"Heroes and Homelands; the Heritage Quest in Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote and Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon"
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Date
2016-04-13
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Abstract
This presentation explores the vital relationship between the iconic protagonists of two canonical literary texts, one Spanish and the other African American, and a notion of "heritage" as a transformative motivation for the novels' characters. While more than four hundred years and very distinct cultural contexts separate Miguel de Cervantes' classic, Don Quixote de to Mancha from African-American novelist, Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, both texts share in common the age-old leitmotif of the quest as the guiding force for each novel's respective heroes, Don Quixote and Macon Dead Ill (also known as Milkman). This presentation argues and intends to illustrate that the growth, development, and ultimate fate of both Don Quixote and Milkman come either as a result or at the expense of an awakened 'self' discovered in the Spanish and African "roots" of each respective questing hero. The Spanish cultural backdrop of Don Quixote and the African American cultural milieu that situates Song of Solomon are illustrated by each novelist to underscore the relevance of cultural space and landscape to the heritage quest.
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Keywords
African America, iconic protagonists, heritage, transformative motivation