the Dead family

E454606

The Dead family is the central, multigenerational African American family in Toni Morrison’s novel "Song of Solomon," around whom the story’s complex history, identities, and secrets revolve.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
the Dead family canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (44)

Predicate Object
instanceOf fictional family ⓘ
literary character group ⓘ
appearsIn Song of Solomon ⓘ
centralTo plot of Song of Solomon ⓘ
conflictType intergenerational conflict ⓘ
intrafamilial conflict ⓘ
createdBy Toni Morrison ⓘ
ethnicity African American ⓘ
linked to: Black Americans
familyNameOrigin clerical error by a white registrar ⓘ
firstAppearanceYear 1977 ⓘ
hasAncestralRootIn Shalimar, Virginia ⓘ
hasFamilyName Dead ⓘ
hasMember First Corinthians Dead ⓘ
Hagar ⓘ
Jake ⓘ
Macon Dead I ⓘ
Macon Dead Jr. ⓘ
Magdalene called Lena Dead ⓘ
Milkman Dead ⓘ
Pilate Dead ⓘ
Reba ⓘ
Ruth Foster Dead ⓘ
Sing ⓘ
languageOfWork English ⓘ
literaryPeriod postmodern American literature ⓘ
matriarch Ruth Foster Dead ⓘ
narrativeFunction connects personal identity to ancestral history ⓘ
embodies multigenerational African American experience ⓘ
nationalContext United States literature ⓘ
patriarch Macon Dead Jr. ⓘ
relatedTo Butler family ⓘ
Byrd family ⓘ
setIn Michigan ⓘ
Pennsylvania ⓘ
Virginia ⓘ
symbolismAssociatedWith burden of history ⓘ
possibility of transcendence ⓘ
power of names ⓘ
themeAssociatedWith ancestry ⓘ
flight and freedom ⓘ
identity ⓘ
materialism vs. spiritual values ⓘ
trauma and memory ⓘ
timeFrame early to mid-20th century ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Ruth Foster Dead → associatedWith → the Dead family ⓘ