Analysis of the Existent Dilemma of African American in Song of Solomon

Abstract：Toni Morrison， who was awarded Nobel Prize for literature in 1993， is considered as one of the most outstanding novelists on the literary stage in the contemporary world. As an Afro-American female writer， Morrison mainly focuses her attention on the life of the Black and writes a series of novels. In Song of Solomon， Morrison finds that the Blacks face two-ness in their minds which deeply affect their self-realization in the life. Thus， this article intends to analyze the existent dilemma of African American in Song of Solomon under W. E. B. Du Bois’ “double consciousness”.

Key words：Double consciousness； Toni Morrison； Song of Solomon

中图分类号：H319 文献标识码： A 文章编号：1672-1578（2014）11-0003-02

1 Introduction

Song of Solomon is the third novel of Toni Morrison， the first black woman writer who won the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature. The novel， as Nellie Y. McKay comments， has “changed Toni Morrison’s public reputation from aspiring novelist to outstanding American writer.”（McKay， 1988： 14-15）It shows the existent dilemma of the black through the description of the characters’ struggle and unyielding resistance in the limiting living space. This novel precisely expresses Toni Morrison’s double consciousness based on which the author’s presentation and contemplation of Afro-Americans’ existent dilemma successfully enhances the work’s artistic and social significance.

2 Brief Survey of the Term――Double Consciousness

2.1W. E. B. Du Bois and His “Double Consciousness”

The concept of“double consciousness” was first put forward by W. E. B. Du Bois， which contributes greatly to African American literature in the 20th century. The term “double consciousness” comes from African Americans viewing themselves， individually and as a group， through the eyes of the society they live in. Then， Du Bois called a “two-ness，――an American， a Negro； two souls， two thoughts， two unreconciled strivings； two warring ideals in one dark body， whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.” （Du Bois， 1994： 3） These two views are often in conflict with one another， as the American view， in general， has despised and dehumanized African Americans. Their struggle is that they want to be both “Negro and American”.

2.2The Influences of Double Consciousness on African American Literature

From “double consciousness”， W. E. B. Du Bois points out a thorny problem that black writers faced with――the reader. It means the reader is two persons with opinions opposite to each other. When a black writer started to write， he had to solve the problem.

It is “double consciousness” that has formed a feature of African American writings， but also results in many difficulties. On one side， the black writers are eager for the cultural identity by white； on the other side， they need to defend the separation between black culture and white culture. Therefore， their works show the tension between assimilation and separation. This is the perplexity of the black writers. In their process of writing， they have to solve how to reconcile the conflicts between assimilation and separation， how to reconcile the problems of “double readers”.

3 Existent Dilemma of African American in Song of Solomon

Song of Solomon is a novel full of historical events which reflects African Americans’ existent dilemma comprehensively. In the novel， there are many distinctive figures with personality who inherit the cultural spirit. They live in the crack between the black and white culture and they explore the way out to self-survival. Morrison mainly describes two people： one is the person who arms himself with white culture， such as， Macon Dead； another is the person who survive the real self and preserve the African culture in the dominant white culture， such as， Pilate， Milkman.

3.1Macon Dead

In Song of Solomon， Macon is essentially a good man. He looked after his young sister in childhood. Since he was a boy， he followed his father and reclaimed their own farm named Lincoln’s Heaven. Macon can feel the delight of labor and be content with it. But in the contemporary American society， their happy life becomes a wild fancy. White people kill his father and depredate their farm. In the cruel world， he began to consider the way out of the predicament. Under the existing racial system， his dream of moving in the social circles of high life vanishes into thin air. In the conflicts between ideal and reality， he chooses to compromise to the white culture and acts in the white values， which causes to the distortion of his values. In the realistic life， Macon understands that you should act in white’s principles for survival. That means no lock will hold against the power of gold. Money-mad has become Macon’s self-actualization of the value of life， and he paid a heavy price for it： lose affection， twist the mind. His ideal and pursuit for American Dream come to nothing， because the American dream is fatal in its fantasy， that is， when the Dream is confronted by reality and broken by the harshness， disaster will come. The fact is， Macon is a black man， and his hope to be accepted by white people will never come true. Because of the existing racial system in American society， his American Dream is to be a vain tragedy.

3.2Milkman

The novel takes its focus on the central character Milkman Dead， an African American who is born in a wealthy family and in a white-dominated society. The story is about the young black man’s identity-quest journey from lost， search to return. In Song of Solomon， Morrison uses the myth of flight to highlight the theme of obtaining freedom and reflects that African Americans have found the roots of their culture.

In Song of Solomon， Milkman has gone through all kinds of hardships and experienced purifications in the journey. Milkman’s search for his names and ancestral history helps him associate himself with his past， with his roots and with his black community. During this awakening journey， he finds out who he is， where he comes from， and finally adjusts himself to rules and conventions of the black community.Milkman’s final flight enables him to overcome his weaknesses， throw off his shell of white existence and moreover， find his complete human nature： care， love and responsibility to others. All these at last lead to the recovery of his black identity. He gets spiritual revival from his death， and connects himself with ancestral history. Through Milkman’s journey， Morrison attempts to arouse African Americans to love their culture and build up their self consciousness and to survive the real selves in the dominant white culture. This is the only way out for throwing off existent dilemma.

4 Conclusion

Toni Morrison’s representative work， Song of Solomon， describes African-American Dead’s three generation of histories， has unfolded the black’s existent dilemma in US modern society， and has exposed the mental injury in black’s for the slavery and the racial discrimination. Morrison aims to arouse African Americans awakening of self-consciousness through the memory of bitter history. Since African American life were， intended or unintended， misinterpreted， Morrison wanted to document history as lived by African Americans in this country to help African Americans better understand their own values.

References：

[1]Nellie Y. McKay. Critical Essays on Toni Morrison. Boston： GK Hall， 198814-15， 89.

[2]Morrison， Toni. Song of Solomon[J].London： Vintage，1998：29-51，330-341.

[3]W. E. B. Du Bois. “Of Our Spiritual Strivings” In： The Soul of Black Folk[J].New York： Dover，1994. 2-3.

作者简介：左艳妮（1989-），女，江西崇仁人，东华理工大学行知分院助讲，学士，研究方向：英语教学。

李云辉（1981-），男，江西临川人，讲师，硕士，校陶行知研究会会员，中国教育学会会员，研究方向：英语课程与教学，英语教师教育。