In Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, flying appears as a symbol of freedom, notably in the African legend of Solomon, who released his son Jake to falls into the hands of the evil Americans. slavery as he flew to freedom. Even though the story takes place in the post-slavery era, almost none of the characters manage to free themselves and take flight. The pursuit of the hopeful ideals developed during the civil rights movement almost seems to hold black characters back as much as slavery. They constantly lament about revenge, personal growth, wealth, education and love. As characters begin to gain wealth and power, some transform into greedy machines, living only to turn their labor into money and property. They free themselves from slavery and, at the same time, also gain what has always weighed on the wealthy population: money. While the American dream results in the search for a happy family, a home and a good job; many black characters pursue a slightly different "African American dream" that involves freedom and power. Many become so absorbed in their wealth that they become estranged from family, friends, and lovers. Although money seems to offer freedom in American culture, Morrison reveals the negative effects of the African American dream through Macon Jr., who shows how material goods quickly become a burden as he begins to value wealth more than his family or his people; as different as Guitar may seem, it also succumbs to this obsession and forgets its core values. Milkman, however, first experiences his father's path, but he ultimately realizes that true liberation can only be achieved by rejecting materialism in favor of freedom and following in Pilate's footsteps. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay Although Macon Dead Jr. is one of the richest black people in his town, he is dominated by his quest for more of wealth, regularly rejecting fundamental morals and losing sight of the value of relationships and human lives. As a teenager, Macon kills an old man out of fear, but quickly forgets his crime when he discovers that the man was hiding three bags of gold, dreaming of "life, security and luxury spread out before him like the spread of gold." a peacock.” » (170). This vision of a possible future overwhelms him, leading him to completely ignore the fact that he has just massacred a stranger. This materialistic culture in America often blinds people to everything except money, including the loss of human life. Pilate tries to persuade him to leave the gold behind by warning him against stealing, however, Macon simply responds, “It is not money; it's gold. This will keep us for life, Pilate. We can get another farm” (171). Although Macon is so young in this scene, he is already enchanted by the lure of gold, regardless of the possible consequences, such as guilt or arrest. He believes that gold can keep him “for life,” even though he might spend that life in prison. The two physically fight over this decision, leading to the dismantling of their relationship as siblings. When Macon Jr. later discovers that Milkman has visited Pilate, he tells him: "Pilate cannot teach you one thing that you can use in this world [...] Own things. And let the things you own own other things. Then you own yourself and others too (55). Macon's first advice to hisonly son, Milkman, is about money and property. He sums up his materialism in these few sentences, announcing his erroneous belief that only “the things one owns” can be useful in life. Macon Jr. also attempts to manipulate his teenage son into stealing from the family and solving one of his childhood adversities by stealing the gold. Macon also often decides that money is worth more than human lives in his workplace. When an old woman asks for an extension on her rent so she can feed her children, Macon responds: "Are they successful on the streets, Mrs. Bains?" That’s where they’ll be if you don’t find a way to get my money back” (21). Although Macon does not need the four dollars and would not benefit from putting Mrs. Bains and her family out of their home, his vision of greater wealth makes him callous and selfish. His greatest goal in life is to increase his wealth, which makes him emotionally "dead" when it comes to his relationships with his family, friends, and community. Like Macon Jr., Guitar becomes obsessed with having more gold, and to accomplish his intentions, he becomes violent, suspicious, and amoral. Guitar has illusions about what his life might be like after he and Milkman steal the bags of gold: "What he would buy for his grandmother and his brother, Uncle Billy [...] the marker that 'he would buy for his father's grave, 'rose with lilies carved on it; then stuff for his brother and sisters, and for his sisters’ children” (179). Guitar has barely started hatching a plan to steal the gold and is already excited about what he could get away with with it. Like Mâcon, he becomes blind to the crime he commits to acquire gold. He also violates human values ​​when he tells Milkman to steal from his aunt, even admitting how crazy he is becoming: "You can't get a pot of gold by being reasonable." No one can get gold if it's reasonable. You have to be unreasonable” (183). By recognizing that no "reasonable" person can become rich, Guitar justifies his actions regarding gold and rejects his basic moral principles, just as Macon Jr. did for the same bags of gold . The apparent association between wealth and power corrupts his thoughts and actions. Later, Guitar attempts to murder Milkman by wrapping a wire around his neck while he rests. When Milkman confronts Guitar and asks him why he did this, Guitar simply responds, "You took the gold [...] I saw you, motherfucker" (295). Guitar has become so paranoid about the gold that he believes his best friend stole him and his cause, and is now lying about it. Their longtime friendship became worthless to Guitar after his visions of a richer, more meaningful life transformed him. After stalking Milkman and seeing him help an old man lift a crate, Guitar cannot believe that Milkman would help someone out of the kindness of his heart and convinces himself that the crate is full of stolen gold. Guitar's visions of a better life derail his rationality and destroy his relationships, causing him to attempt to kill Milkman because Guitar believes Milkman is stopping him from accumulating money. Towards the beginning of the novel, Milkman imitates his father's selfish personality, however, he eventually realizes that liberation is not the result of excessive wealth but of freedom from material desire. When Guitar begins to speak about racial problems in America, Milkman reflects: "His life was pointless, aimless, and it was true that he didn't care much about other people. There was nothing he wanted enough to risk anything, to embarrass himself” (107). Although Milkman is black and racial issues should concern him, all he can do isthinking is himself and how he can live the easiest life possible. After his father told him he should own things and gave him a job in his rent collection office, fourteen-year-old Milkman believes, "Milkman's life improved immensely after he started working for Macon” (56). He believes his father's advice and begins his journey towards owning things. Milkman thinks that living like his father is much more beneficial than living like Pilate, so he continues doing boring work to earn money. However, when Milkman is a little older and plotting to steal gold with Guitar, he finds himself thinking of a different kind of gratification: "Because his life wasn't unpleasant and it had even a certain luxury in addition to his comfort, he felt bad. center. He just wanted to take a path away from his parents' past, which is also their present and which threatened to also become his present" (180). Milkman begins to move away from the hypnotic nature of gold that his family and Guitar fell in love with, realizing that he has enough indulgence in his life and instead seeks freedom from a life like that of his parents: unpleasant, mediocre and insatiable. He realizes that ownership is not the key to power and that the Dream blinds people to what is truly important. Milkman finally understands that liberation from a boring but rich life like his father's can come by freeing himself from materialism. As one of the only characters not limited by materialism, Pilate avoids many of the difficulties that the others face by deciding to free himself from materialism. desire and desire. Her salvation comes when she decides to start her life over and tackles "the problem of trying to decide how she wanted to live and what was valuable to her" (149). Pilate begins to free herself when she decides to change her lifestyle; she goes from becoming grounded by the isolation she faces due to her lack of a navel to rethinking what really matters in her life. It creates a goal much greater than Macon and Guitar's desires for accumulation: gratification. She then asks herself: “What do I need to stay alive? What is true in the world? and abandons “any interest in table manners or hygiene, but acquires a deep concern for human relationships (149). Starting from square one, Pilate realizes that to be free, she must have "a deep concern for human relationships" and care about others, rather than just herself and money. Pilate does not allow himself to be drawn in by seductive visions of freedom and property and avoids the suffering that many characters face as a result of their materialism. Pilate also chose viticulture to earn a living because it "gave her more freedom, hour after hour and day after day, than any other work than a woman without resources and without inclination to make love for money could choose” (150). Although his work is nothing extraordinary, Pilate manages to earn enough money to survive and maintain his dignity. This job also allows her to have freedom in her schedule and to buy what she needs, not what she wants on a whim. When Milkman first meets her, he notices that "even though she looked as poor as everyone said, there was something missing in her eyes that should have confirmed it." It wasn't dirty either; neglected, yes, but not dirty” (39). For Milkman, the “something” that was missing was probably an air of doom that he associated with poverty. Although other characters assume that Pilate must struggle and lose his..