One
of the most interesting questions that Mr. Leff proposed in Freshman History was
whether or not it was a mistake for humans to make the transition from small
hunting and gathering tribes to large agricultural societies. One common
argument is that in such a hunter-gatherer society, everyone depends on
everyone else, and so there is a much greater sense of community. Crime is
almost non-existent, and since all property is communal, no one is rich or
poor. Everyone is equal, and there is almost no cause for envy, jealousy, or
anger among the people in the tribe.
While
this is a fairly romanticized view, I still find it to be an interesting
concept, and even today, many people, such as religious ascetics, take it to
heart. I was reminded quite strongly of it near the end of Song of Solomon, where we are introduced to the village of
Shalimar, which seems to be the quintessential example of what used to be a
traditional community being tugged into the modern day and age. Throughout
Milkman’s time there, Toni Morrison portrays it as having a lot of the romantic
characteristics of hunter-gatherer society. First of all, everyone claims to be
a descendent of the original Solomon, and the atmosphere of the village does
feel like one big family. The adults know and respect one another, and the
children play happily together. As an all-black community, they also don’t have
to deal with racial discrimination and violence as much as they would have had
to in a big city in the south. Susan Byrd herself says that Shalimar “is a dull
place (…). There’s absolutely nothing in the world going on [there]. Not a thing”
(325). In this case, she is saying it by way of an excuse for Grace Long
stealing Milkman’s watch, but it felt to me like many of the villagers
appreciate this. Nothing going on implies that there is no crime and not many
problems, something very rare in modern society.
This
becomes even clearer when Milkman arrives. As a well-off, big-city northerner, the
villagers in Shalimar see him as a representation of the “revolutionary” new
American society that is disturbing their peaceful lives, filled with racial
discrimination and crime. When he does nothing in Saul’s store to disprove
their stereotype, their resentment boils over, and they get into a fight. After
he comes hunting with them, however, they warm up to him, as they realize that
he is willing to take part in their activities, and that he does not want to
impose his culture upon them. They welcome him into their community and for the
first time, he feels that he really belongs somewhere. It is this sense of
belonging, in my opinion, that makes him so happy when he realizes that these
people are part of his family, and what leaves him bouncing with joy as he
rushes home to tell Pilate and Macon.
