First impressions:
Songs of Solomon presents a perspective similar to that of Wide Sargasso Sea. I have noticed many similar parallels between these two novels. Most importantly, the main character Milkman is extremely similar to Antoinette primarily because they both are childish (at least through the eyes of the reader), even as they grow into the early stages of adulthood. One small difference is that the perspective in Wide Sargasso Sea changes throughout the novel to give different views of the characters while so far into the novel, Milkman has not been presented in such a multitude of lights. Another similarity is the importance of names. As I mentioned in a previous post, names played a prominent role in Wide Sargasso Sea, because they define characters. For example, the fact that Mr. Rochester remains unnamed symbolizes his alienation from the culture in Antoinette's world. In Songs of Solomon, the name Macon Dead contains a myriad of interpretations such as how the initials are M.D. which could imply that Milkman was named in hopes that he'd become a doctor, similar to Ruth's father.
The similarities between the two novels is personally encouraging. In Wide Sargasso Sea we were able to see how polar societies intertwine and react which results in peculiar characters such as Antoinette. I feel that in Songs of Solomon we will see a similar development in Milkman, but instead of being an outcast, we will see how this particular type of peculiar character develops in a welcoming environment.
1 comment:
Good eye, spotting the "M.D." as a kind of subtle connection to the Doctor after whom the street is named. But his initials don't quite seem predictive here, as Milkman later remarks to his mother, "Who would ever go see Doctor Dead"? (So his father's legacy--in the form of the name--establishes this distance from his mother's wish for him. Milkman's family dynamic in a nutshell, I think!)
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