The End of an Adventure

           I just finished Reading the book Song of Solomon, a truly peculiar and interesting novel that touched various controversial topics and allowed us to see Morrison’s insight on them through the characters in the book. I found it surprising to see that there was really no approach to the ending of the book. What I mean is that most books start leading their story towards an ending in a smooth and progressive manner. Song of Solomon, on the contrary, ends very abruptly with Milkman leaping towards Guitar. This can be observed when the narrator states, “Without wiping away the tears, taking a deep breath, or even bending his knees-he leaped. As fleet and bright as a lodestar he wheeled toward Guitar and it did not matter which one of them would give up his ghost in the killing arms of his brother” (p. 337). It is not very clear which one of them got killed or if both were killed, or even if none were killed. This ambiguity at the end of the novel allows the reader to imagine the rest of the story and ponder about its ending.

            In addition, I found it very interesting to observe the way in which Morrison is able to relate the ending of the book to the beginning. She connects Milkman’s final leap towards Guitar with Mr. Smith’s suicidal attempt in the beginning of the novel. This concludes the whole story by making the reader remember the beginning of the book and how the whole story started. I believe this is very important because it makes the reader reflect upon the whole story, not just the ending. Morrison’s objective in writing this novel is to use Milkman’s life as a symbol for the life of many other African-Americans who have had to struggle and face numerous challenges. Throughout the protagonist’s life, Morrison is able to cover many situations and critic certain aspects of society that she believes have shaped not only culture, but many individuals.