Editor's Choice
What role do ghosts play in Song of Solomon?
Quick answer:
Ghosts in Song of Solomon are a supernatural element that can be interpreted differently throughout the novel. Ghosts could be interpreted to represent the past or memories, secrets, or the "other" in an African spiritual tradition.Toni Morrison's book Song of Solomon explores African American spiritual practices and values. Voodoo, a form of African pagan spirituality, is an example of this. Ghosts, magic, and mysticism are used in the narrative as an absolute and real experience felt by many of the characters in the novel. Morrison threads together a supernatural story with many things that would be seen as unnatural or impossible. Within the structure of the novel, it is surprising to find that the main character and protagonist, Milkman, doesn't believe in ghosts. It can therefore be inferred that parts of his upbringing have contributed to his disbelief in the idea. Pilate, his aunt, has a spiritual connection to the mysticism of Voodoo and black magic. Pilate, as a shaman, guides Milkman into the unknown as he pushes the boundaries of what is real and what is not.
A central theme of the...
Unlock
This Answer NowStart your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
novel is a search for identity and familial lineage. Milkman's search for true identity entangles him within the mystical tradition of African song and those who are deceased (ghosts or spirits). Ghosts could be interpreted to represent the past or memories and secrecy. They could also represent the "other" in a supernatural aspect, as the spirits can only be detected by a few but are all around the characters. Since the encounters with spirits are through African spiritual traditions, ghosts could also represent deep roots in African identity.
So much of this book is built around the memories that the characters have of past events that rise up like ghosts and still have such a strong impact on the present, even though the events happened so long ago. Note how the novel is really various retellings from different characters' perspectives of the same story. This means that the various ghosts that people have in the form of memories and past events still haunt the present to an unprecedented extent. Consider, for example, how Pilate responds when Guitar tries to find out what year she is talking about:
The year they shot them Irish people down in the streets. Was a good year for guns and gravediggers, I know that... One morning we woke up when the sun was nearly a quarter way cross the sky. Bright as anything. And blue. Blue like the ribbons on my mother’s bonnet.
It is important to note that Pilate's response is not specific in terms of time, which contributes to the rather nebulous relationship with time that the novel creates. For Pilate, time is measured not by chronological means, but by the big events that happen and then by nature, or the exact positioning of the sun. The memories that are allowed to resurrect themselves therefore become even more vague and indistinct, detached from time as they are. Eventually, the reader sees that although memories are recalled in this novel, the ghosts of the past seem to have more power than the realities of the present, and many characters still live in a world where they are haunted by those ghosts.