Toni Morrison on Song of Solomon

Here is an interesting interview with Toni Morrison on Song of Solomon.

Towards the end of the video she mentions why she wanted Milkman to be obsessed with escaping and flying, and that was what I found most interesting because she tells us why she wanted to write the story in the first place. 

One thing I love about listening to interviews with authors is that you get to understand why they wrote what they did, and what they were thinking when they wrote it. You find out why it is significant to them and their lives. Sometimes I feel like we over analyze things in English classes, and I often find myself wondering what the author really was thinking and whether or not we interpret it completely differently.

That's the cool thing about any creative art form--everyone has their own interpretations based on how they connect to the book and sometimes these interpretations differ from the author's. That doesn't mean that we're wrong, but I do like getting to know the author's perspective on their work. (Too bad Shakespeare is dead because I would have had loads of questions for him about his plays.)

Make me a bird

Milkman's desire to fly away reminded me of Jenny in "Forrest Gump," only Milkman's motivations are quite different from Jenny's. 

The one thing that Milkman ever was obsessed with was flight. From an early age, he loved anything that could fly and always wanted to fly. This has an important impact on his development as a child because once he realizes that he cannot fly, he loses all interest in himself.

It's this loss of an interest in himself and an imagination that creates the unambitious and lazy Milkman in the next few chapters of the novel. Milkman is only looking out for his own safety, and he never really grows up because he isn't looking at himself critically on an introspective level. Milkman doesn't change because he doesn't think the change is necessary because he doesn't realize that a problem exists in the first place. He doesn't see the problem because he still has no interest in himself and refuses to examine his character. 

Deep down, all Milkman wants to do is escape. He wants to fly away and create a life different than that of the people back home. He hates the thought of becoming more like his father. Flight is the potential of the future, the great unknown--like the horizon beyond the hood ornament of the winged woman. Milkman wants to conquer this unkown future, but he doesn't want to give up his comfort at home. This leaves him stuck.  

This urge to escape is also a sign of immaturity on Milkman's part. He would rather run from problems than confront them, and he can get away with this because he is rich enough to afford a plane ticket. For example, when asked what he would do if he lived in Alabama amidst the rampant racism, Milkman responds that he would grab a plane ticket and fly away as quickly as he could. He doesn't think about solving some of his family issues, or trying to mend things with his friends, but instead takes a plane far away on a selfish quest for gold.

The ironic thing is that the more Milkman tries to fly away, the more he is reminded of and brought back to his family. He flies away to Pennsylvania and meets all of these people who tell him stories of his family. Also, Milkman is basically still carrying out his father's orders to find the gold, so he hasn't yet escaped his father's influence.

Milkman can't fly away, because it's like Guitar said "Wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down." Milkman hasn't given up the things weighing him down. The things weighing him down, are his own ideas on privilege. He can't move forward in life because he is still stuck in the world where he has enough money to do whatever he wants. Milkman hasn't realized that there is more to life than money and personal safety and security. 

Perhaps Milkman will finally mature in the last few chapters of the novel. I'm excited to see how his character will (or won't) grow by the end of the novel. I have a theory though, that the song

Sugarman done fly, Sugarman done gone

Sugarman cut across the sky, Sugarman gone

will have something to do with Milkman and the ending of the book.