From the very start of Song
of Solomon, death is present. The obvious side to this includes the physical
deaths, like with Robert Smith or the man in the cave. The complex side regards the Dead family. Dead is literally the
family’s last name, yet they are alive. Or are they?
In the family,
Macon is arguably the “deadest” in the emotional sense. Watching his father get shot led him to separate from his past and start a new life filled with money
and an intense desire to be above others. When his father died, a part of Macon died
with him. Losing a loved one traumatized him so much that it might be the
reason why he feels no empathy or strong emotion towards anybody, including
his own wife. Speaking of his wife, Ruth Dead also lost a part of herself when her
father, supposedly the only person that truly cared for her, died. Ruth aimlessly drags her feet through life with the constant reminder that nobody loves her, especially when Macon expresses his distaste for her without remorse. In contrast
to Macon and his wife, Pilate is the most “alive” member of the divergent family. Pilate is
a determined woman who found her identity and owns it respectively. In spite of the liveliness in Pilate’s life, death is still weaved into her, though she pushes past the darkness and runs her own life. Her first and last name has to do with death. She also has a dead man’s remains hanging in a sack above her head, for crying out loud.
Overall,
the purpose of death as an underlying theme in the book creates an interesting
effect. Similar to the book, it’s something that stirs up events in our own lives, lurking around us and striking irregularly. Death is one of the only
things that everyone faces, no matter the skin color.
