Racism In Song Of Solomon

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In Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison offers a commentary on race and how it affected the lives of black people in the mid-20th century. Morrison explores the theme of racism primarily through Milkman Dead and Guitar Bains. Milkman is born into a wealthy family, while his best friend, Guitar, is born into poverty. This stark contrast in wealth creates a dissonance between these characters’ thoughts and their interactions with other characters in the novel. By following the lives of Milkman and Guitar, Morrison argues that wealth has the ability to displace someone from their own race. Guitar Bains grows up poor and fatherless. His poverty is a point of ridicule, used by wealthier folk to act condescendingly and pityingly upon him. Guitar is exposed to this at an early age, his interaction with his father’s white boss leaving the strongest impression on him: “Since I was little. Since my father got sliced up in a sawmill and his boss came by and gave us kids some candy” (61). Receiving candy as a form of compensation for his father’s unjust death is representative of the meaningless value white society places on him and his family as African Americans. …show more content…
Be it increased privilege or societal outcasting, there are always consequences to having--or not having--money. Through Song of Solomon, it is clear that money can transcend race and, in a way, change what racial group one belongs to in society. Parallels can be drawn to the present day, where society treats people very differently just based off of their clothing--general markers of economic status. However, it is dangerous to label people by their wealth, and to tether such a complex variable with one even more nuanced and sensitive such as race is bound to divide any society. It is only by reconciling our differences and using our privilege (whether it be financial or racial) to give a voice to marginalized groups that we can peacefully

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