Milkman's Flight In Song Of Solomon

Words: 292
Pages: 2

For the long period of time during which Milkman doubts the possibility of human flight, he remains abnormal in the eyes of his community. Because Pilate, as Milkman notes, is able to fly without ever lifting her feet off the ground, she has mastered flight, managing to be free of subjugation without leaving anyone behind.

Morrison’s extensive use of flying as a literal and not just metaphorical event pushes Song of Solomon toward the genre of magical realism. While Milkman’s flight from Michigan frees him from the dead environment of Not Doctor Street, his flight is also selfish because it causes Hagar to die of heartbreak. Only when he begins to believe in the reality of flight does he cease to feel alienated. The novel’s characters accept