Web Links

This link has details about how World War II affected Poland. It incorporates general facts that, I think, are a good aid to reading A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True. Half of the chapters are about Pigeon and Anielica who fall in love during WWII, so it is important to know how it really happened, outside of the book.

This link talks about the history of the Erie Lackawanna Railroad. It was a railroad that operated in several states in the Great Lakes region.

The beginning of Ernest Hemingway's "Indian Camp."  Please comment on whatever part of the text you find interesting, striking, or comment-worthy.  You can also reply to other comments that have already been made.

The story “The Revolutionist” is set in the fall of 1919 about a young Hungarian communist who travels to Italy from Budapest, where he suffered a number of hardships under a man named Horthy.

This link provides some background information to the events that occurred in Hungary from the period of 1919 to 1921 when Admiral Miklos Horthy led his counter-revolutionary National Army into Budapest whereupon a White Terror ensued and led to the imprisonment, torture, and execution of people believed to be communists, socialists, Jews, and others.

This site focuses on Hemingway's traveling/war days. It informs us on where he went and things he accomplished along the way. A list of Hemingway's works is also present on the site. It briefly speaks of his death and mentions him going away because of a revolution that began around 1960.

This page talks about the restoration that was put into Hemingway's home.  I find it fascinating the time, money and effort that was put into getting the home back to its original 1890 look.  It also fascinated me that that's possible to do in this day and age.  It must've taken so many resources, other than just money, to make it a near replica of what it once was, and is again.

The movie was made by one of Hemingway's son. One of the possible motives was that the script was edited to view his mother in a better light than what was thought of her.

This link gives you an online tour of Hemingway's life through pictures. Every picture has a paragraph or two that talks about a part of Hemingway's life and how it somehow connects to his writing. It has many interesting facts about his parents, his education, his illegible writing, his experience in WWI, etc. Enjoy exploring the site!

 I honestly found this video very interesting.  It goes through the different rooms of Hemingway's home and shows us how he lived.  It gives an interesting insight to his life and lets us know a little bit more about him.  Personally, I love to see how people live and how their homes are set up.

Bull fighting was commonly discussed in the inter-chapters and it was also an activity Hemingway enjoyed watching a lot. This weblink provides a great description of Spanish Bull Fighting and the Running of the Bulls. It is a very large part of Spain's culture and an important topic to understand for the inter-chapters. I think it is a sport that is not very well known. Personally, I am not sure about how I feel about it, but Hemingway definitely loved it.

Bull fighting was commonly discussed in the inter-chapters and it was also an activity Hemingway enjoyed watching a lot. This weblink provides a great description of Spanish Bull Fighting and the Running of the Bulls. It is a very large part of Spain's culture and an important topic to understand for the inter-chapters. I think it is a sport that is not very well known. Personally, I am not sure about how I feel about it, but Hemingway definitely loved it.

 This article is about a debate over whether to describe Christian Science as a cult or religious group. The doctor's wife/Nick's mother is a Christian Scientist and this makes a huge impact on Nick's life. The way people follow this religion makes it seem as if its a cult. 

This website includes a brief description about Hemingway's life and has another link attached to it to get the full biography. Also, it includes poetry and a short comment under most poems. It's a really good source if you want to understand the poem, but need a little help. You can also sign up and place your own comments, as well as enjoy reading other's opinions and opening yourself to other possibilites.

A quick look and story of Ernest Hemingway and his love for boxing and writing. It even has  an in depth story behind his fight against Fitzgerald and what went down.

This site gives biographical information on the author and gives its own viewpoint on the different themes Hemmingway used in his works. After the biographical information, the site goes on to discuss the different works in relation to Hemmingway's life experiences. According to the site, Hemingway used simple nouns and verbs to express greater ideas such as social problems and man to man struggle. He also captured the feelings of defeat and helplessness very well in his works.

This website has an amazing detailed biography of Ernest Hemingway's life.  From his childhood years, he was taught how to hunt and fish by his dad, much like Nick from In Our Time.  Also, the site talks about how Hemingway tried to enlist in the army but was deferred because of his poor vision, instead he signed up to help as Red Cross ambulance, where he got injured.  In addition, the site even posted the connection between Hemingway's life and Soldier's Home.

This links is really great because it has an awesome timeline, similar to that on awaytoteach. It shows many of the major highlights of Hemingway's career, in an easy to view timeline.

This site provides short descriptions of Hemingway's early life and his works. The summaries are short, easy to understand, and straight to the point. They include  very general information about Hemingway's life, nothing too specific. It's a good site to visit for those who want a quick, general biography of Hemingway's life. In this website, it says that Hemingway had a great interest hunting and dangerous supports.

I was looking through different Hemingway websites and came across this video of Hemingway's acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize. I thought the pictures and the momentary music was a nice touch to the video as well. A lot of what Hemingway says is a little peek into his actual life and his voice is alluring, but also a bit haunting. If you have 3 minutes to spare, you should really listen to this video.

This link compiles various Ernest Hemingway quotes that were gathered throughout his life. These quotes are taken from his works as well as actual statements that he has been quoted as saying. They are on a variety of topics that range from the meaning of life to what makes good writing.

Here we have an analysis of Hemingway and Nick Adams, a character we see a lot in "In Our Time". The author notes how complex Nick Adams' character is and how this parallels Hemingway's character. We have seen from our class discussions how much Hemingway draws on his experiences for his writing, and here we see further evidence of how he may have drawn on his own personality for his characters.

Though this is not a full website dedicated to Hemingway's life it does explore his life on a smaller scale with a timeline and an explanation of his life's journey.

This link not only has a list of Hemingway's published stories but it spans in details of Hemingway's life. From the day he was born until he recieved treatment just a short time before he committed suicide.

This is a really good website, it talks about hemmingway's life and all the things he has accomplished. they not only talk about his writing but also his life, like the sports he was in.

This is a great bio site for F Scott Fitzgerald. It is simple and not over complicated with too many links, but still covers and includes details into all aspects of his life. During the biography it contains links to other famous authors, including Hemingway. Delves into the plot, premise, release and acceptance of Fitzgerald's major works, as well as offering a full list of his writings. The worst part about this site is the narrow central  column that is the body of the biography.

 Are you totally lost when Hemingway starts talking about fish and weights and reels?  If so, check out this site for a better idea of what is literally happening in Hemingway's stories.  Fishing is such a major pastime in In Our Time that understanding at least the basics will give you a better picture of each scene and even how what Nick does in each connects with another aspect of Nick's life.  Also, while you are at the site, go to "trout fishing" under "The Fish" (at the top) to learn more about what Nick does in Big Two Hearted River. 

This website has all the information you need on Hemingway. From his birth to his death (by suicide) it has all the info. It also lists which medals he won as an author and for which books.

Source: http://www.biographybase.com/biography/Hemingway_Ernest.html

This website is a summary about Hemingway's travel. It breaks the life up the life of Hemingway according to where he was. Besides the summaries it also includes new events that happen as a rememberance of Hemingway, like the Ernest Hemingway Festival held in Key West

This website explores much of Hemingway's life, from his time in the war to his relationship with his father. In In Our Time, Nick's father has a short temper and is portrayed quite negatively. We can assume that this character was modeled after Hemingway's own father, since after reading In Our Time, he "sent the volumes back to the publisher" and called it "filth". This site goes further in depth about how Hemingway's relationship with his father affected his writing.

This website exposes Ernest Hemingway's part in World War 1. This website exposes Hemingway's experience in Europe and how it affected his writing. Hemingway's experience in Europe inspired him to write about the hardships a soldier has to face not only during war, but the hardships he has to face after he comes back home after war.

 Hemingway is known as a man that had many skills. He once owned a cat that had an abnormal amount of toes it had more than usual. Now there are many of these cats and they are known as Hemingway Cats. The multiple toes are supposed to be like Hemingway's multiple skills.

This site  represents the lifestyle, personality, and "enthusiasm for adventure" of Ernest Hemingway. There are extensive bios on his life divided into sections and organized by the place or area he was living (such as Italy, Paris or Idaho) at the time. There are also many photographs of Hemingway throughout his life.

Along with the bios, there are numerous products and services that the sight offers that are inspired by his work, travels, and "appetite for life".

I chose this weblink because it is an obituary for Ernest Hemingway from the New York Times.  I thought it was interesting because, in it, the sheriff says he thinks it was an accident.  It turns out Hemingway took his own life but I thought it was a good weblink because we are able to see what people thought his death first was.  I think it's important to note how media shapes our opinion of things that happen in pop culture and how the word "suicide" all alone has such a different connotation that the word "accident" all alone.

This link is to the Hemingway Society site. The society was founded by Heminway's late widow, Mary  Hemingway  to carry on his name through his works as well as new pieces written on him. Something I found particularly interesting about this site is that it gave information about the "Letters Project" which is a project created in the purpose of publishing the several thousand letters Hemingway wrote. The society also hosts annual conventions around the world and publishes a bi-annual newsletter for all of its members.

This link talks about the hard time Hemingway had with his book since his new style of writing wasn't even accepted by his own parents. Its goes into depth on his style and gives us a new way of looking at it. His fame was achieved through burnings of his book which showed that there was great significance in it. Its tells us about the hardships he went through and the great effect they had on Hemmingway.

This website describes some details of Ernest Hemingway's life in a very humorous way. I learn about Hemingway's adventurous life. He truly is an amazing man.  
In Our time reflects Hemingway as Nick, and in the website, it talked about how Hemingway's parents dressed him as a girl up to the age of 3. This shows how the mother is always in control, it only made sense to me that the mother would dress a kid as a girl.

This link discusses Hemingway within many of his works, including "In Our Time" and his influence on American Literatue. Within this weblink it discusses the  autobiographical parts of Hemingway's stories. It also connects the works to award Hemingway has received, include the Noble prize for literature, and the impact of his eventual suicide upon his life's works.

This link presents us with knowledge of Hemingway's life. There are many sub-topics and you can search for any information quickly. You can go on 'tours' and the website is very intersting.

This link presents us with knowledge of Hemingway's life. This weblink mainly talks about his life during and after the war. It talks about how he dedicates works about war to his sons.

This website summarizes Hemingway's life in phases. When you first go to the link it begins with Hemingway's childhood. There are details of his birth and family, as well as his experiences with fishing, music, and education. Parallels are clearly seen between the details of Hemingway's life and what he includes in Nick's life in In Our Time. After the first page, you can click at the bottom on more pages leading to the next stage of Hemingway's life, such as "World War I".

This is Hemingway's speech from the Nobel Banquet in 1954. He wasn't able to make it due to bad health, so the speech was read by the U.S. ambassador. What he says about a writer's loneliness is really interesting, and I like the succinctness of the speech. It matches his style of writing ficiton.

 Beginning with the Stein siblings (Gertrude and Leo), Americans came to Paris for its "atmosphere of tolerance." At age 23, in 1922, Hemingway met Gertrude Stein. He was impressed by her charm, and admired her writing. This weblink goes into more detail about what Hemingway's Paris was like during his expatriate days.

The website enclosed gives us a rather detailed account of Ernest Hemingway's life. From his early schooling,  to his publishing several of his books, and toward his later years, the site lists his life in chronoligical order.

Gregory Serrato, Pd. 6

       I found this website to be pretty interesting in the sense that apart from giving us his biography, it also show us the connections between Hemingway's stories and his life. For example, this link in particular connects many of Hemingways personal experiences after war to his work A Soldier's Home . Many of the occurances are quite familiar. Just like in A Soldier's Home, both Krebs and Hemingway exagerated their stories when asked about their experiences at the front. It makes you question, was Krebs really Hemingway?

 This link will take you to a short article that talks about all of Hemingway's different accomplishments both while alive and some of when dead. It also talks about his life and what was going on during his writing times and the last time he wrote.

A quick biography of Heminway's life. Hemingway was born in 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois and died 1961 in Ohio. Throughout his life, Hemingway created many stories, usually after his trips to new places. He was a volunteer for the Ambulance Unit in World War I. Hemingway also won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1954.

Who knew that knowing simple facts about Hemingway's life could be so fun? This is a link that directs you to a fun little trivia game based on Hemingway's life. It is a true test to see if you've been reading your Hemingway handouts. :)

This website talks about ways for a person to get over a tough break-up that that person went through. The website lists several symptoms of a tough break-up and it will tell you ways to help you get through this rough spot in your life. This is helpful becuase when NIck Adams, realized he made a bad decision of breaking up with Marjorie, he didn't know how to deal with it, except to drink all the pain away.

This website discusses the siginificance of Hemmignway's life. He is such an affective writer due to the fact that he can relate to youth. His many personable experiences entices the reader because they admire him and his strength.

A short entry with links to individual entries about the stories (many in-themselves not complete).

     This link leads to the viewpoint of one Native American woman on the use of the controversial word "squaw." In Hemingway's "Indian Camp" of In Our Time he uses the name in what seems to be in a deragotory way. The use of the word was been controversial for a while and everyone has their own opinion about it.

This website gives a brief about John's (Hemingway and Hadley's son) life. John had three children, two of whom were actresses. John's nickname was Bumby as a child.

This link is about Key West which became Hemingway's home in 1931. There are descriptions of the home and information about how you can visit it. This home was where Hemingway lived as he wrote many of his important works. There is a lot of interesting information about Hemingway's life in that house and about the cats that he loved.

This link helps us to get a better glimps of Hemingways life. What he did through out his life  that made him the person he was. And what might have caused him to get married so many times.

This website gives a summary of Hemingway's life. It talks about how he never forgave his mother for dressing him up as a girl in his youth, which explains why masculinity is so important throughout his book, In Our Time. In addition, it leads into how he became a famous writer by working for a short time as a jounalist. It also talks about his hunting expeditions in Africa and Wyoming, which links back to the chapter of where Nick goes hunting with his father. However, it was his shotgun that killed him on July 2, 1961.

This link takes information from a lot of different sources to create a short biography of Hemingway's life. It follows his life chronologically while giving interesting facts about him and his travels.

I found this wedsite really interesting for the fact that it not only had Hemingways biography but also had forums where people discussed Hemingways works. I looked through a couple and i found them quite interesting to read through.

This web link explains how Ernest Hemingway's marriage influenced "A Cat in the Rain". "The American Wife" was played the role of Hadley Hemingway with similar characteristics and wishes. The husband, who paid little attention to the wife, was sadly himself. Hemingway realizes the significant issue of his marriage but failed to do anything about it and therefore, his love story ended with a divorce.

This link has a list of movies and details of the movies that are adapted from Hemingway's works. There are movies from other books Hemingway has written. One movie I saw on the site was "Soldier's Home." It's adapted from the story Soldier's Home that we read in class.

This house in Key West was inhabited by Hemingway from 1931 - 1939, until he became divorced from his first wife. The house is now a National Historical Site, and is protected by the federal government. One present-day famous attraction are the six-toed feral cats that live on the property.

According to official investigations and testimony from his wife it is not clear whether or not Hemingway actually killed himself. His wife claims it was an accident and it occurred when he was cleaning his shot gun. The image brings up the story The Dr. and the Drs Wife where the father was depcited as cleaning his shot gun as well.

It's a website that shows hemingway inspired life choices. Such as fashion, furniture and other apparel. Also tells the life of the men behind the collection. You can order his products off the site as well.

This foundation headquartered in the city of Hemingway's birth has resources and information about Hemingway's birthplace and beyond.

 This link will take you to a site that will give you detailed information about Ernest Hemingway's home in Florida. You can see photos, read stories about each of the rooms, and get an overall feel for what Hemingway's home was like. I like the website because It makes me feel that much more connected to Hemingway. Enjoy.

This website provides people with tips that they can use when someone goes fishing for trout. Hemingway in In Our Time uses the sport fishing but especially for trout. This website goes by steps of what someone should do if they want to fish for trouts. For example the website gives tips on how to choose a place, best ways to check a trout, and how to avoid being sun burned. This is a great website for someone that wants to try fishing especially for trouts.

A wonderful site with links to many other Hemingway-related sites as well as material and resources of their own. 

When Mr. Scotese showed us a slideshow of pictures from stages of Ernest Hemingway's life, and commented on Hemingway's on-screen portrayer's resemblance to him in his youthful years, I became interested in how Ernest Hemingway has been portrayed in film. 

The web site gives a summarized accoun of Hemingway's life and works, along with interesting facts, such as his fabrications about his experiences in the first Wrold War. The site sheds very positive light on the writer and claims him to be "one of the 20th century's most important and influential writers." I see a big connection between his life and "In Our Time" after learning that he was an alcoholic.

After moving to Paris in the 1920's, Hemingway met many authors who were part of "the lost generation" such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, John Steinbeck, and many others. These people greatly affected the works that Hemingway would put out and would later become some of the most renouned pieces of American Literature. His time with the lost generation shaped Hemingway into the author he is now known as today.

In the 30s, Hemingway became interested with the social and political development of the Spanish Civil War. He was invited as a  correspondent for the North American Newspaper Alliance and he went back for a total of 4 times over one and a half year.

My link is about the Two-Hearted River, which is where Nick goes to fish in the "Big Two Hearted River" This link tells you when to vist the river and the conditions to expect. It also suggests things to bring and talks a bit about the animals found in this area.

     For those of you, like me, who had no idea such thing as a "white" elephant existed outside the horrible present a lucky member of the family recieves every year at Christmas; THIS LINK IS FOR YOU.

This webite provides us with a list of other other works that Hemmingway has written. After reading In Our Time, maybe you would like to read these other novels & collections. Some include, The Old Man and the Sea (1952) and A Farewell to Arms (1929)

"All my life I've looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time" - HEMINGWAY

This site gives a great overview of Hemingway's life. It provides memorable quotes, a short biography, and trivia/facts. It is excellent at providing a quick outline to Ernest Hemingway's opposite from brief life!

This link is about the 1964 Birmingham Church Bombing. This event was mentioned in Song of Solomon. Guitar is the Sunday Man and he had to avenge the deaths of the four black girls that died in this bombing. The article in this link describes the racial violence in Birmingham and describes the events before, during, and after the bombing.

 During the time period in which Song of Solomon was taking place the founding of the American Red Cross happened. Clara Barton after losing her job and seeing the needs of soldiers organized the Red Cross in 1881. This may serve as a contrast to the attacks and subordination of African-Americans by white people in the late 19th and 20th century in America. The Red Cross is still present in our society today and we are still fighting racism in our nation as well.

In "Song of Solomon", gospel music is often sung. At Hagar's funeral, Pilate and Reba sing a beautiful song about their "baby girl." Another gospel song that is sung is about a sugarman. These songs characterized African American culture during the time of the story. This NPR story expands upon the idea of gospel music and discusses its history and characteristics. One very interesting characteristic is that gospel music revolves around "movement and improvisation." It is a musical style that the singers are personally connected to.

The "Lemon" mentioned in Song of Solomon refers to one of the most influential blues singers of his time. Jefferson is widely recognized as a profound influence upon the development of the Texas blues tradition and the growth of American popular music.

On page 90 there is a reference to cologne when Milkman goes Christmas shopping. I did a little research on cologne and discovered some new trends including celebrity scents by David Beckham and Antonio Banderas. "Blue Seduction" and "Diavolo So Sexy" are sure to be a hit this spring (among men who wear cologne).

In "Song of Solomon," Milkman becomes interested in Danville, Pennsylvania.  This website is entirely dedicated to the city of Danville.  The website gives a history of Danville.  The website also offers pictures of Danville and the area around it.  Their is a list of organizations that have locations in Danville, as well as attractions that the city has.  The site is very easy to navigate, with a clear list of different pages on the left side of the page. 

 This site, the official website of Danville, Virginia, has all the information one might need on the town. In Song of Solomon, Danville is the town that Milkman meets Reverend Cooper, the place where his entire search for gold and family and roots begins. The site has a nice section for visitors "about Danville", that gives information on what the town is like, what there is to do, and the kinds of ideals that Danville has as a community. 

This is a kind of site that Milkman probably would have really appreciatedd

In Song of Solomon, Guitar Beans drink a specific type of tea known as Earl Grey. Guitar would always pour water first, then tea on top. Tea is usually made the other way around. Earl Grey was named after Charles Gray, Prime Minister of England around the 1800s. Check the link for more history on Earl Grey.

This websit gives insight to a movie dedicated to capturing the "behind the scenes moments" of Emmett Till's murder. It includes a full description of the documentary "The Murder of Emmett Till" along with an article of the murder's confession, information about segregation at the time and a forum to join and discuss.

In the book Song of Solomon, Hagar goes out to recreate herself in order to attract Milkman. Basically she tries to make herself look like a white girl because she incorrectly believes that is what Milkman wants in woman.  She chooses to purchase an Evan-picone skirt (one she struggles to fit into at first) to complete her look.

In chapter 13, Reba gives Hagar 200 dollars to go shopping. Hagar buys a plethora of items that she feels will make herself more attractive to the Milkman. These items include cosmetics, perfume, and pantyhose. One of the items she buys is a Picone suit. This weblink goes to a picture of an Evan-Picone suit which serves as an example of the brand and products that Hagar bought.

In Song of Solomon, Milkman states that he felt closer to President Franklin D. Roosevelt than his own father. Why? Milkman knew he had flaws but to him, Macon, his father was perfection. On the other hand, FDR has flaws, one being polio. In 1921, FDR contracted polio, a contagious disease that plagued humans the first half of 1900’s. When FDR became president, he raised charities for polio patients and created an organization now known widely as the March of Dimes.

Similar to Nick's journey in Big Two Hearted River, Milkman's path when he gets to Virginia doesn't follow any logical route. If we assume that the list of locations he asked for Shalimar on page 259 are in any order, this still leads him in a giant triangle around the state of Virginia, with Culpeper in the North, Roanoke to the Southwest, and Petersburg to the Southeast. Rather than showing exactly where the town is, Morrison seems to place these three cities so that the entire portion of the backwoods and the majority of the Blue Ridge Parkway is covered as a possible location.

The Freemen's Bureau that in Song of Solomon caused Jake's name confusion. This web page details the formation of the Bureau and records of people who were registered. It provides a little background into the Dead's family and some things that happened then.

Several times throughout Song of Soloman we see the Greyhound bus being used. Towards the end of the book, Milkman uses it and we see him grow as a character as he's returning home. This is relevant beacuse it was a major use of transportation during that time and still is today.

This link is from the Grimm's Fairy Tales web site. The Grimm Brothers, or hte Brothers Grimm as some people call them, lived in the 19th Century, and they are famous for publishing collections of folk tales and fairy tales. Their versions of fairy tales are often known to be more exciting, violence, and scary than the Disney dumb-downed version we find most common today. This is the story of Hansel and Gretel as told by the famous storytellers.

 A descrption of the GReat Migration of African American from the South after the Civil War. Includes other historic facts from before and after the war. Also info on african americans who migrated to Pennsylvania.

     On this site, the part that captured my attention was the section titled "Summary". Once i read the first sentence I saw a connection. Corinth, in the Bible was a town that had many problems because of social status. This is just like how Corinthians had great trouble with her job and love life because of her social status.

In Song of Solomon, Ruth's father was respected (although maybe not liked), for working to become a doctor when all odds were against him. This link provides information on the 3 men who opened up the profession for other African Americans, and thus Ruth's father.

In the Song of Solomon, Milkman sees how spectacular names are in chapter 15 after learning about the origins of his. This is a great link in knowing one of the orgins that is mentioned in the chapter. In this link we learn about Lake Michigan.

This link leads to a website that gives you directions on how to make silk rose petals that Lena and Corinthians make throughout Song of Solomon. While reading the book, I thought their dedication, if you will, to this craft was really interesting to me. Before Song of Solomon, I never even thought or knew of anyone making silk rose petals. I thought that this task was a little out of character for Milkman's sisters because of the time and patience it requires. However, I do think it fit their personalities because they never had to deal with people.

This link takes you to the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company history page.  This company is both the largest and oldest African American life insurance company in the nation, founded in 1898.  Toni Morrison mentions the group in the first page of her novel, Song of Solomon.  On the same page, Mr.

I know teachers frown upon using wikipedia, but it seemed like the most apt source to deal with one of the most pressing topics in Song of Solomon: flightless birds. I never realized just how many birds are actually flightless, which is an odd image in my head because when you think of birds, you think of flight, generally. At least I do. Birds are always seen as something that are free and able to soar high above us. Yet, a flightless bird is stuck here on the ground like the rest of us.

This website talks about the eulogy that Martin Luther King said to the funeral of the 4 girls. His most inspiring words were "God still has a way of wringing good out of evil."

This website gives some quick facts about Michigan and provides us with the seal of Michigan as well.  At the center of the seal, there is an image of a man standing resolutely at the tip of a penninsula, watching the sun rise, his rifle ready

  We hear so much about the locations that this book takes place in. What really do we know about Michigan. Most of the story takes place here, so here is a link that gives you an idea as to what the seal represents and what it looks like. It can also give you a brief history on the state itself. Enjoy!

While reading Song of Solomon, I wondered quite a bit about the brilliant brilliant author, Toni Morrison. The best way to accomplish two things at once was to find an interview with her -- and I was right. I found one that talks about her book Paradise a bit, and a lot about her and her opinions. This interview is three pages long, written in February of 1998 and is still inspiring today.

 This is the website for the insurance company that Mr. Smith worked for.  Not only does it offer more information about Mr. Smith's life, but it also gives us part of the setting; North Carolina.

 This is the website for the insurance company that Mr. Smith worked for.  Not only does it offer more information about Mr. Smith's life, but it also gives us part of the setting; North Carolina.

This site has pretty much everything you'd ever want to know about Packard automobiles. Manuals, brochures, parts list, and even machine diagrams are on this site, as well as forums and photo galleries. And there are even links to help you find and buy classic Packards today.

In case you forgot, the Packard was the car Macon Sr. drove the family around in.

This page has a nice biological explanation of how the peacock got it's tail. The larger feathers attract mates and are a sign of livelihood and strength, and I feel like that relates to all the things that were weighing Milkman down--materialism, property, money etc. They were also a kind of show of power to him.

Here is a more in-depth look at the peacock: the bird that can fly once it drops its "jewelry." Before, MIlkman was a peacock with all its feathers, but towards the end, he transforms into a bird of flight! 

The most simple and brief explanation of Pontius Pilate is mentioned in the Gospel of Mark. Pontius Pilate was the traitor of Jesus and took a big part in his death. He was the one who sold Him and brought Him to His crucifixion. This page has a good explanation of where the name Pilate comes from and that he was a rule procurator.

This link gives a brief summary of Pilate from the BIble. In Song of Solomon, we learn that Pilate's name is randomly chosen from the Bible. Her name was randomly chosen because the name seemed strong, and attribute that is definately in Pilate.

When Toni Morrison speaks of land locked people she mentions the Powder River located in Wyoming, this website talks about the powder river basin and gives information over the controversay caused by the fight for its conservation. It talks about the issues, gives you publications that have written about the problem and even gives you information on how you can help.

I know teachers frown upon using wikipedia, but it seemed like the most apt source to deal with one of the most pressing topics in Song of Solomon: flightless birds. I chose to pick the ratite species because there was an abundance of flightless birds. I never realized just how many birds are actually flightless, which is an odd image in my head because when you think of birds, you think of flight, generally. At least I do. Birds are always seen as something that are free and able to soar high above us. Yet, a flightless bird is stuck here on the ground like the rest of us.

This link is not a link to a website, but to a pdf file. In this file, it briefly talks about Romanticism in different contents such as literature and politics. Then it talks about Romanticism found in landscaping and describes the differences in the subcategories of Romanic landscaping based on area. Often times, Romantic writers are quoted or referred to. It also explores the use of the Romantic landscape garden mentioned in literary works and the works of certain landscape designers. Some pictures and citations are included. There is a total of 14 pages in the file. Enjoy~!

 This link will take you to an article from the Washington Post that describes the violence and chaos that took place AFTER the 16th street baptist church bombing. 

This link talks about the seal of Michigan. It gives some history on it and it tells you how it came about and when. It also gives explanations for what each thing on the seal means and refers to.

 This website give a background to what songs really meant to those who sang them. It shows that songs have more meaning than what they let on to mean. Some where used to tell others information on different events that where happening.

Macon Dead I and Pilate encountered the Susquehanna River on the first day that they left Circe's house. They took advantage of the huge river by "bathing in a curve of the SUsquehanna" (Morrison, 185). This link provides general details of the river such as its history, location, size, and historical importance. Reflecting historical importance, the site also lists some of the most historical events which took place on and/or near the Susquehanna River.

During Guitar and Milkman's chat with Hospital Tommy about baked Alaska and how black men aren't able to achieve certain things, Hospital Tommy mentions that he has killed someone before with a bayonet. He says that the men at Ninety-second all used bayonets and that Belleau Wood glittered with them. (Chap. 4 p. 101) I wondered what Belleau Wood was and I found out it was a battle from World War I. Here's a link that describes what happened at this event.

During Guitar and Milkman's chat with Hospital Tommy about baked Alaska and how black men aren't able to achieve certain things, Hospital Tommy mentions that he has killed someone before with a bayonet. He says that the men at Ninety-second all used bayonets and that Belleau Wood glittered with them. (Chap. 4 p. 101) I wondered what Belleau Wood was and I found out it was a battle from World War I. Here's a link that describes what happened at this event.

During Guitar and Milkman's chat with Hospital Tommy about baked Alaska and how black men aren't able to achieve certain things, Hospital Tommy mentions that he has killed someone before with a bayonet. He says that the men at Ninety-second all used bayonets and that Belleau Wood glittered with them. (Chap. 4 p. 101) I wondered what Belleau Wood was and I found out it was a battle from World War I. Here's a link that describes what happened at this event.

In Song of Solomon, Milkman and other men kill a bobcat and then plan to eat it. This part of the book has a lot of meaning because the bobcat resembles Milkman in a way. After this, we see that Milkman is a different person now and is "free". This web link has basic information about the bobcat. It describes its habitat, lifestyle, and other interesting facts. Come learn more about this beautiful animal!