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Literary Analysis of Pilate in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon
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Literary Analysis of Pilate in Toni Morrison’s “Song of Solomon”
Introduction
Issues toughing on racial discrimination have always drawn considerable controversy. This is especially considering that the history of the United States is rooted in racial discrimination especially against the black people. The fundamental nature of this aspect is evidenced by the fact that a considerable volume of literature has been done on it, trying to explain its various aspects. On the same note, the theme of racial discrimination has inspired and been incorporated in various fictional works. This is the case for Toni Morrison’s book, Song of Solomon.
Song of Solomon is a story that is set in Michigan. It traces the life of Milkman, since his birth to the age of 32, while focusing on his aimless and spiritually empty life as a young man trapped in the materialistic lifestyle of his dad and the traditional values that Pilate upholds. This book explores the pursuit for cultural identity. The story, based on African American folktale pertaining to enslaved Africans who escape from slavery by finding their way back to Africa, tells of Milkman’s story of alienation from his people, estrangement from family, community, as well as cultural and historical roots. The young man is spiritually dead and mentally enslaved, but he embarks on a spiritual, as well as physical journey that enhances his capacity to realize his self-worth and reconnect with the past with Pilate’s help and assistance of Guitar Bains. One of the most crucial characters in the story is Pilate Dead, who is Milkman’s auntie. This lady has been sufficiently used in the exploration of the theme of flight as a means for escaping slavery. It is evident that Pilate’s character places her as an embodiment of courage, strength, as well as love with Mother Nature and love for one’s cultural roots.
Pilate is the key, female protagonist in the story. She is closely linked with the family history and is rich in connotations. Her mother had died while giving birth to her, or rather before giving birth to her but she was sufficiently strong as to fight her way out of the womb. This is the strength that was to characterize her life even as an adult. Nevertheless, Pilate did not have a navel, a handicap that resulted in her isolation from the ordinary people of this country and even had a bearing on the independent and autonomous way of life. Her mystical qualities of half witch and half human gave her the ability to communicate with the dead father. It is stated that “Pilate was believed to have the power to step out of her skin, set a bush afire from fifty yards, and turn a man into a ripe rutabaga- all on account of the fact that she had no navel (Morrison 94).
On various occasions, Morrison uses symbolism to underline the nature of Pilate. One of the symbols that she uses is the perfect, soft-boiled egg. Pilate makes the eggs and shells off of them, after which she opens them up thereby revealing their soft insides. This is when she starts outlining the captivating stories pertaining to seeing her father’s ghost and watching a man die. The act of splitting up the egg gives the readers the impression that her capacity to get open is up is tantamount to having the capacity to deal with matters in a conclusive manner.
Despite the misfortunes that she has undergone, Pilate remains selfless and loving with her only regret at her time of death being that she could not extend her love to more people. It is noteworthy that her loving nature is nor a weakness rather it is her strength. This is especially seen when Reba, her daughter is beaten by a man. Pilate is seen pushing a knife within an inch of the man’s heart and warns him against touching Reba every again. While Pilate is well in her sixties, she prevails against Reba’s abuser, who is a strong young man.
Pilate is a representation of the close link to the people’s ancestry and Mother Nature. She is the crucial life force that strives to maintain the pedigree of the family above all other means. At the same time, Pilate’s complexion is extremely black, in which case it comes as a reminder of the African roots of the family. The deliberate choice of the Pilate (the blackest female) as the most powerful character for the novel underlines the ideology pertaining to the “Beauty of being a Negro”, a notion that was a fundamental pillar in the Harlem Renaissance.
One of the fundamental aspects of the story is the incorporation of folk songs, which also cement the nature of Pilate (Morrison, 22). Singing folk songs, pertaining to the Sugarman’s flight, reaffirm her stand against oppression through recreation of a past where her ancestors were expunged from the jaws of oppression. It is worth noting that the recreation of her past sustains the various characters living in the present. Milkman and Macon Jr. need Pilate so as to ensure that they retain the last vestiges pertaining to their humanity. As milkman comes to realize at the end of the journey, Pilate remains the only human being that has the capacity to fly without touching the ground. This implies that she is sufficiently liberated, in which case she does not have to run away so as to regain her freedom. In the end, Pilate becomes the model character of the story and novel. She shows the fact that strength does not necessarily have to be incorporated at the expense of humanity or gentleness. In addition, she exemplifies the fact that freedom never has to be compromised by the compassion of other people.
The existence of Pilate in the story is fundamental as it keeps matrilineal line alive especially considering her opposing values to the obsession with materialism. She attracts Milkman to her by the forbidden fruit pertaining to her knowledge (Morrison 24), which urges the young man to find out the truth about his ancestors. Pilate becomes the surrogate mother and spiritual guide to Milkman, thanks to her role in the creation and preservation of life. She inspires Macon because of her capacity to fly without detaching her feet from the ground (Morrison 25).
Names have also been seen as incredibly significant for the entire Dead Family thanks to their practice of choosing names in a random manner from the bible. Power is associated with the power to define and name perception and reality, especially in the case of Pilate’s attachment or connection to her name. She has even wired the name through her earlobe. Her acknowledgement of the crucial nature of a name, as well as the utilization of Sing’s box, underlines the fact that she connects the past and present using the unshakeable love necessary for creating the likelihood of a real future. It is only when she understands her past that she can establish a future worth admiring.
In conclusion, Toni Morrison has used Pilate as an embodiment of courage, strength, as well as love with Mother Nature and love for one’s cultural roots. The incorporation of folk songs reaffirms her stand against oppression through recreation of a past where her ancestors were expunged from the jaws of oppression. Toni incorporates various symbolic elements in the story, one of which is the perfectly, soft-boiled egg. Pilate, by splitting it up and giving riveting stories, is seen as someone who would strive to deal with any matter in a conclusive manner. The deliberate choice of the Pilate as the most powerful character for the novel, despite her extremely black complexion, underlines the ideology pertaining to the “Beauty of being a Negro”, a notion that was a fundamental pillar in the Harlem Renaissance.
Works cited
Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. London: Vintage, 1998, print
Marvin Ree’s Speech ‘How is Your City Tackling the Climate Crisis’
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Marvin Ree’s Speech ‘How is Your City Tackling the Climate Crisis’
The speaker of the TED Talk Speech is Marvin Rees, the Mayor of Bristol City in the United Kingdom. Published on May 24th, 2022, Rees addresses the climate crisis, positing that unlocking the full potential of cities is the only way to end the crisis. One of the techniques Rees uses to establish credibility is asserting his position as a Mayor of Bristol to his audience. He mentions that the proximity of the Mayors to residents means that they are immediately accountable for delivering change that people see and experience. He constantly reminds his audience that he is the Mayor to show that he is aware of the crisis that cities are under, seeing that he represents local government.
In terms of speech delivery, Rees employed various tactics that made his speech delivery successful. Rees appears rather composed and confident. His posture and body language indicate that he is well prepared for the speech and ready to address his audience. He is also well and smartly dressed, making him look presentable. Rees maintains eye contact with his audience as he meticulously delivers his speech. He also speaks eloquently and loudly, making it easy for his audience to hear what he is saying. Notably, there are no disfluencies in the speech; Rees speaks without breaking. He does not stammer or mince words; he is a fluent speaker. Evidently, Rees displayed confidence when delivering this speech to his audience.
The speaker, Marvin Rees employs an excellent language choice that befits his speech. To avoid repetitions, Rees uses the anaphora; pronoun ‘they’ repeatedly. He uses the word ‘they’ to refer to the Mayors that he keeps mentioning throughout the speech. He says that while the mayors are doing a commendable job coming together and taking necessary steps to change cities, they need outside help. He says that the support they need cannot wait as it is only to address the climate change crisis. Using anaphora helps eliminate redundancy that would have come with repeatedly mentioning ‘the mayors.’ The speaker does not use any form of personification, metaphors, similes, and alliteration. Rees avoids using inclusive language such as slang and other expressions that come off as discriminatory. It would not even be appropriate to use such language considering the setting and audience he is delivering the speech. Rees’s language choice proves effective in the delivery of the message he carries. If he employed inclusive language, he would rub his audience the wrong way, which might make them not pay attention to his speech.
In my viewpoint, Rees makes strong and valid point about how to go about the climate change crisis that currently faces the world. I agree with that cities are one of the most effective tools that society has at its disposal for leveraging climate change. He says that cities are perfect for leveraging efficiency in relation to land, waste, and energy. Rees makes valid points because these three sectors are the ones that contribute largely to the ongoing climate crisis that threatens the existence of future generations. Undoubtedly, cities are where air and noise pollution is a major problem. Cities also struggle with the problem of waste management due to the dense population. The fact that most people use cars to go to work means that energy is the main driver of the economy. Without oil and its rising shortage, demand keeps rising, making its production a priority that is not friendly to the environment. If people could move away from cities, the problem of congestion and waste management would be a problem of the past. Rees backs his claims with statistics. Statistics are logos that speakers use as tools of persuasion. He says besides his day job as the Mayor of Briton, he also has a duty to planet Earth and the 7.9 billion people that depend on it for survival. Another statistic is where he mentions that it would take 1.7 earths to make our current way of living sustainable. Throughout the speech, Rees throws in numerous statistics. The speaker also uses pathos in the speech when he says there is hope for our cities. This statement appeals to the audience’s emotion and makes them feel like together, we can come together and salvage the planet from the imminent danger it faces. As regards ethos, Rees mentions that he is part of the UK’s Cities Climate Investment Commission. His association with the commission is an attempt to establish curability and his position to speak on the issue of climate change. Undoubtedly, Rees’s arguments are relevant and make sense to the audience. The speaker fully thought about the consequence of his claims. His main aim was to educate his audience about how society can capitalize on cities to address the climate crisis. In his speech, he only made arguments that supported this claim.
Evidently, the speaker was ethical, and he achieved his overall goal of prompting his audience to look at cities as a solution to the climate change crisis. Rees seems to understand how deeply cities contribute to the problem seeing it is his area of expertise. As the mayor of Briton, Rees knows a lot concerning how city infrastructure, pollution, and waste management hurt the climate. He presents viable suggestions that, if capitalized, can go a long way in addressing this problem and reducing its effects. Overall, Ree’s speech was effective in passing his main claims across to his audience.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8duvJfrjss
Martin Luther King’s Letter from the Birmingham Jail
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Martin Luther King’s Letter from the Birmingham Jail
One of the known civil rights in the mid-20th century across the United States was Martin Luther King Jr, who was always willing to fight for the rights of the African Americans. King lead several peaceful demonstrations across the country with the aim of creating awareness on the suffering that Black Americans were going through and advocating for equality among races. His activisms lead to his arrest and detention in one of the Birmingham jails. While in jail, he received a condemnation letter from the white clergy who felt that his activities were not appropriate. In response, King decide to write a letter of letter to the Alabama white clergymen to condemn their speculations and expose how hypocritical they were and justifying in activism and actions in the pursuit for equal rights and an end to racial segregation.
From his letter, King was concerned that many people would not understand why he engaged in civil rights advocacy. At the moment, people would not relate his fight against racial segregations and even his fellow clergymen did not see his pursuit of equality as a noble idea. In his letter from the Birmingham jail, he outlined the various reasons why he was engaging in civil rights advocacy and wanted to appeal to all people to understand the need for racial equality. His letter did not in fact address the African Americans but it sought to answer the concerns raised by the six clergymen letter and appeal to moderate whites on the injustices that we being perpetuated.
Although King was really concerned about the accusations made by the six white clergymen, he used a diplomatic tone in responding to their letter with the aim of appealing to the moderates. King was certain that for his mission to succeed and ensure that racial profiling and segregation could come to an end, he ended to attract the support of the moderate whites. King considered this as a more achievable way through which he would be able to ensure that the aims of the civil rights advocacy groups would be achieved.
In his letter, King decided to use a Biblical analogy as this would be appealing to the clergymen and himself. A Biblical analogy made it possible for King to convince the white moderates of what his ambition was while he was in Birmingham. The clergymen whom King addressed the letter to would easily relate with a Biblical analogy as they he read and studied the Bible. The background of the clergymen would ensure that they understand why King was engaging in civil rights advocacy and acknowledge that his actions were aimed at achieving a general good for the whole community and country at large. According to King, ‘An injustice in one place was an injustice everywhere.’ King was focused on dismissing believes by the white Christians that the black people should wait for equal rights to manifest themselves in the society without having to take action to address racial segregation. He hoped that his audience would realize that the time to fight racial segregation and other injustices against the black Americans was now and each moral person needed to take action.
King’s letter was meant to advance the race debate and act as an eye opener for the white moderates on the need to join hands with civil rights advocacy groups in campaigning for equality. Although the tone was sincere and polite, King ensured that he would direct his sentiments to his target audience and ensure that they would be able to relate with his concerns personally. He used personal address when referring to the clergymen and this played a major role in ensuring that the target audience would relate with King’s concerns at a personal level.
References
Burrell, Kristopher B. “Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Greater Vision: Manually Bending the Arc of Time Towards Justice.” (2018).
Chenoweth, Erica, and Juliet Hooker. “The Civil Rights Movement and US Democracy: A Discussion of” Gospel of Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and the Struggle that Changed a Nation” By Jonathan Rieder.” (2014): 716-719.
Pierre-Louis, Gabriella, et al. “Rhetorical Analysis of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Panel Discusion.” (2015).
Rieder, Jonathan. Gospel of Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and the Struggle that Changed a Nation. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2014.