song of solomon

The Icarus Myth in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon Throughout literature it has been common for authors to use allusions to complement recurrent motifs in their work. In Toni Morrison's Song Of Solomon, Milkman learns that his desire to fly has been passed down to him from his ancestor Solomon. As Milkman is figuring out the puzzle of his ancestry, he realizes that when Solomon tried to take his youngest son, Jake, flying with him, …

…opinion, the most interesting comparison is between Solomon to Daedalus, and Jake to Icarus. At the end of the novel, as Milkman soars from one plateau to the next, we realize that even if he can never fly away from his problems as Solomon and Daedalus could, his fantasy has already been fulfilled through the knowledge that he has learned to face his problems head on instead of simply mastering the art of escape- flying.