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Flight, myth, freedom, slavery, love, and hate; all these things are found in the novel Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. Winner of The Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993, Morrison taps into many things through out the novel. Drawing from many symbols and names from the Bible, she makes the reader think and feel many things as the story of Milkman Dead is laid out for the reader. But what do these names mean? What symbols or hidden meanings can a be behind a name drawn from such a rich canvas as the Holy Bible? In this exhibit, we explore those meanings and try to gain a deeper insight into what Morrison was trying to do.
Amazon. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2017. <https://www.amazon.com/DN-Song-Solomon-Toni-Morrison/dp/045225244X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1493067930&sr=8-3&keywords=song%2Bof%2Bsolomon%2Btoni%2Bmorrison>.

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Toni Morrison's Thoughts on Song of Solomon

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Toni Morrison's Thoughts on Song of Solomon

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In this video Toni Morrison talks about the power of flight. How she had an idea of a man flying on his own power. Flight has many meanings in the novel Song of Solomon. Freedom, running away from your troubles, or running toward your destiny. Morrison wants us to spread the wings of our mind in the novel. That flight can be both physical and spiritual in nature. The desire to fly is within many humans and Morrison also taps into the myths of slaves that flew through the air toward freedom from their oppressors. We must also remember that through Morrison's writings, she makes our imaginations fly, expand, and learn more about ourselves, as long as we can be open to learn.

V. (n.d.). Visionaryproject. Retrieved April 24, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3wBuxNdVXvm9CpvZLBCJ5w

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civil rights movement literary school or mo...

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Uploaded by visionaryproject on 2010-04-20.

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Solomon: Milkman's Ancestor Choosing Freedom, Flying Away

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Solomon: Milkman's Ancestor Choosing Freedom, Flying Away

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Solomon in the novel is Milkman's ancestor that was a slave. Milkman finds out that he actually flew out of slavery and tried to take his sons with him. But he lost his grip in his escape and they flew to the ground. Instead of staying with family he choose to fly away and live a life of freedom. This painting is showing the biblical story of the two women fighting over a child each claiming it to be their own. Solomon decides to have the child cut in half so each women would have a child. One of them admits that the child is not their's thus saving the child's life and proving who the mother really was. Just as Milkman's ancestor had to make a choice, family or freedom. He made a choice to be free.
Hoyt, Bridget O'Brien. "Emphasizing Observation in a Gallery Program for Blind and Low-Vision Visitors: Art Beyond Sight at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston." Disability Studies Quarterly. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2017.

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Solomon was one of the most wealthiest kings in the Bible. His wisdom is also legendary being able to solve many things with his mind instead of armies. We look at Solomon's legends, and we wonder why Morrison would tie this to her novel. The name alone could be an answer. The name Solomon sounds regal, important, and powerful. It brings us images of far away places, and great halls where kings sit to hold court. To take this name and apply it to a slave in a story shows that a name can carry so much weight and power. Morrison's Solomon has a regal power that Milkman learn about as the novel draws to a close.

"The biblical King Solomon was known for his wisdom, his wealth and his writings. He became ruler in approximately 967 B.C.E. and his kingdom extended from the Euphrates River in the north to Egypt in the south. His crowning achievement was the building of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Almost all knowledge of him is derived from the biblical books of Kings I and Chronicles II.

Solomon was the son of King David and Bathsheba. Solomon was not the oldest son of David, but David promised Bathsheba that Solomon would be the next king. When David’s elder son Adonijah declared himself king, David ordered his servants to bring Solomon to the Gihon spring where the priest anointed him while David was still alive. Solomon inherited a considerable empire from his father."
King Solomon. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2017.

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Encyclopedia of Jewish and Israeli history, politics and culture, with biographies, statistics, articles and documents on topics from anti-Semitism to Zionism.

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Here is the biblical reading of the Song of Solomon. This is a love song and it makes us think why Morrison would name her novel after this part of the Bible. Morrison is looking at the many ways that love can help and nature as well as cause harm. Love is a very strong theme in the novel. Morrison shows the both sides of love, good and bad. The love that Macon Dead has for money and control over his family and his tenets, the unhealthy love that Hagar has for Milkman that has driven her to madness, the lack of love in Macon and his wife's marriage. However, Morrison also shows the powerful healing that love can have. Through Pilate's love of Milkman he is able to become a better person, and Pilate's love of her daughter gives her the strength to protect her from abusive men that would hurt her. Love or the lack of it is what drives the many characters in the story

Song of Solomon 21st Century King James Version (KJ21)

1 The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.

2 “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine.

3 Because of the savor of thy good ointments, thy name is as ointment poured forth; therefore do the virgins love thee.

4 Draw me, we will run after thee. The king hath brought me into his chambers.” “We will be glad and rejoice in thee; we will remember thy love more than wine; the upright love thee.”

5 “I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.

6 Look not upon me because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me. My mother’s children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards, but mine own vineyard have I not kept.

7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon; for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?”

8 “If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents.

9 I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots.

10 Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.”

11 “We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.”

12 “While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.

13 A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night between my breasts.

14 My beloved is unto me as a cluster of henna in the vineyards of Engedi.”

15 “Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes.”

16 “Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant. Also our bed is green.

17 The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.
Tmantz625. "The Holy Bible - Book 22 - Song of Songs - KJV Dramatized Audio." YouTube. YouTube, 16 Sept. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2017.

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The Holy Bible - Book 22 - Song of Songs - KJV Dramatized Audio

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This is the holy book of Song of Songs, known as "The Song of Solomon". The recording is dramatized, from the King James Bible. This is, in my opinion, the best and most beautiful recording of the King James Bible in existence.

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Pilate was the one that sentenced Jesus to death, which lead to him being crucified on the cross.  In the novel, Pilate Dead makes homemade wine, which she sells to make money to support her family. Her wine can be compared to the wine that is used in the Eucharist in which the wine is a symbol of the blood of Jesus, spilled for our sins. The symbol of wine is one of sacrifice and Pilate has several in the novel. She looses her life at the end of the story, taking a bullet when her and Milkman bury the bones of her father. Her blood being spilt in sacrificed for Milkman, helping him find his inner power of his heritage. (Photo by Tom Atwood)
"Announcements." St. Andrew's Episcopal Church-Edwardsville,IL-Welcome! N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2017.

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Hagar Dead: Her ties to Biblical Meanings

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Hagar Dead: Her ties to Biblical Meanings

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Hagar Dead is the granddaughter of Pilate and cousin to Milkman. The two become lovers and over the years Milkman falls out of love with her, or according to him he never loved her to begin with. He only used her body to satisfy his own desires for sex. Hagar from the Bible was a slave girl of Abraham, and was used to give him a son. But when his own wife got pregnant she was cast out into the desert with her son. Hagar in the novel enters her own emotional desert from being rejected by Milkman. She slips into depression and get sick, dying from a fever.
"Posts about redeeming the time on Dan's Pulpit." Dan's Pulpit. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2017.

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Ruth Dead is Milkman's mother. Living in a marriage with no love or kindness, and yet still loyal to her husband. Ruth in the Bible is shown to have those same traits. Loyal to family, agreeing to marry Boaz, even though she was free of family obligations, demonstrating her loyalty and obedience, Ruth Dead in the novel is the same way, loyal to her father through his long illness, and even though Macon shows no love to her, she is loyal to him. However, Morrison shows with Ruth what blind love and loyalty can bring you. Ruth is unhappy, so unhappy that she breast feeds her son to an age that many deem to be an inappropriate age, just to feel some kind of physical contact. Ruth shows what unhealthy desires to please your loved ones can lead you.

Ruth (biblical figure). (2017, April 24). Retrieved April 24, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_(biblical_figure)

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Ruth went to glean in the fields, where she met Boaz. At the instigation of Naomi she forced Boaz to declare his intentions regarding Ruth by slipping into the threshing floor at night, uncovering his feet, and lying at his feet () in the Mosaic tradition of having the nearest relative be the kinsman redeemer ( Leviticus 25:25-55).

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First Corinthians Dead: Unifying Boundaries

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First Corinthians Dead: Unifying Boundaries

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Milkman's sister, educated at Bryn Mawr and in France, is a unifier and refuses to stick to the boundaries and breaks free from them. In the novel, her father has tried to control her, however, she is able to break free of the his control and decides to marry a man of a different social standing. She reaches across the social divide to be with someone she loves. First Corinthians in the Bible are the New Testament book in which the apostle Paul seeks to mend the disagreements within the early Christian church. Morrison has made Corinthians the unifier in the novel, bringing two people together from different cultural backgrounds.
Camp, W. (n.d.). Paul's Letters to the Corinthians by the Hearty Boys.

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Reba, Pilate's daughter, lucky in all contest. But her strong sexual desires lead her to abusive relationships where she is beaten and requires Pilate's strength to save her. Reba was one of the name's of one of the Midianite chiefs slain by the Israelites in the wilderness. In what why does Reba luck play out in the story? She wins contest easily, even winning a diamond ring at one point. But her luck does not apply to things that matter. Money, prizes, frivolous things that don't matter to true happiness. Morrison is showing us with Reba that wealth is transient and unimportant.
Diamond Ring. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2017, from http://www.ebay.com/bhp/diamond-ring

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Oldest child in Milkman's family, Magdalene(Lena) is a very quite character in the novel. Magdalene in the Bible is the prostitute that becomes a follower of Jesus and is present at the crucifixion. She is also one of the first to find that he was risen form the dead. Going from being weak to having strength, Morrison does the same for Lena in the novel. Though quiet and reserved, she is the one that stands up to Milkman's quest of greed. She reminds him how he had once peed on her when he was a child, and now that he is an adult, he has continued to do it to her and the rest of the family. She holds a mirror up to him to look at his reflection to see what he has become, a mirrored version of his father. This image is  how she might look in the novel.
(n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2017, from http://biblefilms.blogspot.com/2006/10/close-to-jesus-mary-magdalene.html

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In this picture we see a artist's rendition of Jesus flying off to Heaven, leaving this world behind and promising to return one day. At the end of the novel, Milkman himself takes to the air in his final confrontation with Guitar, his former friend and now his deadly enemy. Pilate has been killed by Guitar and a bird has taken her earring that Milkman laid on the grave to the sky. Pilate's soul has taken to the air and now Milkman's body is flying to face his enemy. But Morrison is really showing that Milkman is at last free. Free from greed, fear, and doubt he has taped into his heritage and ancestry of Solomon and can now take to the air just as his grandfather did to find his freedom.
Jesus. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2017, from https://www.pinterest.com/golondrina1689/jesus/?lp=true

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Pilate Dead, named after Pilate from the Bible story of Christ's Trail is far different from her namesake. To the character Milkman she becomes more of a mother figure than his own, and through her outlook on life and the world he learns more of his true identity than his father. Strong willed and fearless, she is the true hero of the novel. Refusing to conform to society's rules, she makes her own path. As the story unfolds, she becomes more Christ like with Morrison playing with names and what they can mean. Pilate is named after the one that had Christ put to death, and yet she has Christ like   Here is a fun Twitter account based off of the character.
Dead, Pilate. "Pilate Dead (@PilateOutcast)." Twitter. Twitter, 11 Nov. 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2017.

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