Names

Every once in a while, a novelist decides to become mysterious and deep in the naming of his characters. Tony Morrison, in Song of Solomon, dedicates a significant piece of the first pages describing a vast repertoire of characters and establishing ways to refer to each one of them. In some cases she includes names, in others their professions and even in some the activities they are currently undertaking. From the first character, the “North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance agent” the reader knows how significant the character’s names, professions and activities will be for the novel (3). This reminded me of José Saramago’s Blindness, due to the way in which he too, refers to the characters by their professions (the doctor, the doctor’s wife, the first blind, the thief, etc.).

Furthermore, Morrison uses references to the character’s activities for comical purposes. We are sometimes introduced to characters to only make some comment about the absurdity of the character’s situation: “the cat-eyed boy listened to the musical performance with at least as much interest as he devoted to the man flipping his wings on top of the hospital” (8). Notice how the author refers to the boy as the “cat-eyed boy” accentuating his intriguing look and his physical appearance. The same happens with the woman who begins singing in the street and the insurance agent who is further described by the different characters. The author uses different characters to narrate the story, making it more credible or complete as each of the individuals provide specific details of what’s going on.

Likewise, by using descriptions instead of names for some of the characters, allows the reader to identify which character takes what role in his family and community. For example, we are introduced to Ruth’s baby as the “deep” or “peculiar” one. Later on in the chapter, when Freddie interrupts Ruth while she breastfeeds her son and lets him fall out of surprise, we learn that “he had begun to suspect – that these afternoons were strange and wrong” (14). The reader must take into account these descriptions which foreshadow the role of the characters. The baby will possibly act as the critic of the families decisions, a voice of understanding and serenity in what appears to be an irrational and difficult situation. So far in the book the author hasn’t revealed a major motif, a protagonist of the story, a key to understanding the novel. So far, we get names.