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Reconquest Of The Past In “Song Of Solomon” By T. Morrison

2020; Linguagem: Inglês

10.15405/epsbs.2020.11.03.89

2357-1330

Sergei S. Savinich,

Joseph Conrad and Literature

This article deals with the problems of interpretation of the most widely acclaimed novel by T. Morrison “Song of Solomon”. The actions of the characters in this novel, namely Macon Dead Sr, Milkman Dead, Robert Smith and Guitar Bains are seemingly senseless. They are looking for treasure, but never find it. They ignore people who love them, but suffer when they die. They kill themselves by trying to fly with fake wings. They take a revenge on innocent people that they hardly know. All these characters are craving for freedom, each in his own way, but to gain freedom they need to find a way to deal with the trauma of slavery. They attempt to forget the past by accepting the fake version of it, but it takes them nowhere, because fake past soon results in losing the self-identity. It becomes apparent that the attitude to the personal, family and national past determines human being as a personality. The author’s attitude to the past is metaphorically described as finding a treasure. Those characters that reject their past seem to be less sure about their future and tend to make wrong ethical choice. Generally, deprived of his past, a person becomes deprived of some collective unconscious that can guide him through the uncertainty of today into the confidence of tomorrow.