From Initiation to Redemption in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon

Abstract

Morrison’s intent to render a quest narrative permeated with specific archetypal symbols can be viewed as a twofold enterprise: by engaging the readers in their own quest for the complex meaning of her narrative, Morrison also initiates the readers into the ritual of her own creative process. The readers, involuntarily, become active participants in the (re)creation of the myth, analogously with the traditional African-American call-and-response rhetorical pattern which makes the narration a communal event. Thus, the dynamic narrative structure of Song of Solomon is essentially based on the complexity of various initiation rituals.