Solomon's song

Solomons Lied (English Song of Solomon ) is a novel by Toni Morrison . The book was published in 1977 and translated into German two years later, in 1979, by Angela Praesent . The novel describes the life of the young African American Macon Dead III, later called Milkman (milkman). The book shows the protagonist's juxtaposition with the community he has to live in, and shows his search for his family's gold and financial independence. Instead, he finds out a lot about his family, his roots and about himself.

Summary

Robert Smith, an insurance agent in an unnamed Michigan town, jumps off the roof of Mercy Hospital. He claims he can fly to the opposite bank of Lake Superior. Mr. Smith falls to his death. The next day, Ruth Foster Dead, daughter of the first black doctor in town, gives birth to the first black child at Mercy Hospital. This is about the young Macon Dead III, who later gets the name Milkman.

At the age of four he discovered that humans couldn't fly and lost all interest in himself and in others. One day an employee of Milkman's father, Freddie, happened to see Macon III being breastfed by his mother through the window. For this reason he gets his nickname "Milkman" (milkman). He grew up well protected in the care of his mother and his aunt, Pilate. He is looked after by his sisters, First Corinthians (Die First Corinthians) and Magdalena called Lena (Magdalena, called Lena), adored and loved by his girlfriend and niece, Hagar. Milkman does not return her kindness and grows up bored and privileged. In his lack of compassion, Milkman is like his father, Macon Dead II, a ruthless landlord who only pursues the growth of wealth.

Milkman's grandfather, Macon Dead, got his strange name when a drunken officer mistakenly filled out his name on documents. Eventually Macon was killed while defending his country. His two children, Macon Jr. and Pilate, witnessed the murder and subsequently became estranged from one another. Pilate becomes a poor but strong and independent woman and the head of a family that includes her daughter Reba and granddaughter Hagar. Unlike his sister, Macon Jr. uses his time to make wealth. Both his family and his tenants abuse him.

By the time Milkman reaches the age of thirty-two, he feels overwhelmed by his life with his parents and wants to escape from it. Macon Jr. informs Milkman that Pilate may have hung millions of dollars in gold in a green tarp from the ceiling of their shabby shack. With the help of his best friend, Guitar Bains, to whom he promises a share of the gold, Milkman steals Pilate's tarpaulin. Inside the green tarpaulin, Milkman and Guitar only find a few stones and a human skeleton. The reader later learns that the skeleton belongs to Milkman's grandfather, Macon Dead I. Guitar is particularly disappointed not being able to find the gold as he must find the means to carry out his mission for the Seven Days. The "Seven Days" is a secret society that avenges the injustices against African Americans by killing innocent whites.

Expecting the gold could be in a cave near his grandfather's farm in Pennsylvania, Milkman leaves his hometown in Michigan and heads south. He promises Guitar a share of the gold he hopes to find. Before he drives away, Milkman ends his romantic relationship with Hagar, who goes crazy after this decision and tries several times to kill Milkman. Upon arriving in Montour County, Pennsylvania, Milkman discovers that there is no gold in the cave. Later he no longer looks for gold, but rather for the long-lost history of his family. Milkman meets Circe, an old midwife who helped Macon Jr. and Pilate after their father's murder. Circe tells Milkman that Macon Dead's original name was Jake and that he was married to a Native American girl named Sing.

Encouraged by his discoveries, Milkman continues south to Shalimar, his grandfather's ancestral home in Virginia. Milkman does not know that he is being followed by Guitar who wants to murder Milkman. Guitar believes Milkman cheated on him. At first, Milkman feels uncomfortable in the small town atmosphere. Over time, however, he discovered more and more clues to his family history. From a children's song about Solomon, Milkman learns that Jake's father, his great-grandfather, was the legendary flying African Solomon, who escaped slavery by flying back to Africa. After an unsuccessful attempt to escape with Jake, his youngest son, Solomon left his wife Ryna and their twenty-one children. Abandoned, Ryna goes mad, so Jake is raised by Heddy, an Indian woman, and their daughter, Sing, marries.

Milkman's insights give him deep joy and meaning. Milkman becomes a compassionate, responsible adult. After a successful Guitar assassination attempt, Milkman returns to Michigan to tell Macon Jr. and Pilate of their discoveries. At home, he discovers that Hagar died of a broken heart and that his family's emotional problems have not gone away. Still, Milkman accompanies Pilate back to Shalimar, where she buried Jake's bones on Solomon's Leap, the mountain from which Solomon's flight to Africa began. Immediately after Jake's funeral, Pilate is killed by a bullet intended to hit Milkman. Sad at the death of Pilate, but encouraged by his recent transformation, Milkman calls out Guitar's name and jumps towards him. The novel Solomon's song ends with this ambiguous leap (flight) .

reception

Barack Obama said the book was his favorite book.

Robert McCrum has included the work in his list of the 100 best English-language novels compiled for the Guardian .

The band The Dead Milkmen named themselves after the main character of the novel.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 40 FAVORITE BOOKS OF FAMOUS PEOPLE. ShortList, accessed February 3, 2015 .