Interpretation of Postmodern Ethics in Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, the protagonist Milkman, a middle-class black man, embarks on a coming-of-age journey to search for his southern roots. Having grown up under a patriarchal and materialistic environment, he witnesses the silencing of women in his family, experiences anxious competition for wealth and status within the middle class, and faces the persistent marginalization of his racial identity in a white-dominated society. This leads him to face multiple dilemmas concerning identity, desire, and relationships. Meanwhile, his quest to discover the ancestral roots in the South prompts him to reconsider ethnic history, social hierarchies and gender dynamics, sparking introspection and prompting him to reconstruct his sense of self and ethics. This paper adopts a postmodern ethical viewpoint that centers on the interconnected dimensions of race, class, and gender to dismantle the opposing binaries between white and black communities, dominant and underprivileged groups, and men and women in Song of Solomon. It explores how individuals can develop a moral conscience and sense of ethical responsibility in the face of differences, rebuilding ethical relationships through caring for the “other”. Furthermore, transcending the traditional oppression-resistance paradigm, the study emphasizes the ethical philosophy of “embracing coexistence amidst differences,” offering a new theoretical perspective through which to understand ethical dilemmas in complex reality.