History As Fiction 2022 Posts

Song of Solomon: Milkman's Identity

The Song of Solomon definitely caught us off guard at first; there was so much going on to say the least. I think the most perplexing character is Milkman, because up until the more recent chapters he was the only character that didn't really have much of anything going on. He was in the same limbo state that we saw with Clarissa Dalloway, he is middle aged and is kind of settling for life. It's too late for him to really choose a career path, yet he's not necessarily happy with the way things are going for him now. Most of the time his identity is attached to that of his father or from the unfortunate nickname of Milkman. However, we see some sort of shift in him when he begins to travel and learn about his family. Milkman begins to discover his identity when he leaves to travel alone. Towards the start of his journey he still has an identity that is tied to his father, but his outlook on the gold changes. However, it's still significant to note that while he is travel...

Invisible Man: puppet on a string

Throughout Invisible Man, Ellison hides many metaphors that relate to the narrators life. From the reoccurring theme of running to the coin bank at Marry's, but one particularly interesting one was the doll that pops up before the climax of the book. He stumbles upon Clifton (who he doesn't notice till later) advertising and selling racist puppet dolls. Like everyone else, the narrator finds himself sucked into the doll fascinated with how it moves, he doesn't even realize Clifton is the one selling the dolls nor does he get upset that they're racist dolls. The police eventually come and everyone runs away and the narrator grabs a doll off the ground later putting it into his brief case (another reoccurring metaphor). Upon picking it up he finally realizes how the doll was able to move, it had tiny black strings which Clifton were using to move it in such a way. This scene essentially creates a puppet on a string metaphor. In many ways, the Narrator is the puppet on t...

Their Eyes Were Watching God: Tea Cake??

Throughout Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the protagonist Janie endures two failed marriages. Her first partner Logan Killicks, she was forced into marrying at the age of only 16. He was the safe choice according to nanny; he had land and a stable income so Janie would never have to worry about life on the street. However, Janie was unappreciated and completely un-attracted to him and runs away with Joe Starks. The beginning of their time together was promising, he wanted to treat her right and she was practically royalty as the mayors wife. However, over time Janie was forced to become more and more isolated and couldn't live the free life she wanted, and eventually Joe grew violent with her. After his death, she wants to be an independent woman and live life for herself. In the mean time, she curves men left and right, all wanting to be her business partner and marry her. This all changes unexpectedly when Tea Cake comes walking into Janies store one d...

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