The American Dream Reviewed in Song of Songs America was founded on the belief that "all men are created equal." However, we need to ask ourselves a question: who constitutes "men" and what is "equal"? Africans were taken from their country and enslaved in America. They had to struggle to maintain dignity and grace in deplorable circumstances. Even well-cared-for slaves could not realize their dream of being free again. In her work Song of Songs, Toni Morrison tells the story of Milkman's dream. Although not a slave, Milkman is a slave to the fact that as a child he was forced to participate in a shameful act that he wanted no part of. Even her nickname comes from this horrible act: When he entered the little room she unbuttoned her blouse and smiled. He was too young to be dazzled by her nipples, but he was old enough to be bored by the flat taste of breast milk, so he came reluctantly, as if it were a chore, and lay down as he had done at least once a day in his life . in his mother's arms, and tried to tear that faint, slightly sweet sweetness from her flesh without hurting her with his teeth. (13)This act embarrassed Ruth and Macon Jr. because he was never able to shed the nickname and did not improve either of them's relationship with his father. Milkman could not control his mother's tantrums even though he suspected the act was wrong. Macon does not respect his son's voice, as seen when Milkman hits his father for hitting his mother. Milkman does not want to hear Macon's explanations for his behavior and is upset that Macon insists on describing the indiscriminate nature of Ruth's attachment to her father as an excuse for Milkman's father's treatment... middle of paper. ..m is not an open invitation to Africans as it is to other immigrant groups. They do not voluntarily participate in American society; therefore, they have to settle for less than others have to. They have to fight twice as hard to get half as much as others. Works Cited: De Arman, Charles. "Milkman as the archetypal hero." Obsidian: Black Literature in Review 6.3 (1980): 56-59. Moraru, Christian. "Reading the onomastic text: 'The politics of the proper name' in Toni Morrison's Song of Songs." Names: a journal of onomastics. 44.3 (1996): 189-204. Morrison, Toni. Song of Songs. New York: The Penguin Group, 1977. Peterson, Nancy J. Toni Morrison: Critical and Theoretical Approaches. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1997.Storhoff, Gary. "'Anaconda Love': The Intertwining of Parents in Toni Morrison's Song of Songs." Style 31.2 (1997): 290-309.