Song Of Solomon Character Analysis

Adversities are all around us. In any particular place, there are challenges that one must face, challenges that come one after another. It could be an abstract obstacle such as time, fear, despair, or frustration. It could also be a physical entity that one must face before they can overcome a problem. In Song of Solomon (1977), by Toni Morrison, the characters in this book are constantly reminded of the adversities around them, by a color that appears again and again. Living as blacks in 20th century America, racism exists and surrounds their daily lives. The two characters, Guitar and Milkman, face many hardships; one tries to fight back by resorting to violence, the other tries to resist by finding his identity as a Black American. Throughout
Having grown from a troubling childhood, she continues to face challenges, especially from her abusive husband Macon Dead. She receives no love in her family, as Macon does nothing but criticize her. With this character, Morrison once again employs visual imagery (color) to emphasize the extent in which she is ostracized. In the process of explaining her history to Milkman, she says, “I had no friends, only schoolmates who wanted to touch my dresses and my white silk stockings” (Morrison 124). While the quote talks about something as arbitrary as stockings, the line characterizes her position in society. She never had any friends. Part of the reason being was because she lived an extremely sheltered life with Dr. Foster. Dr. Foster, being the “most important Negro in the city”, was on a different social and economic level than the other blacks. The white silk stockings represent this. They are objects of desire for the other black children. During her childhood and her life after, she essentially feels like a white living among blacks. Morrison once again chooses white as the color of the character’s possessions; in this case, it would be the silk stockings, which presents Ruth as an outcast in her society, which would be the black