Song of Solomon Chapter Summary & Analysis | Part 1, Chapter 1

Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary

It is a cold day on Wednesday February 18, 1931 and Robert Smith, the local North Carolina Mutual insurance agent, is going to try to fly from Mercy Hospital to the other side of Lake Superior with a pair of homemade wings. As he stands high atop the roof of the Hospital, known as "No Mercy Hospital" among the local population because it does not admit blacks, a few people living in this unnamed Michigan town stand on the street below to witness the spectacle.

As the crowd gathers, the hospital staff sees what is happening and immediately starts trying to get control of the situation. In fact, someone calls the fire department to bring him down, but Robert Smith beats them to it. He leaps into the air and flaps but his wings do him no good. Instead, he dies as soon as he strikes the ground below.

The...
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