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Song Of Solomon - Papers Online

Song Of Solomon

The Icarus Myth in Toni Morrison's
Throughout literature it has been common for authors to use allusions to complement recurrent motifs in their work. In Toni Morrison's , Milkman learns that his desire to fly has been passed down to him from his ancestor Solomon. As Milkman is figuring out the puzzle of his ancestry, he realizes that when Solomon tried to take his youngest son, Jake, flying with him, he dropped him and Jake never arrived with his father to their destination.
Sound familiar? Well, it seems quite probable that Morrison drew from the Daedalus/Icarus Greek myth. Daedalus was a well-known architect and engineer in Athens. King Mines invited Daedalus to Crete to build him a ...

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lose the ability to fly. Ignoring Daedalus' warnings, Icarus flew too high and the sun melted the wax that held his wings together. Icarus fell into the Aegean Sea and died.
Solomon, a slave, had been a leader when he worked in the cotton fields in the South. One day he decided to fly back to Africa with his youngest son, Jake, leaving behind his wife Ryna and their twenty other children.
Black lady fell down on the ground
Come booba yalle, come booma tambee
Threw her body all around
Come konka yalle, come konka tambee...(303).
This verse of the popular children's song which Milkman heard in Shalimar, Virginia, was referring to Ryna's sobbing, an event which also led to the naming of Ryna's Gulch where it is rumored that Ryna's spirit moaned night and day alike for Solomon's return. When Solomon is flying, however, he drops Jake- also the name of Milkman's grandfather- and unlike Icarus in Greek mythology, Jake survives his fall.
Milkman's desire to fly mirrors one of the ...

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Song Of Solomon. (2007, December 28). Retrieved February 1, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Song-Of-Solomon/76569

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 12/28/2007 03:43:09 AM
Category: Book Reports
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 642
Pages: 3

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