On The Signification In Song Of Solomon

Toni Morrison is universally recognized as one of the greatest African American writers in the twentieth century.Although she received the American pattern of education,she adheres to the signifying tradition in African American literature. According to Henry Louis Gates,Jr.African American literary works signify on other texts.Slave narrative is the earliest written art form that uses the rhetorical strategy of signification.Morrison also uses this technique in her novels.Based on the theory of the"Signifying Monkey"generated by Gates,this thesis aims to study the Signification in Morrison's third novel Song of Solomon.This thesis examines the novel's repetition and revision of the tropes and of language-use in slave narratives, and its repetition and revision of the characterization in her first novel,The Bluest Eye. And the thesis comes to the conclusion that Morrison makes great contributions to African American literature by signifying on slave narratives and her own works.Her practice of signifying on slave narratives and her own works demonstrates her view of history.In order to understand and reconstruct the present,African American people need to remember the historical period when their African ancestors were enslaved.The introduction discusses the importance of slave narratives in African American literary tradition and points out Morrison's preference for this traditional art form and her efforts at fitting her language to the characters.By adopting Gates's theory,the metaphorical reference of images and the conflicts of African American people's self-construction in the western society can be well interpreted.The first chapter summarizes the theoretical basis and application of Gates's theory.The mythic archetype of his theory is from the Yoruba myth about Esu who interprets gods' metaphorical divinations with metaphorical poems on the one hand, and the African American folktales about the Signifying Monkey who tricks the Lion and the Elephant on the other hand.Beside these myths,Gates's theory also develops from but differs from modern linguistics.Gates's theory provides an approach to study the how generations of African American writers repeat and revise the shared tropes and give different interpretations of these tropes in their literary works.Gates's theory can also be used in studying how the African American literary works echo European American writers' works.The second chapter focuses on the repetition and revision of the images in slave narratives.The first section discusses the role of Milkman.He signifies upon the image of flying in Yoruba mythology and in slave narrative.Ex-slave narrators account in details their journey to freedom and express their wishes to fly or die for freedom.In Song of Solomon,Milkman chooses to escape from the community at first.However, he takes the path to the south,recalls the track his ancestors take to the north,and identifies with his ancestor at last.Milkman also signifies upon the image of Esu in the Yoruba myth.They share the same physical feature of limping and both serve as the nexus.Milkman links all the characters in the novel and links the present to the past. The second section argues that the image of the palm-nuts which represents wisdom in the mythology about Esu and in slave narratives is repeated and revised into the image of Pilate,a wise ancestor.The third section examines the signification of the trope of the Talking Book.In Song of Solomon,the Talking Book is revised into the song about Solomon,a book that is unwritten and indeed talks to the African descendants.The song embodies the oral literature in African American tradition.At last Milkman learns the family history and involves himself emotionally in the tradition.After that he can inherit the signifying tradition in African American culture.Through Milkman, Morrison expresses her idea that the African American people cannot forget the history under slavery system.She suggests that African American people can only reconstruct the present by understanding the history and inheriting their tradition.The third chapter focuses on the repetition and revision of slave language structure.Free direct speech revises the modes of direct speech and indirect speech in slave narratives.The blurring of the indirect narration by the narrator and the direct speech of the characters arouses the reader's emotional involvement in the novel with imagination.And through understatement and chiasmus,the language of this novel serves as the indirect way to reach the aim of social criticism.The fourth chapter examines Morrison's tendency towards self-signifying. Milkman's self-construction signifies on Pecola's self-construction in The Bluest Eye. By depicting the characters' self-construction under the influence of people in the community,Morrison aims to explore African American people's self-construction in the western society. The conclusion summarizes Morrison's practice of the signifying tradition in Song of Solomon and her purpose of signifying on slave narratives and her own works. Morrison aims to make African American people realize that understanding history is the best way to construct the present.