Song of Solomon Summary
Toni Morrison

Everything you need to understand or teach Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison.

Song of Solomon Summary & Study Guide
12 Student Essays
1 Encyclopedia Article
19 Literature Criticisms
...and more

30 Song of Solomon Lessons
20 Activities
180 Multiple Choice Questions
60 Short Essay Questions
20 Essay Questions
Pre-Made Tests and Quizzes
...and more

Song of Solomon Summary

Song of Solomon opens with Robert Smith, an insurance agent in an unnamed Michigan town wearing blue silk wings. He leaps from the roof of Mercy Hospital, claiming he will fly across Lake Superior. He does not fly, but instead dies from the fall. The next day, the first black child born in Mercy Hospital is born to Ruth Foster Dead, who is the daughter of the first black doctor in...

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The Song of Solomon Study Pack contains:

Song of Solomon Study Guide

Plot Summary

Chapter Summaries

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Style

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Topics for Discussion

Encyclopedia Articles (1)

Song of Solomon

6,051 words, approx. 21 pages

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison Toni Morrison was born in Lorraine, Ohio, in 1931 as Chloe Anthony Wofford. An avid reader, Morrison studied literature, earning a bachelors degree at Howar... Read more

Toni Morrison Biographies (7)

Toni Morrison

2,040 words, approx. 7 pages

Toni Morrison (born 1931) was best known for her intricately woven novels, which focused on intimate relationships, especially between men and women, set against the backdrop of African American cultu... Read more

Toni Morrison

4,312 words, approx. 15 pages

"When they say I'm a great American novelist," Toni Morrison commented to Gail Caldwell in an interview published in Conversations with Toni Morrison, "I say, 'Ha! They're trying to say I'm not black.... Read more

Toni Morrison

2,833 words, approx. 10 pages

One of the most prominent contemporary analysts of the black experience, Toni Morrison has, within a decade, established herself as a significant American novelist. As a senior editor at Random Hous... Read more

Toni Morrison

8,430 words, approx. 29 pages

When her picture appeared on the cover of Newsweek in 1981 and her fourth novel, Tar Baby, was on the year's best-seller list, Toni Morrison was an anomaly in two respects: she is a black writer who... Read more

Toni Morrison

12,322 words, approx. 42 pages

[This entry was updated by Catherine E. Lewis (University of South Carolina) from the entry by Denise Heinze (Western Carolina University) in DLB 143: American Novelists Since World War II, Third Seri... Read more

Toni Morrison

9,565 words, approx. 32 pages

Biography EssayToni Morrison is one of America's most important writers of fiction. She has received critical acclaim, most notably the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Beloved (1987), the 1978 National Book C... Read more

Toni Morrison

6,928 words, approx. 24 pages

Toni Morrison was born and raised in Lorain, Ohio. "Only The Bluest Eye, my first book, is set in Lorain. In the others I was more interested in mood than in geography.... [However], no matter what I ... Read more

Essays & Analysis (31)

Critical Essay by Vivian Garnick

461 words, approx. 2 pages

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Critical Essay by Diane Johnson

443 words, approx. 2 pages

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Critical Essay by Maureen Howard

340 words, approx. 2 pages

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Critical Essay by Origen

12,043 words, approx. 41 pages

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Critical Essay by Chaim Rabin

7,186 words, approx. 24 pages

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Critical Essay by Marvin H. Pope

8,252 words, approx. 28 pages

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Critical Essay by Phyllis Trible

5,886 words, approx. 20 pages

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Critical Essay by Robert Alter

8,770 words, approx. 30 pages

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Critical Essay by Carol Meyers

5,159 words, approx. 18 pages

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Critical Essay by Marcia Falk

8,112 words, approx. 28 pages

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Critical Essay by E. Ann Matter

7,848 words, approx. 27 pages

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Critical Essay by St. Gregory of Nyssa

5,594 words, approx. 19 pages

5,184 words, approx. 18 pages

3,238 words, approx. 11 pages

3,732 words, approx. 13 pages

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Lecture by Martin Luther

7,162 words, approx. 24 pages

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Lecture by Robert Lowth

7,563 words, approx. 26 pages

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Critical Essay by H. H. Rowley

10,415 words, approx. 35 pages

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Critical Essay by Richard N. Soulen

2,977 words, approx. 10 pages

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The Character Development of Milkman

1,367 words, approx. 5 pages

In Song of Solomon Toni Morrison tells a story of one black man's journey toward an understanding of his own identity and his African American roots.  This black man, Macon "Milkman" Dead III, tr... Read more

Free Like a Bird

1,749 words, approx. 6 pages

Since the beginning of time all human beings have had a fascination with human flight. Watching a bird soar through the air, people cannot help but desire the same capabilities. Imagine the point of v... Read more

Waterland's ending vs. Song of Solomon's ending

1,297 words, approx. 5 pages

`All's well that ends well.' Two completely different authors with two somewhat different styles of writing create two endings, which leave the audience guessing, making assumptions, but assuming that... Read more

The Assessment of Racial Relations in Song of Solomon

724 words, approx. 3 pages

In the novel Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison addresses aspects of racial relations within and between communities through the focus on Black American's response to prejudice. Racism is commonly thoug... Read more

Don't Judge a Book by Its' Deformity

1,257 words, approx. 5 pages

In Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, there are many characters which do abnormal things, or act abnormally in the eyes of the reader. There are, however, few characters with physical abnormalities. T... Read more

Freedom in "Song of Solomon"

375 words, approx. 2 pages

The Song Of Solomon, by Toni Morrison, is about freedom, freedom from hardships freedom from hate or resentment, freedom from life. Many people fly away to achieve freedom in this book. Three o... Read more

Song of Solomon: Guitar's Story

1,292 words, approx. 5 pages

Toni Morrison through Song of Solomon creates a world of opposition and hostility, a world of differences. Through inventing characters with distinct personalities, Morrison is able to present everyon... Read more

Song of Solomon

812 words, approx. 3 pages

People handle trauma and the way it shapes their life in different ways. The same goes for brothers and sisters who have experienced family trauma together. In the Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison Ma... Read more

Tainted by Education: Characters in Song of Solomon

1,229 words, approx. 5 pages

There is an old Confucian adage that says: "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime." The two sentences have more than a grain of truth to them,... Read more

Love as a Tool of Identity in Song of Solomon

1,108 words, approx. 4 pages

Love is a major theme in Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrisson be it love or the lack of it that binds each character to the next. Love plays a much larger role than usual in Song of Solomon, as it is us... Read more

Song of Solomon: A Study of Milkman

485 words, approx. 2 pages

Our identity is one of the only things we have to call our own. Through a period of a life time ones identity becomes less and less ones' own. This deterioration of identity usually calls for a search... Read more

Song of Solomon: The Value of a Relationship

1,037 words, approx. 4 pages

In her novel Song of Solomon Toni Morrison uses the main character and protagonist Milkman, to demonstrate the value of caring for others and giving back what is received in return. The author shows t... Read more

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