Searching for Personal Freedom from Song of Solomon Personal freedom is the ability to ignore social and familial influences to find your true sense of self. Individuals are truly liberated when they are physically, mentally and spiritually free. The search for personal freedom is exemplified in Toni Morrison's Song of Songs. The main protagonist, Milkman, achieves personal freedom through attaining knowledge, dealing with his family, and overcoming society's prejudices. Knowledge is a primary factor in achieving personal freedom. This includes not only academic education, but also awareness of historical heritage and family legacy. The fact that African Americans were held in human slavery cannot be forgotten; it must be remembered and transmitted through memory. Additionally, literacy gives minority cultures the voice to reach out to others with encouragement and hope. Milkman has a high school education that he took for granted. In order for Milkman to achieve personal freedom, he must search for his ancestral roots. Milkman's father, Macon Dead, Jr., denies Milkman his memories because Macon assumes that achieving the American dream means erasing his past. However, as stated above, Morrison believes Milkman needs to remember; he must know his past to know himself. His father taught him that the only important thing you will ever need to know: own things. And let the things you own possess other things. Then you own yourself and other people too@ (Morrison 55). Macon falsely leads Milkman to believe that "You will be free. Money is freedom Macon. The only true freedom there is" (163). Milkman believes in his father's mistake as he too frantically searches for the gold that will be... middle of paper... Personal freedom isn't easy, but we must persevere. Milkman's realization of his personal freedom came as his life ended. We must all remember the old Chinese proverb "The longest journey begins with a single step."WORKS CITEDCarmean, Karen, Toni Morrison's World of Fiction, Troy: The Whitston Publishing Company, 1993.Morrison, Toni. Song of Songs. New York: Plume, Peach, Norman. Modern novelists Toni Morrison. Ed. Norman page. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995.Storhoff, Gary. "'Anaconda Love': The Intertwining of Parents in Toni Morrison's Song of Songs." Style 31 no. 2 (summer 1997). 290-309. September 18, 2001 .Willbern, David. "Reading after Freud." Ed. G. Douglas Atkins and Laura Morrow. Contemporary literary theory. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1989. 158-179.