Tom Clark

Mrs. Posey

AP English Lang/Comp

Song of Solomon Rough Draft

The Song of Richard Smith

The Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison is a story of overwhelming

segregation and oppression. This specific passage of The Song of Solomon is

effective in setting up this grim scene. The work at first seems to be a story of

a tragic suicide, but soon evolves in to something much more. Toni Morrison

combines diction, irony, and varying structure to convey a deeper meaning in

The Song of Solomon.

To begin, The Song of Solomon uses varying diction to help create a

deeper meaning. Through distant, removed language, Morrison demonstrates

the desperation and isolated lifestyle of the black community. From the initial

sentence, Morrison sets this distant mood: “ The North Carolina Mutual Life

Insurance Agent promised to fly from Mercy to the other side of Lake

Superior at three o’ clock” (Morrison 43). This piece of diction, intended to

describe a suicide, uses emotionless language to remove the feelings of

sorrow, remorse, and sadness usually associated with someone taking their

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own life. Throughout the work, the suicide is referred to as “the event,” once

again removing the edginess and anticipation from the true nature of the

event. The piece occasionally goes off on long tangents, such as the

description of Not-Doctor Street, drawing suspense away from the suicide

atop the hospital. The note left by Mr. Smith prior to his suicide gives the

impression that Mr. Smith is simply traveling over the lake, not plummeting

to his death. The suicide of Robert Smith is also symbolic of his irrelevant

role in the community. This is first inferred by his name, Robert Smith, a

generic, unimportant insurance agent. Morrison successfully removes the

personal aspect of the suicide, as Robert’s name removes any personality

from his character. This is contradictory to his role as Christ figure in the

black community, with his death allowing others to live. Morrison’s strategic

word choice creates a distant, removed tone in the initial pages of her book.

Next, the piece utilizes various forms of irony to convey a deeper

meaning. Mercy hospital, a symbol of white oppression over the black

community, suppresses the health and rights of the people of Not-Doctor

Street. The title of the hospital itself, Mercy, symbolizes mercy from poverty,

oppression, and segregation. This is ironic as the community is intentionally

denied mercy from the suppressed lifestyle they lead. Irony is again utilized

by the contradictory title of Robert Smith, as a North Carolina Mutual Life

Insurance Agent. Smith is doing the opposite of what his title suggests, taking

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his own life. However, Smith is indeed insuring the lives of others, as his

suicide allows black mothers to give birth inside the hospital. Another

instance of irony is the suicide itself. The description of the suicide is mixed

in with descriptions of daily life in the black community. This causes the

suicide to seem irrelevant. This is Ironic as the suicide of Robert Smith is a

liberating action, freeing the black community from the discrimination of

Mercy hospital. However, this Christ-like action goes virtually unnoticed by

the relevant members of the black community. The use of irony is the early

portion of the reading allows for Morrison to give multiple, significant

meanings in relatively few words.

Lastly, the sentence structure of the two notes demonstrates the polar

opposite attitudes of the black and white communities. The first note, the

suicide note of Robert Smith, uses one powerful, unspecific sentence followed

by two short, emotional sentences. The note is full of genuine emotion,

concern, and remorse: “Please forgive me. I loved you all” (43). The note

conveys both the desperate, smothered lifestyle of the black community, as

well as their desire for freedom: “I will take off from Mercy and fly away on

my own wings”(43). Smith uses language not usually associated with taking

ones own life; expressing his desire to be away from the impoverished life he

has always known. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the note from the

white city administration epitomizes the prejudiced attitude of the whites.

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The note uses overly pretentious language in an almost mocking fashion,

removing the sense of identity from the black community. The city

administration made it very clear that any sense of black ownership, no

matter how small, would not be tolerated. The note is the exact opposite of

the suicide note, using long, emotionless sentences filled with pretentious

language. The variety between the two notes again demonstrates the drastic

differences between the two communities. Morrison’s sentence structure is

another tool used to demonstrate the opposite worlds of the black and white

communities.

Toni Morrison’s syntax creates deeper meaning in the story. Her

diction sets the mood by pulling emotion out of Robert Smith’s suicide.

Additionally, the use of irony emphasizes the segregation of the black people.

Finally, Her sentence structure contrasts the difference between the black

and white communities. Through clever syntax, Toni Morrison is able to give

multiple meanings in The Song of Solomon.

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