Looking Beyond the Surface

In Toni Morrison’s 1977 novel, Song of Solomon, the author’s style of withholding information from the reader fascinates me as it forces the reader to connect with the characters and experience their emotions as they do. In the beginning of the novel, Morrison describes how Macon Dead abuses his wife and “kept…his family awkward with fear,” using judgmental diction “awkward” to create a critical tone and indirectly characterize him as cruel (10). The writer then demonstrates Macon’s harsh attitude towards the rest of the town through describing a situation when Macon, an owner of several houses, refuses to help a tenant who has fallen behind on her rent and forces her and her young grandson out of the house and onto the street (21). Morrison uses the anecdote to highlight Macon’s selfish nature in order to create an initial bias against Macon so readers understand why the town dislikes him. In particular, Milkman’s best friend, Guitar, loathes Macon more than others do and as the novel progresses, Morrison reveals that Macon evicted Guitar and his grandmother. As I suddenly realized the earlier anecdote’s significance in creating Guitar’s deep-seated hatred, I sympathized with him because Macon’s actions also enraged me before I learned of his own problems. While the writer initially portrays Macon as the antagonist, she slowly exposes his difficult past that includes his murdered father, his wife’s possibly incestuous relationship with her father, and his wife’s manipulation of him. Macon’s wife relentlessly tries to cause him to lose control and become violent, because she enjoys bringing “her husband to a point…of helplessness” (64). In one sentence, Morrison portrays an abusive husband as a victim, through revealing information about his difficult home life and other characters’ hatred for him. Although Morrison’s writing style sometimes frustrates me with its changing portrayals of characters, it forces me to continually reevaluate the book, as even the smallest details became meaningful as the novel progresses and can completely change how I view characters. The author’s writing style forces people who judge others quickly to keep themselves open to new viewpoints and reassess their opinions of others.