"A dead man ain't no man. A dead man is a corpse. That's all. A corpse" said by Freddie (pg. 81).  As a conclusion to what Freddie said, Milkman's said "[your name] will die when you do." Even though Milkman is disturbed by his last name a great deal, he still hangs on to it, defends it.  Just like in real life, we as people face many disturbing little problems that we have to deal with.  Although minor, they usually affect an aspect of our personality and character.  Morrison is saying to learn to love what you have, and to love whom you are.  No matter the outer appearance of whatever it may be, deal with it and be proud.  She often does this throughout her books.  Using her dialogue and reflecting it to people and culture.  Allowing the reader to understand, sympathize and correspond with the character. Her dialogue is real.

              ‘[Macon Dead] walked there now . . . thinking of names. Surely, he thought, he and his sister had some ancestor, some lithe young man with onyx skin and legs as straight as cane stalks, who had a name that was real. A name given to him at birth with love and seriousness. A name that was not a joke, nor a disguise, nor a brand name . . . His own parents, in some mood of pervesness or resignation, had agreed to abide by a naming done to them by somebody who couldn't have cared less  (pg.17).  Again her dialogue shows the real emotional side of characters.  His name ‘Dead’ relates back to his family roots. No one escapes family roots.

         Ruth said "Nobody lives forever, Pilate."

"Don't?"

"Of course not."

"Nobody?"

"Of course, nobody."

"I don't see why not."

"Death is as natural as life."

"Ain't nothing natural about death. It's the most unnatural thing they is."

"You think people should live forever?"

"Some people. Yeah."

"Who's to decide? Which ones should live and which ones shouldn't?"

"The people themselves. Some folks want to live forever. Some don't. I believe they decide on it anyway. People die when they want to and if they want to. Don't nobody have to die if they don't want to" (pg. 149).   The dialogue represents the point that Morrison is trying to reach that people decide when they want to die.  A statement often discussed, said and thought about in life.

           "I asked you did you play any. That why they call you Guitar?"

"Not cause I do play. Because I wanted to. When I was real little. So they tell me . . . It was a contest, in a store down home in Florida. I saw it when my mother took me downtown with her. I was just a baby . . . I cried for it, they said.  And always asked about it” (pg. 45).  Guitar is names after something he can not have nor touch.  Ironically, in the end he does not get what he wants either, the gold and revenge. Morrison makes Guitar’s character somewhat feminine in the aspect that he speaks what he feels most of the time, he is not afraid to say what he feels.  He also reflects back on little things that made up who he is. 

           Milkman smiled and let his shoulders slump a little. It was a good feeling to come into a strange town and find a stranger who knew your people. All his life he'd heard the tremor in the word: "I live here, but my people . . ." or: "She acts like she ain't got no people," or: "Do any of your people like there?" But he hadn't known what it meant links. He remembered Freddie sitting in Sonny's Shop just before Christmas, saying, "None of my people would take me in” (pg. 229). Here is where Milkman realizes that the people of his past lead to the truth.  It is also the point that motivates him to discover more about where he came from.

[Pilate speaking] "A human life is precious. You shouldn't fly off and leave it . . . If you take a life, then you own it. You responsible for it. You can't get rid of nobody by killing them. They still there, and they yours now . . . Life is life. Precious. And the dead you kill is yours. They stay with you anyway, in your mind. So it's a better thing, a more better thing to have the bones right there with you wherever you go. That way, it frees up your mind."

Fucks up your mind, thought Milkman, fucks it up for good. He pulled himself up from the table. He had to get some sleep before he went looking for Guitar.  Staggering up the stairs, he remembered Pilate's back as she got out of the Buick -- not bent at all under the weight of the sack. And he remembered how Guitar glared at her as she walked away from the car ( pg. 208).  Here Morrison is showing the feminine knowledge on life.  Throughout her Song of Solomon, even though the women continue to appear victimized, they still withhold a knowledge men can’t obtain. The feminine wisdom acts as the bridge that ties together the weakness in a man and the strength in discovering life.

page 194

Corinthians knew she was ashamed of him, that she would have to add him to the other secret, the nature of her work, that he could never set foot in her house. And she hated him a lot for the shame she felt. Hated him sometimes right in the middle of his obvious adoration of her . . . But those swift feelings of contempt never lasted long enough for her to refuse those drive-in move sessions where she was the sole object of someone's hunger and satisfaction (pg. 194).  Morrison shows how the men constantly use the women for sex.  She also use intense indisputable dialogue to show the dominating power men have over women, and how “ashamed” they make them feel. 

The strongest female character is Pilate Dead.  She fights against her family’s disgust with her, and society.  Pilate represents all the females in Song of Solomon. Her self-sufficiency and loneliness help her to remain strong.  She symbolizes the compassion, generosity, loyalty and respect all women have. Morrison added Pilate for strength towards women.  Without Pilate the book would not be as feminine.