Abstract
This thesis presents how human affect works within the life of the characters from Nobel Prize Laureate Toni Morrison’s 1977 novel Song of Solomon. Using Silvan Tomkins’ affect theory as a critical lens, we see how Morrison portrays affect within her masterpiece. Chapter one explores affect as primarily a facial activity and how Morrison portrays this in Song. Specifically, the faces of Ruth Foster Dead, First Corinthians Dead, Guitar Bains, Macon Dead II, Pilate Dead, Hagar, and Macon “Milkman” Dead III raise a discussion on how the face is the primary communicator and receptor of affect that becomes the main motivator in their lives. Chapter two analyzes Song’s nuclear family unit known as the “Deads” and how past life scenes make the family members create affect scripts to deal with the present and future scenes of their lives. A deep dive goes into life impacting life scenes of the past and how characters develop affect scripts to deal with present and future scenes of a person’s life. This project goes into the affect laden scenes and affect scripts of Macon II, Ruth, Magdalene Called Lena, and First Corinthians. Chapter two closes by looking at Milkman as an object of affect and how he develops affect scripts to deal with the moments in life that we see him go through. By reading Morrison’s Song through Tomkins’ theory, this thesis brings light to a critical lens that has not been applied to any of Morrison’s novels. Affect drives all human action and whether it is a positive or a negative affect response to an object, an object of affect is the motivator that gives purpose to life and drives the lives of Morrison’s characters.