Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison, explores how each character searches for something, and the novel examines how they cope when they cannot find it. In the novel, many characters are trapped by their materialistic desires. The need to satisfy these desires erodes their soul, making them bitter. For some of these characters, their wants and needs come in the form of gold. Song of Solomon examines the human condition of being trapped physically, spiritually, and financially through the classic symbol of desire, gold. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The protagonist, Milkman, is trapped physically and mentally. He feels like his life has no meaning and that if he could leave his situation on Not Doctor Street he could be happy. Ever since he was little, Milkman wanted freedom and to escape his life, or to “fly away.” He becomes sad and isolated from his friends and later, isolated from his family. He feels like his future is defined by the events of his past and is constantly troubled by the problems of others. He believes that he has done nothing to deserve the burden of knowledge that people have given him and that he is too deep within himself to appreciate the love that his family members give him. His desire to escape his life is shown when Morrison states: "He wanted money - desperately, he believed - but apart from making tracks out of town, away from Not Doctor Street, Sonny's Shop, Mary's Place and Hagar, he could not imagine a life so different from the one he had had. New people. New places. Order. It was all he wanted in his life” (179, 180). Milkman finally finds an opportunity to escape with his life thanks to his Aunt Pilate's gold. For Milkman, gold represents what he has always wanted, freedom and escape. This is demonstrated when Morrison describes Milkman and Guitar's first encounter with what they thought was gold: "They both saw it [the bag of gold] at the same time. It hung heavily, green like the green of Easter eggs left in the dye too long. And like Easter, it promised everything: the resurrected Son and the unique desire of the heart” (185). The idea of ​​satisfying this desire and achieving happiness makes Milkman selfish and cruel, leading him to betray his beloved aunt by stealing from her. When he discovers that Pilate does not have the gold, he sets off on a journey to find it wherever he lies along the way. After gaining a sense of identity, the journey is more about breaking free mentally than finding the gold and escaping physically. He has an epiphany where he is overcome with happiness and realizes that he no longer desires to escape the problems of his family or his life, and in the same way, he gives up on finding the gold. This is described by Morrison's quote: "[He] felt a sudden rush of affection for them all...Apparently he thought he deserved only to be loved - from a distance, however - and in view of what 'he wanted... Maybe all he was really saying was: I am not responsible for your pain, share with me your happiness but not your unhappiness' (278). At the end of the novel, Milkman never finds the gold, but gains a new identity when he realizes that the freedom that gold can bring him is not worth the betrayal necessary to obtain it. Milkman's experience supports the symbolism of gold for his worldly desires, as his need for gold disappears just as his search for happiness ends. When he lets go of what weighs him down, he is finally able to fly. However, other characters are not as fortunate as Milkman in letting go of the worldly desires that trap them. Guitar,Milkman's best friend growing up, is short of money. He lives in poverty on the south side of the city and wants so much to escape and live a richer life. He compares himself to rich white people who murder innocent African Americans and doesn't understand how his situation is fair. He says, “[E]veryone wants the life of a black man...Fairness is one more thing I have given up” (Morrison 222, 224). These internal and external conflicts eat away at him and he sees no other way to deal with them than to become a murderer. Like Milkman, he sees gold as an opportunity to free himself through the wealth it can bring him. This is demonstrated when Morrison writes: "...he [Milkman] wondered if Guitar simply couldn't resist the lure of something he never had: money" (180). He tells Milkman about all the things gold can buy him, not knowing that gold will lead him to attack his best friend. His point of view is ironic because one day, while giving advice to Milkman, he says: “[A]ll these jewels weigh [the peacock[…Nobody can fly with all this shit. You want to fly, you gotta let go of the shit that weighs you down” (179). His view shows that, like the peacock's tail, materialistic desires weigh on your soul and you must give them up to be free. This contradicts his obsession with wealth, which eventually weighs him down to the point of murder and betrayal. When Milkman gives up on finding the gold, Guitar continues. Ultimately, Guitar remains trapped by his greed and obsession with improving his life financially through gold, which comes to a head when he kills Pilate. Macon Dead, Milkman's father, is a slave to his desire for property and power, which makes him spiritually trapped. A humble farm boy turned wealthy real estate agent, he is bitter about his past. After witnessing his father's murder as a child, he runs away to where he finds gold, beginning his desire for wealth and power that will last for the rest of his life. “Gold… Life and security and luxury spread before him like the outstretched tail of a peacock, and as he stood there, trying to distinguish each delicious color, he saw his father's dusty boots standing right across the street. shallow pit… Pilate rushed around the cave calling, looking for him, while Macon piled the bags of gold into the tarpaulin” (170, 171), describes his transformation from a humble farm boy to a money-hungry man trapped by his desire. for property and prosperity. As the quote describes, Macon is indifferent to the ghost of his father whom he claimed to care so much about. Although he believes that wealth will be the solution to all his problems, it actually isolates him from his family and the people who love him. The traumatic event of his father's murder changed him, as Morrison describes what she writes: "[T]he numbness that had settled over him when he saw the man he loved and admired fall from the fence; something wild passed through him as he watched his body tremble in the earth” (50, 51). This, combined with his desire for money, his wife's father's rejection, and later, seeing his wife kiss her father's dead fingers, makes Macon a cold, heartless, and broken man. He is trapped by his sadness, anger and lust for power, making him spiritually disconnected from love, his family and the intangible things of life. When the possibility of obtaining gold resurfaces, he is naturally attracted and supports the project. steal his own sister, Pilate. The prosperity that gold could bring him is just another form of psychological imprisonment for Macon, pushing him further from his sister and from love. His need for gold is stronger than his need for love, family and..