Suffering in Song of Solomon

Although the characters in Song of Solomon don’t seem to suffer directly from others’ racist actions, the entire black community suffers as a result of the white’s ignorance. Since the black characters are not given the same rights or opportunities as the whites, they are forced to live lives of poverty in separated, predominantly black sections of town. Some of the black community in the novel is defeated as a result of their continual suffering and act as though they are not able to change their rights, while characters, like Guitar and his fellow Seven Days members, are mobilized as a result of their suffering. They feel as though the suffering and lack of rights have gone on long enough, and if they are not able to change rights then at least they are able to counteract and balance the suffering.