Magic Realism (noun)
1: painting in a meticulously realistic style of imaginary or fantastic scenes or images
2: a literary genre or style associated especially with Latin America that incorporates fantastic or mythical elements into otherwise realistic fiction
(Merriam-Webster)
Song of Solomon might be described as a magical realist novel. It certainly has its fair share of supernatural elements located within the story, but the overarching theme is that of Milkman’s journey to break free from his sheltered life at home and discover himself. Often, these supernatural elements are used as a metaphor. One commonly recurring idea is that of flight, whether it be physical or not. For Milkman, the idea of physical human flight intrigued him as a child, but he then learned that human flight was supposedly impossible and stopped believing in it and all things that are not grounded in reality.
One such example where Milkman displays his distrust of the supernatural is shown in the scene where Ruth is planting flowers in her garden. The flowers quickly grow a great amount, to the point of almost choking Ruth. Milkman sees this and tells Guitar about it, claiming that it was just a dream. But we know that it wasn’t. For the entire first part of the novel, Milkman continues to disbelieve the supernatural, even when told otherwise by people like Freddie. Like stated earlier, the supernatural in this story is often used as a metaphor, and Milkman’s disbelief of ideas like flight lead to him being metaphorically stuck on the ground.
On the other hand, Pilate does seem to believe in the supernatural. She connects with her past ancestors by singing songs about Sugarman’s flight. By doing so, she has already taken flight figuratively. She lives her life with freedom without being shackled by things like greed. When she dies, the only thing Pilate regrets is not having loved more people. She contrasts with Milkman and others in his family by showing that the supernatural is something very real in their world and allows them to become freer.
Near the end of the novel, Milkman finally learns of his past ancestors like Jake and Solomon. As he learns about Solomon’s flight and starts to believe in it, he also starts to become more mature. At the very end of the novel, Milkman takes a leap of faith, believing that the winds will carry him and allow him to finally fly just like he wished for as a child. Thus completes the transformation of Milkman’s character.
It's a really interesting observation, that Pilate "does not seem to believe in the supernatural," to the extent that her "flight" is (as Milkman observes near the end) ground-based. But remember that she has this long-standing relationship with her father's ghost, and she never expresses any doubt that it's *him* and that he is communicating real messages to her from beyond the grave.
ReplyDeleteAnd there's also her lack of a navel, which sets her apart from ALL of humanity. You're right that SHE doesn't seem to see anything supernatural about it--she doesn't even know it's "missing" until people start getting freaked out about her. But the fact is, she seems otherworldly and scary to people throughout her life, and Morrison definitely plays with the idea that her character is magic-realist in some ways. And it somehow seems 100% on brand for Pilate not to think any of this stuff is a big deal.
I like your idea that Pilate's lack of belief in the supernatural affects how she "flies" and how Milkman's disbelief alienates him from the community. His own lack of faith is the thing preventing him from achieving flight.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that struck me while reading Song of Solomon is how seamlessly the "magical" elements of the story mesh with the plot of the novel, and how everything just seems to make sense. Morison's subtle storytelling, such as Pilate's lack of a navel, seem very natural within the context of the novel, something seemingly impossible but also completely mundane. Furthermore, Milkman's journey from lack of understanding to acceptance of these magical realist concepts ties in well with his development as a character. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteThe ambiguity of the more mystical parts of the Song of Solomon are really interesting to me. The distinction between metaphor and reality is very blurred, especially concerning things like flight, which makes it really interesting to think about the border between fiction and folklore.
ReplyDeleteOne magical element that really stood out to me was his interaction with Circe. Although it's obvious that she is not a real being, she plays such an important role, guiding Milkman to the gold and providing information about his family history.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you associated the idea of believing in the supernatural to a figurative sense of freedom within the characters. I think it fits really well especially with the ending scene talking about Pilate and how she was able to fly without ever leaving the ground that supports your idea of the characters being able to maintain freedom through believing in the supernatural.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you stated that there's a difference in how much characters believe in the supernatural within the novel, which I think on a metalevel has to do a lot with how we read the novel itself: at the end of the novel, your interpretation of whether Milkman actually flies or simply plummets to his death has to do with how much you, as a reader, believe in the supernatural.
ReplyDeleteHey Luke, I really liked your analysis on the role of magic realism in the book, since I was interested in looking more into the various supernatural elements of the novel. I agree with your observation of the contrast between Milkman's disbelief in the supernatural and Pilate's belief in it, and how this reflects their differing approaches to freedom and personal growth. Overall, nice post.
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