An Interesting Beginning

            Toni Morrison begins her book Song of Solomon in a very peculiar way. This is because most of the other books we have read so far begin in medias res, or right in the action. On the contrary, this work begins with an exposition, which illustrates the community and society of that particular section of the United States. I found it very interesting to observe the way Morrison starts to criticize that society right from the beginning. This can be seen when the narrator states, “At that time of day, during the middle of the week, word-of-mouth news just lumbered along. Children were in school; men were at work; and most of the women were fastening their corsets and getting ready to go see what tails or entrails the butcher might be giving away” (p. 3-4). This society gives the impression of being very monotonous and having no dynamic. The narrator presents this in a neutral tone, which can reflect certain discontent for this society which does not go out of its routine very often.

            Although the book has not yet explicitly made it clear, one of the major topics in the work is going to be racism and segregation. This can be depicted when the narrator states, “Town maps registered the street as Mains Avenue, but the only colored doctor in the city had lived and died on that street…” (p. 4). In this section of the book, the narrator alludes to the few educational and employment opportunities African American had in that time period and how surprising it was that even one African American made it to be a doctor. He even brings this to the extent of creating a street named in commemoration of this doctor. This is critical since it gives us a sense of how Morrison will deal with this topic and how will she give her insight on the theme through the exposition not only of the characters, but of the setting.