Importance of the Flying Motif in the Song of Songs Throughout literature it has been common for authors to use allusions to integrate recurring motifs into their work. In Toni Morrison's Song Of Solomon, Milkman discovers that his desire to fly was passed on to him by his ancestor Solomon. While Milkman is trying to solve the puzzle of his ancestors, he realizes that when Solomon tried to take his youngest son, Jake, flying with him, he dropped him and Jake never arrived with his father at his destination. It seems quite likely that Morrison drew from the Greek myth of Daedalus/Icarus. Daedalus was a well-known architect and engineer in Athens. King Mines invited Daedalus to Crete to build him a labyrinth, and when it was completed, Mines imprisoned him inside. To escape, Daedalus built two pairs of wings, one pair for himself and the other for his son Icarus, using wax and feathers, which they used to fly away from Crete. During the journey to Athens, Icarus decided to try to brave the sun, even though his father had warned him that if he got too close to the sea his wings would get damp and fall apart, or if he got too close to the sun, the wax in his wings would melt and he would lose the ability to fly. Ignoring Daedalus' warnings, Icarus flew too high and the sun melted the wax holding his wings together. Icarus fell into the Aegean Sea and died. Solomon, a slave, had been a leader when he worked in the cotton fields of the South. One day he decided to return to Africa with his youngest son, Jake, leaving behind his wife Ryna and his other twenty children. The black lady fell to the groundLike booba yalle, like booma tambeeShe threw her body everywhereLike konka yalle, like konka tambee...(303). This line from the popular children's song that Milkman heard in Shalimar, Virginia, referred to Ryna's sobs, an event that also led to the naming of Ryna's Gulch where Ryna's spirit is said to moan day and night alike for the return of Solomon. When Solomon is flying, however, he drops Jake, also the name of Milkman's grandfather, and unlike Icarus in Greek mythology, Jake survives the fall. Milkman's desire to fly reflects one of the most important fantasies of every child or dreamer..