Song of Solomon: Milkman Dead - Respecting and Listening to Women In Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, Milkman Dead becomes a man by learning to respect and to listen to women. In the first part of the novel, he emulates his father, by being deaf to women's wisdom and women's needs, and casuall...

Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon is the story of Milkman's search for self. Milkman appears destined for a life of isolation and self-alienation. The Deads exemplify the patriarchal, nuclear family that has been a stable and critical feature of American society. The family is the institution for...