Toni Morrison’s Hero: A Song of Solemn Men

Abstract

This essay claims Song of Solomon is an example of a hero’s journey, aligned with the narratological features of the genre. Through an analysis of comradeship as the virtue of the quest, the hero’s identity within family, gender and geography becomes a function of access to ancestry. Morrison claims these elements and protagonist Milkman’s quest engenders an African American claim on the hybrid American mythology.