The desire for cultural identity is explored in Song of Solomon. It depicts the storey of Macon "Milkman" Dead, a young man alienated from himself and distant from his family, community, and historical and cultural roots, and is based on an African-American folktale about enslaved Africans who escape enslavement by flying back to Africa. Milkman is psychologically imprisoned and spiritually dead, but he embarks on a physical and spiritual trip with the help of his eccentric aunt, Pilate, and his best friend, Guitar Bains, that allows him to reconnect with his history and understand his self-worth.
Song of Solomon takes place over a thirty-year period. There are two components to the narration. Part I (Chapters 1-9) takes place in an unknown Michigan town, most likely Detroit. It focuses on Milkman's spiritually empty, aimless life as a young man caught between his father's worldly lifestyle and Pilate's traditional ideals from birth to age thirty-two. These chapters are interlaced with flashbacks to the pasts of several individuals. Milkman's father, Macon, and sister, Pilate, ran away from home after their father was murdered for defending his farm. However, following a quarrel, they each went their separate ways. Despite the fact that both Macon and Pilate find up in the same unnamed Michigan town, Macon refuses to speak to his sister, whom he believes is a disgrace to his social status in the community. Milkman's resolve to depart Michigan in quest of Pilate's illusory riches — Milkman's "inheritance" — which Macon is certain his sister stashed in one of the many places she resided previous to coming to Michigan concludes this section.
Part II (Chapters 10-15) opens with Milkman's arrival in Danville, Pennsylvania, where his paternal grandfather had constructed the near-mythological Lincoln's Heaven, a successful farm for which he was murdered. Milkman traces his ancestry to the fictional town of Shalimar, Virginia, where he meets his father's "people" and discovers the true spiritual meaning of his inheritance. Unable to find Pilate's gold in Danville and prompted by the mysterious stories surrounding his ancestors, Milkman traces his ancestry to the fictional town of Shalimar, Virginia, where he meets his father's "people" and discovers the true spiritual meaning of his inheritance. Milkman's "flight" across Solomon's Leap is at the heart of the novel's enigmatic conclusion.
