Fight-Or-Flight Response

The fight-or-flight response is triggered by our body in response to danger or any threat to our survival. In Song of Solomon, the characters can be seen physically performing one of these actions. For example, in response to the injustice around him fueled by his childhood traumas, Guitar's response is to fight. As part of the Seven Days, his way of fighting the oppression faced by African Americans is to physically fight. On the other hand, some characters looking for answers decide to fly. For example, Robert Smith decided to fly off the top of Mercy Hospital to avoid his Seven Days obligations, and Milkman flew from the cliff after Pilate's death to avoid being killed by Guitar, and instead killing himself as it is implied. In these cases, the character's actions are parallel to the typical characteristics associated with fight-or-flight responses. Guitar never felt accepted or loved in his life, and for this reason he feels that he is constantly being attacked by society. For this reason, his response is more aggressive, an obligatory feeling to defend against any aggressors. Robert Smith and Milkman felt disconnected and almost helpless in the sense that they could not easily find answers to their issues. Robert Smith felt overwhelmed, and Milkman felt at a loss though he found all the answers he was looking for. Smith knew the Seven Days would probably kill him if he didn't comply, and Guitar would probably have killed Milkman, so both characters did not want to die by another man's hands. Taking control of their own inevitable deaths by "flying" was their way of dealing with their situations, or as Morrison reveals in the last lines of the book, "If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it."

The motif of flight in the book really symbolizes escape and freedom. When Milkman goes in an airplane on his journey to find gold, his time in flight symbolizes a sense of control he is independently taking over the situation he is in, giving him freedom. Robert Smith gets freed from the guilt and responsibilities he was and would continue to have to face with the Seven days. Milkman also frees himself from his complex and unforgiving life by jumping before Guitar shoots him. Not having to face the hardships of life, Smith and Milkman's flights also are their way to escape from their problems.