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Twentieth century behind us....

With the twentieth century behind us, I have looked back and tried to piece together themes that stretch over all of the books that we have read. Probably the most overarching theme of the course is one of unrequited love - love that is one sided, whether romantic or not. 

I think that the most heightened instance of this theme would be the relationship between Hagar and Milkman. She was driven crazy from the denial that she felt from the way that milkman treated her as well as how he ended things. There is no doubt that Hagar's love was never rewarded or even remotely returned. Milkman was the relief from another instance in Song of Solomon, the relationship between Macon and Ruth, even Ruth and her father. Contentious love manifested character relations in other books as well: Antoinette and Rochester, Jake and Brett, Meursault and his mother. While not all of the relationships listed above were romantic, they all share a single party that was left in the dust by the other character, causing eventual strife.

As discussed in class today, flight was another theme that we have seen outside of Song of Solomon, It is a theme that not only brings milkman's "journey" to fruition, but also marks the beginning of Wide Sargasso Sea. Flight in both cases has meant (at least) independence, a release from the shackles of the home and the people in it. Milkmans final leap was without thought, it was a decision that was right in the moment no matter the consequences. This was a similar mindset to the one that prompted the four shots fired by Meursault. It was in moments like these where the characters strayed from their usual apathetic nature and made a decision that would change their life. We see this dynamic again in Song of Solomon, when Milkman is critiquing how serious people are about things around them. He finds their commitment to things slightly crazy, yet in the end he is driven by his deep interest. 

There were several things that came up over and over again, there was a deep sense of cohesion in all of the stories. Even though they took place all over the world, there were instances that seemed to be defined purely based on the time - whether unrequited love, flight, or split second decisions. Ultimately, I think that Song of Solomon encompasses many of the more obscure themes that we have seen in the other books that we have read this semester, and was a really good book to end the course with!                           

Comments

  1. isabella solisDecember 19, 2017 at 4:47 PM

    I also did a retrospective! Mine was about sympathizing with characters, but I very well could have done it on love. I like the parallel you drew between Wide Sargasso Sea and Song of Solomon, I felt like those two books were the most similar thematically out of this class.

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  2. Annemily HogansonDecember 22, 2017 at 8:22 AM

    I think these themes also show up in Mrs. Dalloway. There is unrequited love between Richard and Clarissa and Peter and Clarissa. Septimus' suicide connects to the theme of flight since he literally falls and it was a decision made in a moment with huge consequences.

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