Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon: A Casebook

The essays in this volume represent the major currents in critical thinking about Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison's widely acclaimed examination of the individual quest for self-knowledge in the context of the African-American experience. This collection offers a broad overview of the scholarship that has emerged in the decades since the 1977 publication of Morrison's third novel. These essays provide a map of the primary themes of Song of Solomon, covering subjects such as self-identity, the rituals of manhood and reading, and the importance of naming, and also explore the novel's incorporation of African myth and African-American folklore. The casebook opens with The People Could Fly, the African folktale from which Song of Solomon draws important aspects of its plot and major theme, and closes with an interview with Toni Morrison about her life and work as a novelist.brJan Furman is Associate Professor of English at the University of Michigan-Flint.brbrIntroductionbr/brbrPeople Who Could Fly, Julius Lesterbr/brbrPart I: Quest for Identitybr/brbrThe Quest for and Discovery of Identity in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, Valerie Smithbr/brbrThe South in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon: Initiation, Healing, and Home, Catherine Carr Leebr/brbrPart II: Myth and Folklorebr/brbrUnruly and Let Loose: Myth, Ideology, and Gender in Song of Solomon, Michael Awkwardbr/brbrSong of Solomon: Rejecting Rank's Monomyth and Feminism, Gerry Brennerbr/brbrPart III: Narrative Influencebr/brbrDoe Hunting and Masculinity: Song of Solomon and Go Down, Moses, John N. Duvallbr/brbrCivilizations Underneath: African Heritage as Cultural Discourse in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, Gay Wilentzbr/brbrToni Morrison's Song of Solomon: A Blues Song, Joyce M. Wegsbr/brbrNames to Bear Witness: The Theme and Tradition of Naming in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, Lucinda H. MacKethanbr/brbrPart IV: Historical Pe