all the children shall know their names Song of Solomon
... In the absence of documented history, after the devastation of slavery and the Civil War, names became the only connections that African Americans could have to their histories, as individuals and as a people. In Morrison’s Song of Solomon, names represent this link to an uncertain past. She gives her characters unusual names, like those from the Bible that are rarely, if ever used to name a person. However, this attachment between the characters and their names allows Morrison to strengthen the plausibility of the underlying theme. Characters with ostensibly unreal names, like “Macon Dead” or “First Corinthians,” more believably go through unreal experiences, strengthening the surreal atmosphere of the novel. The significance of names throughout the novel, such as those that allude to the Bible, conveys their importance as links to the past as they reveal the incidences that surround the naming long with the uniqueness of each character, while drawing connections to create integration and a sense of community. Names serve as a manifestation identity in relation to the past and present. ... He admits that he does not like his name, but Guitar retorts, asserting that they have to get their names the “best way they can” (88). ... The ability to choose names is part of human nature and it verifies the power of individualistic creation that undermines freedom, much like the state that slavery imposed. ... The significance that black tradition attaches to the process of naming can be found in the way that they chose names. A name for each new member of the Dead family is randomly chosen from the Bible: Pilate, Hagar, First Corinthians, and Magdalena are a few of the unusual names that result from this technique. Macon Dead I “had cooperated as a young father with the blind selection of names from the Bible for every child other than the first male.