Milkman’s Loss of Cultural Identity in Song of Solomon

Abstract

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison presents the confused, miserable, and depressed living conditions of marginalized African Americans in the society dominated by the white, focusing on the quest of Milkman Dead, the protagonist in the novel. Based on Stuart Hall’s theory of cultural identity, this paper intends to probe into Milkman’s loss of cultural identity by focusing on the control from the dominant white society, the loss of black culture and the alienation from family history.