Flight: The Only Escape

Flight, the ultimate form of freedom, haunted the first pages of Song of Solomon like and unattainable vision. As expected from an African American author, discrimination, the undying remnant of slavery, marked her. Although blacks were officially free, the black Americans would need the civil rights movement to properly defend it. So far, the story focuses on the characters who, trapped inside poverty and racism, loose themselves. In this hostile society, hope dies and death seems like the only choice.

The very beginning of the book makes references flight and freedom. Robert Smith unable to continue bearing the heavy shackles of living in such conditions, decided to break free. Here, he bids farewell to his family and describes his suicide in peculiar way: "I will take off from mercy and fly away on my own wings. Please forgive me" (Morrison, 1). The insurance agent wanted to fly away "on his own wings". These represent the only action he with out the restraint of a repressive society: suicide. Although he knew freedom came at a great cost, he wanted to try it before that hostile environment expunged all traces of will to live in him. Clearly, it shows how the harsh conditions for black people in the United States affected them.

The next allusion to flight comes 9 pages later when Ruth Dead gives birth to Macon Dead III. Ironic, seeing a "dead" woman gave birth. Still, we should not blame the characters for their names. Society imposed that state of living death. With out true freedom, good living conditions and a definite future, the Dead epitomize the results of a discriminatory system in African Americans. Probably, the loss of hope shocks the reader the most. Only "when the little boy discovered, at four, the same thing Mr. Smith had learned earlier – that only birds and airplanes could fly-he lost all interest in himself"(9) like many others under the same regime of discrimination. That system forbade hope even to children. This shows how profound the impact this time period had on Tony Morrison.

With these two examples the author sets a clear tone and purpose of the book. She wants to create a crude and harsh image of life under racism. Evidently, the book opposes strongly the harsh events that surrounded that time period but she does not necessarily intend the work to solely critique. Morrison wants to show her view and share part of her experiences through the book: her only pair of wings.