Expert's Opinion on Song of Solomon - Bondonno

The excerpt from Ralph Story, “An Excursion into the Black World: The ‘Seven Days’ in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon” was intriguing. Story explained the writing styles of Morrison and how well she placed each scene to fit historical facts. Story shows how much he admires Morrison for writing with such historical accuracy and reason rather than from a standpoint of revenge. Story writes, “Toni Morrison’s masterwork Song of Solomon (1977), perhaps the greatest novel ever written by an Afro-American… “ in the first sentence to start off the excerpt with a clear admiration for Morrison and the way she writes. Story then goes on to explain some specific examples of what he really liked about her writing in Song of Solomon. “Morrison reaches into the Black historical community and it’s contemporary equivalent to reveal a dissonance which has always characterized the Afro-American world.” Here Story explains how she can allow the book to relate to many African Americans about their past and how she uses that knowledge and understanding to reach out to that community through her book by using historically correct situations or characterizations. I agree with Story about this because I did realize how many of the events in the novel seemed realistic or relevant to how African Americans back then thought about Whites, and how they were treated by Whites. Story also points out that, “The barbershop is the one place in both of Morrison’s novel and actual Black communities where black males speak openly and candidly. In the late 1960’s, black barbershops were also noteworthy for the political discussions which frequently took place in them.” Here Story makes a connection between Morrison’s writing and what happened historically to point out how well she did her research and tried to make her book very historically accurate. She did this to relate to many African Americans and their past, and to connect with them on a deeper level. When the news argument had taken place in a barbershop, I thought that it was an appropriate place to have a casual and heated discussion without fear of a riot. It sounded like a realistic place too that was historically accurate, and now that I know it is, it makes sense and really helped the reader connect to the conversation. Overall, I agreed with Story about how Morrison’s writing style sounded informing, historically accurate, and it allowed the reader to have a deeper understanding and connection to the story.