Crouching Dromedary

Names can hold more power than we often realize, but their significance is evident in countless ways, particularly in literature. From He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in Harry Potter, to the Washington family in “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and especially in Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, names play an important role in developing major themes. By naming the evil and unfathomably wealthy family the Washingtons, making them “ direct descendant[s] of George Washington,” Fitzgerald is able to extend his criticism of the corruption of our nation to its foundations (86). In Song of Solomon, names are a prevalent motif, and the Dead family name in particular demonstrates Morrison’s connection between death and freedom. When Macon Dead’s father, Macon Dead, registered with the Freedmen's Bureau after his liberation, he became a Dead. Although this name technically was not correct, “it was new and would wipe out the past,” so it was never changed (54). “Dead” became their symbol of freedom. This connection is seen again in the “flight” of Robert Smith (3). His suicide is depicted as an escape, or a flight to freedom. As Pilate repeatedly describes her father as being shot “five feet into the air,” another image of flight and death is created (40). The description of the uplifting concept of freedom with negatively connotated death serves the illustrate the truly unfavorable reality of what “freedom” is for African Americans.