation. Toni Morrison ends Song of Solomon with a scene where Milkman asks his friend and enemy Guitar whether he wants his life, which ties back to a conversation that Milkman and Guitar had in Chapter 10 about life and death. Morrison provides the story with significant passages that not only foreshadow Milkman’s death, but also structures her novel in a way that makes Milkman’s death the most logical ending. In the final scene of Song of Solomon, Milkman triumphs in terms of finding his authentic self and achieving freedom, but ultimately dies. After realizing his quest for his identity is complete, Milkman decides to leap and “fly” through the air. In the story, Milkman learns that his great-grandfather Solomon flew back to Africa to escape the plight of slavery and attain liberty, which inspires Milkman to do the same at the end of the book.
Through the use of magic realism, Morrison creates a world that parallels reality, but at the same time, adds magic elements to the world, making the flight of humans seem natural. Along with the search for identity, flight as a means of escape is also a recurring theme throughout the novel. The search for identity is one of the key themes in Song of Solomon, as it becomes extremely important for Milkman to go through a complicated journey in order to find himself. Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon follows the life of Milkman Dead and his odyssey towards finding his true identity and discovering the history of his ancestors. Milkman Gone Splat! An Analysis of the Final Scene in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon
0 kommentar(er)
