Prompt: The
significance of a title such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is easy to
discover. However, in other works (for example, Measure for Measure) the full
significance of the title becomes apparent to the reader only gradually.
Choose two works and show how the significance of their
respective titles is developed through the authors’ use of devices such as
contrast, repetition, and point of view.
4th Block:
The
character named in the title, Solomon, is a symbol of freedom and throughout
the story Milkman is attempting to free himself materially. Yet like Solomon,
he experiences a more spiritual flight. The mysterious Solomon, “cut across the
sky and gone home.” He was one of the flying Africans who escaped slavery by
magically taking off on his own accord. Milkman, however, on a quest for
financial independence, goes on a journey to find his pot of gold. He is told
by his father that if he finds gold, half of it would be his. Yet, the gold
that he finds mirrors the freedom experienced by Solomon. In the novel Solomon’s
flight symbolized freedom for all of the men. His flight symbolized freedom
from social repression in order to seek a higher purpose.