This summary analyzes Toni Morrison's novel Song of Solomon and how it relates to African folklore and mythology. The novel explores the "Myth of the Flying Africans" folk tale which tells of Igbo slaves who rebelled against their captors and transformed into buzzards flying back to Africa. Morrison uses this myth and other African cultural elements in the novel. One character, Robert Smith, tries to fly but falls to his death, showing how being disconnected from one's cultural roots prevents true liberation or flight. The novel examines the themes of connection to community and ancestry, and how those who embrace their cultural heritage can achieve freedom, while those who reject it succumb to destruction.

1. Emily Edwards
ENG 499
Dr. Hiro
20 November 2015
Flying to Freedom: African Culture and Folklore in Toni Morrison
In the spring of 1803, a ship arrived in Savannah, Georgia with a cargo of Igbo
slaves who had just travelled through the frightful Middle Passage. The Igbo were
known to be ferocious, independent people who refused to succumb to the
humiliations of slavery. Despite their fierce attitudes, they were sold at the slave
market, loaded upon a small vessel, and were kept below deck. However, during
their journey, the Igbo rose up in rebellion against their white captors and forced
them overboard to their deaths. What occurred next is viewed very differently in
the eyes of white slave masters in comparison to those of African American slaves.
A white overseer, Roswell King, declared that the Igbo “took to the swamp” and
committed suicide in Dunbar Creek. However, African American oral tradition
recounts a much more interesting conclusion for the Igbo. When asked about the
story of Ebos landing, an older African American man, Wallace Quarterman gave
another side of the story: “Ain’t you heard about them? Well, at that time Mr. Blue
he was the overseer and… Mr. Blue he go down one morning with a long whip for to
whip them good… Anyway, he whipped them good and they got together and stuck
that hoe in the field and then… rose up in the sky and turned themselves into
buzzards and flew right back to Africa… Everybody knows about them.” (Powell).

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The story of the Ebos landing, better known as the “Myth of the Flying
Africans”, illustrates African folklore’s manifestation in the power of deep cultural
connection, seen specifically through whites’ and blacks’ contrasting conclusions
about the Igbo slaves. The white overseer’s story of the Igbo’s suicide depicts the
white assumption that black’s only form of escape from slavery and white
oppression can be met through death. However, Wallace Quarterman’s account of
events tells a tale of freedom that is granted due to the togetherness of the Igbo,
presenting a lively interpretation that celebrates the strength of African culture and
folklore. Not only do the Igbo become free, but they also achieve such a high state of
transcendence that they are able to fly and return to their roots, forming a folktale
embedded in the importance of African connection. The “Myth of the Flying
Africans” and its theme of cultural togetherness lie at the heart of Toni Morrison’s
third novel, Song of Solomon. Published in 1977, the novel tells the tale of Macon
Dead III, better known as Milkman, who is the son of the richest black family in a
nameless town in Michigan. Growing up, Milkman struggles to find satisfaction
within his strange community and sets out on a journey through Pennsylvania and
Virginia to reveal the truth of his family heritage. Through his relationship with his
navel-less aunt as well as through the discovery of his ancestor, Solomon’s, ability to
fly, Milkman himself learns the secret of flight and is able to embrace life from a
newfound love and spirituality.
Morrison combines African folklore, myth, and magical realism in her novel
to both celebrate African culture as well as to create a world that is rooted in oral
tradition and in the normalcy of the supernatural. Her characters are surrounded

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by a culture where women make potions, men are a part of secret killing societies,
ghosts haunt the living, and people learn to fly. It is within this mysticism and lore
that the characters are able to transcend or fall victim to their identities. Although
Milkman is at first unable to connect with the mythology and tradition of his people,
his unconscious apprenticeship with his mystical aunt, Pilate, as well as his personal
hero’s journey lead him to enlightenment as he forms a deep appreciation for his
African culture. Through her use of folklore, mythology, and magical realism in
Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison proclaims the necessity of cultural and ancestral
connection. Her specific focus on African folklore transcends her characters as they
connect to their African heritage in order to achieve spiritual freedom, whereas
those who fail to connect to their community and their roots succumb to a
destructiveness related to Western white culture.
The novel’s themes of flight and myth first surface through the life insurance
agent, Robert Smith, as he attempts to “take off from Mercy [hospital] and fly away
on [his] own wings” (Morrison 3). Being a part of the secret society The Seven Days,
Smith is expected to carry out the murder of innocent white men, women and
children in similar fashion to murders against innocent black men, women and
children: “…when a Negro child, Negro woman, or Negro man is killed by whites and
nothing is done about it by their law and their courts, this society selects a similar
victim at random, and they execute him or her in a similar manner if they can. If the
Negro was hanged, they hang; if a Negro was burnt, they burn; raped and murdered,
they rape and murder” (Morrison 155). However, Smith falls under the pressure of
The Seven Days, decides to leap off the roof of Mercy hospital, and sadly, discovers

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“that only birds and airplanes [can] fly,” as he falls to his death (Morrison 9).
Although Morrison associates Smith with “the Myth of the Flying Africans”, she also
associates him with her own creation of lore, The Seven Days, a society rooted in
whites’ oppression of blacks. Rather than being a tale from African folklore,
Morrison’s secret society can be viewed as a frightening Western fable for whites,
promoting the moral “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” When
first considering the symbolic value of flight as well as The Seven Days, Morrison
seems to establish them as means for escape from white oppression and violence.
While a part of The Seven Days, Smith is allowed to take action against the hateful
crimes of murderous whites, depicting the society’s mission to fight injustice and
avenge black culture. Furthermore, by deciding to fly, Smith takes control of his fate
by using his “own wings”, allowing him to leave behind a life directed by white
tyranny.
A closer look at the text, however, seems to say that unlike The Seven Days,
the African myth of flight goes beyond white oppression and escape, and rather, is
meant to depict the fulfillment of a deep connection to one’s African community and
culture. Moreover, because Morrison’s myth of The Seven Days merely equates
death among blacks and whites as well as leads blacks to murderous actions that
chip away at their sanity, the society is truly embedded in oppression where the
only escape is suicide. In her interview with Cecil Brown, Morrison admits to
staying “out of Western mythology. When [she uses] mythology in [her] text it’s
usually to show that something has gone wrong, not right… But the people who are
connected to the Afro-American tradition or the African tradition are generally the

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ones who are [on] the wholesome track” (Brown). Because Morrison roots the
existence of The Seven Days in the violent activities committed by whites, Smith’s
original participation in the secret society places him on the wrong path to
liberation as he falls under the stress of revenge, illustrating Morrison’s connection
between Western mythology and the destruction of black culture.
Through Mr. Smith’s fall, Morrison emulates the contrasting conclusions of
“The Myth of the Flying Africans,” as Smith’s attempt to fly away from a life lead by
death ends in suicide rather than flight. Through Smith’s failed attempt, Morrison
separates the myth of flight from the theme of whiteness and escape. Furthermore,
because Morrison creates a separation between Smith and the community of his
town, she suggests that in order to fly, one must have communal and cultural roots
like those of the Igbo slaves. As the crowd observes Robert Smith’s leap, they
contemplate their relationship with the insurance agent, concluding that, “jumping
from the roof of Mercy [is] the most interesting thing he [has] done. None of them
suspected he had it in him” (Morrison 9). Through her diction, Morrison forms a
divide between Smith and his black community, revealing their lack of knowledge
regarding his true, complex character, as well as Smith’s lack of establishment
within the town, creating a contrast between his distant relationship with his
community and the powerful togetherness of the Igbo slaves. In addition, the
crowd’s little faith in Smith’s jump mimics the viewpoint of the white overseer
concerning the Igbo, as flight is seen as impossible and suicide is the only possible
outcome, differing from the lively, culturally empowering folklore of “The Myth of
the Flying African” that is viewed through a black lens. In her article ”Self, Society,

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and Myth in Toni Morrison’s Fiction,” Cynthia Davis argues that the acts of
vengeance performed by The Seven Days allow the men to achieve “secondhand
[identities] and [initiatives]” (Davis). However, Robert Smith fully loses both his
identity and motivation to live through the secret society as he retains no
connections, depicting the Days’ desire for revenge against white oppression as
draining and isolating. As Smith fails to create a connection with his own people,
Morrison disassociates him from the folklore of flight and rather, sentences him to
the tragic fate declared by the Igbo’s nonbelieving white overseers, asserting that a
life dictated by hatred has no spiritual freedom.
Morrison further depicts the damaging effects of The Seven Days as it
tragically twists its members’ identities as well as confuses their love for black
culture as fuel for hatred. In Naomi Van Tol’s essay, “Folklore and Blues in Song of
Solomon,” she argues that The Seven Days represent “the danger of misplaced love”
(Van Tol). Although its members, such as Milkman’s best friend, Guitar Bains,
believe that their cause “ain’t about hating white people. It’s about loving [blacks],”
a closer look at the text suggests that The Days are not motivated by a misplaced
loved, but rather by a misunderstood hatred that disconnects them from their
African roots and therefore, leads them down a self destructive path (Morrison
159). As Guitar explains the concept of The Days to Milkman, Milkman points out
the hypocrisy of the society’s mission, asking Guitar, “If [whites] are as bad, as
unnatural, as [he] says, why [does the society] want to be like them,” for they are,
“doing what the worst of them do” (Morrison 157). Through Milkman’s connection
of The Seven Days’ actions to the violence committed oppressive white culture,

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Morrison illustrates that lack of love associated with the society and exposes its true
roots in vengeful violence and death. Furthermore, Milkman’s association suggests
that The Seven Days cause one to stray from black culture, therefore deterring them
from the spiritual freedom from oppression found through African tradition.
Whereas African folklore and tradition convey roots in the importance of
familial as well as cultural love and connection, The Seven Days suppresses its
members’ abilities to form deep personal relationships and therefore, symbolizes
the loveless nature of the destructive, mystical society in comparison to the love and
livelihood of African mythology. African folklore celebrates and expresses the
common knowledge, culture and feelings of a group rather than those of any one
individual, but the lore of The Seven Days denies its members the ability to maintain
deep, personal relationships and promotes a lonesome life of solitude. Milkman
sees no love in the society as they “can’t marry…[or] have children…[and] kill
innocent people” (Morrison 159). Morrison depicts The Seven Days as a
metaphorical sterilization for its members in order to create a distant separation
between them and society. Rather than promoting love, the society’s rule of celibacy
promotes isolation, depicting the detachment of Guitar, Mr. Smith, and the society’s
other affiliates from the true connection and love of African folklore found through
the formation of strong familial and ancestral bonds.
Morrison’s own creation of Western folklore ultimately blinds its associated
members from their African roots, illustrated through Guitar’s increased paranoia
throughout the novel that leads him to disconnect himself from those he loves and
turn against his own kind. Guitar finds reason in his motivation to kill whites

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specifically because he “[hates] it…[and is] afraid to do it” (Morrison 157). Morrison
sets a dark tone to The Days’ mission, depicting the murders as highly traumatic and
psychologically harmful. Although Guitar possess so much passion for black culture,
he becomes effected by the society’s spiritually strenuous conditions as he
eventually is corrupted by death. Needing money to buy explosives to carry out one
of his murders, Guitar aids Milkman in a search for his father’s fabled gold in order
to earn a percentage. However, along his journey to reveal his family’s past,
Milkman discovers that there is no gold, but because Guitar falls under the suffering
and pressure of The Seven Days, he falsely convinces himself that Milkman “ripped
[him] off” and therefore, swears to kill him (Morrison 297). Although his
involvement in The Seven Days is meant to be based off his love for Milkman,
himself, and his entire black culture, Guitar’s identity and spirit become damaged,
seen through his choice to prioritize his murderous duty over his loved ones and
illustrating his separation from the love of African roots.
Although Morrison forms a ruinous relationship between Western
mythology and black culture, her use of African folklore and tradition allow her
characters to harness a freedom of power and supernaturalism that is rooted in
communal, familial, as well as cultural love. Morrison illustrates this spiritualism
through Pilate Dead, Milkman’s aunt, as she achieves a deep relationship with
African culture and folklore that grants her transcendent love as well as
otherworldly abilities. Despite his tragic outcome, Smith’s fall brings forth a
prophecy as “the next day a colored baby [is] born inside Mercy for the first time,”
the baby being none other than Milkman Dead (Morrison 9). Milkman’s birth may

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seem fated from the insurance agent’s death, but in reality, it is his Aunt Pilate’s
supernatural intervention that brings him into the world in order to continue and
strengthen his family line, displaying her strong ties to the Dead family’s heritage.
Without any prior knowledge, Pilate senses Ruth and Macon Dead’s sexless
marriage as well as Ruth’s longing desire for some form of human love. She
prophesizes that Ruth will become “pregnant and [her] baby will be [Macon’s and
that he] ought to have a son. Otherwise this be the end of [the Deads],” and proceeds
to give Ruth “some greenish-gray grassy-looking stuff to [mix with rainwater and]
put in [Macon’s] food,” resulting in Macon coming to Ruth “for four days” and her
becoming pregnant (Morrison 125). Pilate’s earthly, yet magical ingredients
symbolize traditional African medicine and Voodoo, which are concentrated in both
herbalism and spirituality, reemphasizing her rootedness in African culture and
mysticism. Although often perceived as an evil or malicious practice by Western
culture, African folklore and tradition position Voodoo as “playing an important role
in the family and community,” as it “serves to root its participants in their own
history and tradition” (Vodun). Through her use of Voodoo, Morrison depicts
Pilate’s rootedness in African tradition that brings good fortune to the Dead family.
Not only does her “stuff” continue her and her brother’s family name, but brings
intimacy, if only for a while, into Ruth’s loveless life, conveying her power rooted in
love for her people through her connection to African folklore and tradition.
Furthermore, Pilate’s particular interest in her brother’s wellbeing can be viewed as
almost saintly, as Macon sees Pilate as nothing more than a “common street woman”
and “a regular source of embarrassment” (Morrison 20). Despite her brother’s cruel

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feelings, Pilate fights for his opportunity of happiness through her mysticism,
demonstrating her limitless love for her family. Through this mystical woman,
Morrison creates a character who is able to identify so deeply with her African
culture and heritage, her love allows her to achieve a transcended spirituality,
therefore depicting African folklore as a source of transcended love and connection.
Morrison roots Pilate so powerfully in African folklore in order to establish
its effects of spiritual freedom as she is so infinitely interconnected to her
community and heritage that her love allows her to fly, “without ever leaving the
ground” (Morrison 336). Pilate’s mysticism is immediately assumed by others due
to her lack of a navel, convincing others that she must not have, “[came] into this
world through normal channels” (Morrison 28). As her mother dies in childbirth,
Pilate “[struggles] out of the womb without help from throbbing muscles or the
pressure of swift womb water… [making] her stomach…as smooth and study as her
back, at no place interrupted by a navel” (Morrison 27). When first considering
Pilate’s navel-less stomach, Morrison seems to suggest that Pilate possesses no
stable connection to her heritage and culture, and is therefore positioned as the
other. However, a closer look at the text shows Pilate’s deep connection to African
tradition seen through her use of Voodoo, her singing of spiritual African songs, such
as Sugarman and Mercy, her connection with the ghost of her dead father who tells
her to “sing,” as well as her limitless protection and love for her family (Morrison
49-317). As a result, Pilate’s lack of a navel symbolizes her freedom of spirituality
and love through her ability to form such vast, loving relationships rather than
symbolizing being tied down to one source of connection, like a baby’s attachment

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to an umbilical chord. Furthermore, if Pilate succeeds in flying while still on the
ground, Morrison suggests that her love and connection to African culture, myth,
and tradition grant her the ability to soar among her roots.
Due to her supernatural character, Morrison positions Pilate as the perfect
mentor to teach and pass on the lore of flight to her nephew, Milkman. Although
Milkman’s existence is originally established by love for the Dead family, seen
through Pilate’s mystical intervention in her brother’s marriage, he unfortunately
learns “the same thing Mr. Smith had learned earlier- that only birds and airplanes
can fly-[and loses] all interest in himself” (Morrison 9). In order to regain his ability
to fly, Milkman must develop an interest in himself through a deep appreciation for
his own family and heritage. At first, it seems Milkman is uninterested in his own
personal life, however, through her use of “all,” Morrison sets an inclusive tone,
indicating that there is more to the boy’s distaste; she ultimately suggests he
possesses no interest in himself and those connected to him, being his mother,
father, and two older sisters. African folklore is founded in family history and black
heritage that is passed down through oral tradition, illustrating the necessity of
being connect to one’s African culture in order to embrace its message of spiritual
freedom. However, without flight, Milkman distances himself from his family as if
they were literally dead, depicting his family name as a symbol of their
disconnection to their ancestry and therefore, their disconnection to African
folklore. In his article “Toni Morrison: The Struggle to Depict the Black Figure on
the White Page,” Timothy B. Powell argues that it is within Milkman’s name that he
suffers and metaphorically struggles to live because he is “Dead.” Before he may fly

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and become “un-Dead,” he “must somehow regain the ‘name that was real’”
(Powell). However, in order to this, Milkman must become deeply rooted in and
empowered by the ancestry of his people in similar fashion to the Igbo, whose close
bonds allow them to fly to freedom. Through Milkman’s inability to fly and
resentment of his family, Morrison forms a relationship between family connection
and the art of flight. Because Milkman originally misunderstands his inability to fly,
he disvalues his “mundane” and bothersome familial ties and, unknowingly, denies
himself the opportunity to soar.
Without the gift flight, Milkman’s disinterest continues to follow him
throughout his life as he constantly feels used by his family, “[bored by] the city,”
and “[hateful towards] his name,” causing him to be lost without a culture in his
community (Morrison 33-107). Through her magical realism, Morrison symbolizes
Milkman’s seclusion from human and cultural connection as he becomes blinded
from his path of flight. After Macon reveals uncomfortable secrets regarding his
marriage to Ruth, Milkman escapes his house and goes for a walk to clear his head.
However, he notices the street is crowded with people “all going in the direction he
[is] coming from” with “nobody…walking on the other side of the street” (Morrison
78). Morrison creates a surreal, dream-like scenario in which Milkman is casted out
as the other. Originally, it seems Milkman becomes lost in the crowd because he
fails to follow the same direction as his counterparts, reflecting his lost identity
within his black population. However, when considering the other empty sidewalk,
it seems Milkman may be going the right direction, but is on the wrong path. He is
right to feel that his life is “pointless” and “aimless,” but because he does not

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“concern himself an awful lot about other people” and wants nothing “bad enough to
risk anything for,” he cannot create meaning for himself (Morrison 107). As those
on the “wholesome track” in Morrison’s novel are connected to their African
tradition and folklore, Milkman’s dream-like experience mirrors those associated
with Western mythology, signifying that something has “gone wrong” in his journey
to spiritual freedom. His life has become directionless as he is not only unable to
relate to his own culture, but with any culture or group of people besides a very
select few. By treasuring nothing, Milkman earns no spiritual fulfillment and
becomes deterred from his path to flight. Through Milkman’s living nightmare,
Morrison conveys the consequences of living without a cultural or human
relationship as Milkman seeks fulfillment of identity without the means to get there.
Whereas Milkman fails to form a connection to his community, family and
black culture, Pilate is able to become interconnected with her family of both the
past and the present, allowing her the gift fly “without ever leaving the ground” and
making her the most ideal teacher for Milkman as she challenges his identity and
forces him to take ownership of his black heritage (Morrison 336). At the age of
twelve, Milkman visits Pilate for the first time with his best friend, Guitar. Pilate
claims that there “ain’t but three Deads alive,” causing Milkman to fall into a rage
and argue that, “[he is] a Dead! [His] mother’s a Dead! [His] sisters…[Pilate and
Macon] ain’t the only ones” (Morrison 38). Like a trickster animal from African
folklore, Pilate tricks Milkman into defending his family name and therefore,
embeds him deeper in his family history and connection. Milkman immediately
takes agency in claiming his and his family’s place in the Dead family tree, depicting

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his spirit’s underlying desire to be a part of something larger and more meaningful.
Morrison’s use of short, assertive language places a seriousness and strength on
Milkman’s claims, blurring his resentment towards his family and confirming his
position as Pilate’s unconscious apprentice. As his aunt brings Milkman closer to
the lore of his Dead family as well as presents her personal achievement of vast love
for African tradition and culture, Milkman’s interactions with Pilate lead him to
become more connected with his origins without him even realizing.
Eventually, it is Milkman’s deep rootedness in the oral tradition and folklore
of his family that forms his love for his African culture and therefore, allows him to
spiritually transcend and achieve the myth of flight. Although originally searching
for his father’s gold in Pennsylvania, Milkman’s mission forms into a hero’s journey
as he connects with the community of Shalimar, Virginia that passes down to him to
lore of his ancestor Solomon, who, “like a bird…just [stands] up in the fields one day,
[runs] up some hill, [spins] around a couple of times, and [is] lifted up into the air”
(Morrison 323). Once he receives knowledge of his ancestor’s magical feat, Milkman
sees “hating his parents, his sisters, [as] silly,” as he forms a new appreciation and
understanding for their hardships (Morrison 300). Through this knowledge,
Milkman begins “grinning…his eyes [begin] shining… [and he is as] eager and happy
as he [has] ever been in his life” (Morrison 304). Although originally suffering from
his lack of connection to his family and community, Morrison utilizes folklore to
embed Milkman in his African culture and in result, allows him to grasp the
transcendent love found through African roots that presents him with spiritual
peace, giving him the ability to “fly”.

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Although both Milkman and Pilate achieve flight through their rootedness in
the Dead family’s oral tradition as well as possess a spiritual freedom founded in
simplistic, yet powerful love of African culture, Morrison conveys this mystical, easy
way of living as not being suitable for all. Morrison forms two different, loving
relationships for Pilate, one with Milkman and the other with her granddaughter
and Milkman’s cousin/lover, Hagar, in order to contrast the difference between the
love that motivates flying in comparison to the destructive love that leads to falling.
Milkman decides to end his affair with Hagar, causing her to become crazy with
rejection as she spends “each month searching the barrels and cupboards and
basement shelves for some…weapon with which to murder her true love” (Morrison
127). Hagar’s hysterical mission for Milkman’s life reflects the murderous mission
of The Seven Days, illustrating her goal for revenge as misplaced and self-
destructive. As Hagar becomes physically and emotionally drained by her desire to
kill Milkman, Pilate and her daughter, Reba, attempt to fulfill Hagar’s material
desires in order demonstrate their undying love for her, as she asks for everything
and “everything is what she [gets]” (Morrison 310). Although Pilate and Reba spoil
Hagar due to their love, Hagar’s strength of love fails to reach that of her family’s
and she tragically dies of heartbreak.
Through Hagar’s crazed love for Milkman, Morrison depicts the dwindling
fulfillment of materialistic love in relation to true familial love that is based in
African folklore and that remains strong and constant. As Milkman first tries to
seduce Hagar, he declares that she is “like all women. Waiting for Prince Charming
to come trotting down the street and pull up in front of [her] door,” to which Hagar

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completely admits (Morrison 97). Morrison’s allusion to Western fairytales not only
depicts Hagar’s unrealistic perception of love, but also her misunderstanding of true
love in comparison to the empowering love of African culture. Like a damsel in
distress, Hagar waits for a “prince,” conveying her association of love with status as
she overlooks the importance of companionship, connection, and history in regards
to actual fulfilling love. Furthermore, Morrison uses the Western myth of Prince
Charming to illustrate Hagar’s dependency upon a man to save her. Because she
comes from little financial security, she believes a man and his social position will
cure her of her “[hungry days],” which are truly nonexistent as Pilate swears to
never “let [her] starve” (Morrison 48). Although Hagar already has loved ones who
will always provide for her, Morrison associates her with the Western fairytale in
order to represent her disconnection from her family as well as her false sense of
entitlement, causing her to stray from the spiritually freeing path of love for African
tradition.
Hagar is undeniably unsatisfied with the simple life Pilate and Reba provided
for her and despite her low status, she is needy, spoiled and searches for fulfillment
through loveless things, denying Pilate and Reba’s lifestyle and therefore, denying
her own kind. Because Hagar chooses to separate herself from the love practiced by
her mother and grandmother and replaces her means for love through materialistic
desires, she separates herself from African roots and therefore, is unable to achieve
transcendent freedom of mind and spirit. Already vain and proud by the age of
three, Hagar is attracted to pretty things, resulting in Pilate and Reba, “[spoiling]
her, and she, as a favor to their indulgence, [hides] as best she [can] the fact that

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they [embarrass] her” (Morrison 151). In order to give her what she wants, Pilate
concludes to reconnect with her brother, Macon so that Hagar can have a, “family…
prosperous, conventional, more like the things and people Hagar [admires],”
(Morrison 151). Hagar’s ancestral and cultural identity becomes lost in her values
for money, possessions, and social position, suggesting her preference for high-class
culture over her own African culture. Resistant to even Pilate’s undying love, Hagar
seals her fate through her rejection of her culture in order to obtain material love
and security.
Like a character in a romantic tragedy, Hagar dies of heartbreak. However,
her death is truly due to her incapability of realizing the love her people posses for
her, and therefore she comes to the fate of a fallen woman rather than one who flies
due to her disconnection from her love for her African heritage. After her failed
attempt of killing Milkman, Guitar examines Hagar as a girl, “who grew up to be the
stingiest, greediest [person] on earth and out of [her] stinginess [grows her] stingy
little love that [eats] everything in sight” (Morrison 306). Morrison depicts Hagar’s
love as mean and monstrous, emphasizing the destructiveness of the girl’s
misplaced values in comparison to those who become fulfilled by their values and
love rooted in African culture. Having no appreciation for her mother or
grandmother who do everything for her and set on loving a man that will never
return her feelings, Hagar singlehandedly severs all her connections to love and
therefore, finds herself unable to live. Through Hagar’s death, Morrison symbolizes
the consequences of living a greedy life without any familial bond or appreciation.
As Morrison compares her to “little Goldilocks,” she depicts Hagar as not belonging

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because she fails to recognize and respect herself, her family, and her African
culture (Morrison 314).
Although it is Hagar who dies due to her “stinginess [and] greediness”,
Morrison magnifies these qualities through the money hungry Macon Dead.
Through Macon’s white behavior, obsession with gold, and similarity to the mythical
white peacock, Morrison symbolizes greed as a misguiding vice as Macon becomes
blinded from his love for his African culture. However, the cause of Macon’s greed
originally stems from the death of his father, whom he deeply loves, suggesting that
during death, family connection becomes even more critical. Being “the son of
Macon Dead the first, he [pays] homage to his own father’s life and death by loving
what that father had loved: property, good solid property, the bountifulness of life.
He [loves] these things to excess because he loved his father to excess” (Morrison
300). Because the white Butlers shot his father for their land, Macon prioritizes his
love towards getting, “what [whites] have,” as a way to redeem his father’s death.
However, Macon “distorts [his] life” through his wealth, causing him to have no
affection towards anyone, not even his family. By being controlled by money, Macon
loses his connection to his ancestry rather than maintains it and therefore, becomes
a flightless character.
Although his hero’s journey ends as a quest for his family legacy, Milkman
originally leaves home in order to find the gold that Macon and Pilate found in a
cave during their youth. Macon tells Milkman “some fairytale mess” about him and
Pilate killing an old white man in a cave, finding gray bags of gold, and fighting with
each other about whether or not to take it, ending the story in his accusation of his

19. Edwards 19
sister taking the gold for herself and his plea to his son to steal it back for him
(Morrison 183). Morrison’s description of Macon’s story as a mess sets it apart from
African folktales, such as “The Myth of the Flying African” that celebrates the power
of African connection. Instead, through Macon’s own fairytale, Morrison illustrates
his complete lack of compassion and love towards his own kind as he is willing to
betray his sister for material gain. Even after his accusation against his sister is
proven false, Macon “thinks the stuff is still in the cave,” and Milkman sets off to find
it (Morrison 221). Macon’s obsession with gold consumes his identity as he is hell-
bent on acquiring wealth. Although already the richest black man in town, Macon
longs for financial fulfillment because of his detachment from his black culture and
family, conveying greed and material desire as spiritually deflating in comparison to
that gained through African connection.
Morrison manifests the inability to fly through her symbolism of the alluring
white peacock, providing the key to achieving the African folktale by letting go of the
insignificant aspects of life and rooting one’s self in the love for their people. As
Milkman drafts Guitar to help steal the gold from Pilate’s house, they see a “white
peacock…[with] a tail full of jewelry” (Morrison 178). Wondering why “it can’t fly
no better than a chicken,” Guitar tells Milkman it has, “too much tail. All that jewelry
ways it down. Like vanity. Can’t nobody fly with all that shit. Wanna fly, you got to
give up that shit that weighs you down” (Morrison 179). Through Guitar’s ironic
wisdom of flight, Morrison establishes the white peacock not only as a symbol for
Macon Dead, but also for those who are misdirected from flight and spiritual
transcendence due to their disassociation with their African community, family, and

20. Edwards 20
culture. The whiteness of the bird reflects the destructive fixation on owning what
the white man has and furthermore, Macon’s own fixation on white culture. His “tail
full of jewelry” symbolizes the impressive wealth Macon has obtained throughout
the years, but this wealth and materialism ultimately weighs him down. Morrison
creates the image of the magnificent, yet flightless white peacock to depict Macon’s
own inability to fly due to his greediness that inhibits him from transcending his
identity and connecting to his heritage.
Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon professes the liberation of being deeply
embedded in one’s African culture and tradition, as African folklore and myth are
utilized as powerful connections to transcendent love that allows her characters to
“fly”, or rather, obtain spiritually free and peaceful identities through their
rootedness. However, Morrison also illustrates the tragic consequences and
destructiveness of disassociating one’s self from their African culture through some
of her characters’ connections to Western culture and mythology. Through her
concentration on “The Myth of the Flying Africans,” Morrison’s novel bases its
message of freedom through communal, familial, and cultural love as Milkman
learns to fly through his knowledge of and appreciation for the history of his family
and therefore, grows connected to his black roots.

21. Edwards 21
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Brown, Cecil. “Interview with Toni Morrison.” The Massachusetts Review 36 (1995):
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Davis, Cynthia A. "Self, Society, And Myth In Toni Morrison's Fiction." Contemporary
Literature 23.3 (1982): 323-342. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 14
Oct. 2015.
Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York: Knopf, 1989. Print.
Powell, Timothy B. "Ebos Landing." New Georgia Encyclopedia. N.p., 09 Dec. 2013.
Web. 14 Dec. 2015.
Powell, Timothy B.. “Toni Morrison: The Struggle to Depict the Black Figure on the
White Page”. Black American Literature Forum 24.4 (1990): 747–760. Web.
13 Dec. 2015
Van Tol, Naomi. "Folklore and Blues in 'Song of Solomon'" Spiny. N.p., n.d. Web. 13
Dec. 2015.
"Vodun." AFRICAN VOODOO. N.p., 2001. Web. 12 Dec. 2015.