|
|
Post by garygates on May 11, 2014 21:31:41 GMT
So I guess just to start off the discussion:
What does music mean to you in song of Solomon? What sort of message is Morrison trying to send with her common references to song?
I guess the easiest place for me to begin this discussion is with page 29, which we have already briefly talked about in class. In this passage we see Macon being drawn to his sisters, yet simultaneously try to resist an attraction and connection to them. We can, however, see his evident appreciation for the music and art that seems to d raw their lives together.
Flash forward about 300 pages and music is once again the most prominent topic of discussion. When Milkman travels to Shalimar he sees playing and singing the 'song of solomon.' When he learns more about the meaning of the song, Milkman feels a wonderful and happy connection interweaving the lives of him, his own close family, and all of the town people of Shalimar.
Music, to me, is representative of the bonds we all share with one another. It is the art that expresses love, family, and humanity and is one of the few things that passes through our social borders and draws people together. Even without the common understanding of language or similar customs, we can experience wonderful connections with others through music.
|
|
|
|
Post by mattagritelley on May 11, 2014 21:47:46 GMT
I think you definitely hit the nail on the head, Gary. In a novel filled with racial and class based tension, music acts as a grounding force that ties all human beings together. Morrison chooses to focus on this motif intermittently in order to remind us that, among all of the things that divide humans, music is a unifying force that transcends any of these shallow boundaries. This reminder functions to not only allow Milkman to gain perspective in the wonderful newfound connection he realizes he shares with others, but also to depict how the world as a whole is linked through many common factors, although we may tend to overlook them. Music serves as this common factor in the novel and forces us, as readers, to examine the simplistic connection music can bring to people.
|
|
|
|
Post by davidqin on May 13, 2014 3:48:14 GMT
I also really appreciate Morrison's use of music in this novel. To start, I want to elaborate a little bit on what Gary has already said about the passage on page 29. I've already written on this forum about how the point of view occasionally shifts to other characters. For that chapter, we follow Macon's perspective, which gives us an incredible vantage point of his inner thoughts, feelings, and motivations in response to music. Morrison's portrayal of music in that passage is evidence enough for the central question: an exploration of the human spirit that centers on our ability for compassion despite trying circumstances. Here, the chorus of sound coming from the house is combined with an elaborate portrayal of domestic life, such as the baking bread and hair-braiding. Together, they form a contrast to Macon's sterile and lifeless existence. The emotional richness of music, combined with the innocence of their carefree life, points to his deprivation of all forms of such enjoyment. Furthermore, Morrison not only uses music to highlight Macon's isolation, but also uses it to humanize the other characters and bring out their softer traits - traits that we remember even when Hagar's homicidal and crazy. The music shown in this passage is crucial to cementing our impression that Pilate, Hagar, and Reba are fundamentally kind characters (even if Hagar gets abandoned). Finally, the fact that Macon listens to music when he feels alone proves the power of music and how it brings out the best in even the most evil of characters.
My next point will be a shorter, but I feel it is nevertheless fairly interesting to consider. On page 208, when she's leaving the police station, Pilate talks about singing for forgiveness. She killed the man in the cave and went back for his body, singing to alleviate her guilt at having done such a deed. It's worth noticing how singing ties with flying here, as Macon (the first) had said "'You just can't fly on off and leave a body'" (208); singing brings back her sense of humanity as she deals with the consequences of her past actions. On a more juvenile note, on page 264, Milkman comes across kids playing ring-around-the-rosy and singing. I find it interesting how their singing degenerates into a meaningless rhyme, and then they just start shouting random words as the boy spins faster and faster. Sure, the song dies down just as the motif of flying returns again, and I found interesting the intersection of these two motifs. Their music grows more frenzied and it may reflect a genuine yearning to fly, but then again the crazy nature of their shouting the song points at the lack of maturity needed to truly appreciate the healing power of song.
|
|
|
|
Post by fionabyrne on May 13, 2014 3:52:19 GMT
I definitely agree that music has a unifying effect, but I'm not sure that I see it bringing together people of different races and such. The only people I remember it unifying are Macon and Pilate when he listens outside the window, and Pilate and Reba in their mourning of Hagar. To me, the motif is captivating because music acts as a history book. When Milkman hears the kids sing Solomon's song, he finds out his ancestry. I don't have textual evidence of this, it is more of a feeling, but as Pilate goes through her life singing Sugarman at all the important times, it is like she is logging those events. When Milk speaks the words as she dies, it is my unfounded theory that she may be comforted by the idea that her legacy will go in that log. She says, "I wish I'd a knowed more people. I would of loved 'em all. If I'd a knowed more, I'd a loved more" (336). Milk sings and closes the book on that entry, and Pilate's beautiful final thoughts won't be forgotten. Because Milk doesn't sing, I don't think it's about music, really. It's more about either the lyrics that tell history, or the intention of speaking beautiful, comforting words.
|
|
|
|
Post by cassiecumberland on May 13, 2014 4:15:48 GMT
Song of Solomon relies immensely on "song/music" as a motif. Let's start with the title. Song of Solomon is most notably known as a Bible chapter. The chapter reveals a love story between a townswoman and King Solomon. In Green, Solomon means peace so we can interpret Song of Solomon to mean the song of peace. We can also assume that by titling the novel "Song of Solomon" that music and song-like lyricism will be very present in the novel. Peace, however, is a little harder to find. In many aspects of the novel, the antithesis of Peace is presented. But, I digress. Music is important in the novel throughout. Milkman is enamoured when he sees Pilate singing through the window. He is drawn to how PEACEFUL the SONG is... see what I did there? He falls into the song and feels a little "at home" per se.
|
|
|
|
Post by emwolfram on May 15, 2014 5:12:43 GMT
There also seems to be a freedom of feeling associated with music as if it is the only thing that can allow the characters to disconnect from the pressures and conflicts that surround them. Music not only provides the connection between people that Gary already mentioned but it also shows the connection that music gives us to ourselves and our memories. Cassie brought up the that Solomon means peace and that the title is Song of Peace. I think that music brings peace to the characters within their own conflicted and troubled minds and allows them to feel something good.
|
|
|
|
Post by austinellerbruch on May 18, 2014 19:38:02 GMT
Pretty much everything that needs to be said has been said. As Fiona stated, music offers a link into Milkman's past. Pilate's singing of Sugarman is what influences him to travel to Virginia, and the Song of Solomon informs him of the fate of his ancestry. Music also provides a link which binds Milkman's family together, which is displayed by Macon Dead's listening of Pilate's songs while standing outside her house, and how Pilate and Reba mourn for Hagar by singing.
|
|
|
|
Post by billfeng on Jun 4, 2014 14:08:03 GMT
I found out interesting how music not only played a unifying effect on Pilate's branch of the Dead family but also acted as a mechanism to preserve the family culture (both real and fake) of the Dead family over the generations. When I first heard Pilate sing the "fly" song in the first chapter after the man jumped the building, I started to wonder whether or not the mythical Solomon, ancestor of the Dead's, did the same as well. There is a possibility that this myth that he could "fly" came from Solomon's own possible purported suicide and abandonment of Reba and his children. This abandonment then leads to a consecutive trend of other abandonment in the Dead family.
|
|
|
|
Post by rileyhatfield on Jun 5, 2014 18:39:50 GMT
Music is something that we can all relate to. There is something about the way a melody can evoke emotions that also tie into words that speak to a person's deepest part of their hearts. Like what was said before, I do agree that music brings people together, like at concerts and gatherings, but I also agree with Fiona that is does not bring people of different races and cultures together. Music unifies what is already a unit but it almost separates more things that are different from each other.
|
|
