People handle trauma and the way it shapes their life in different ways. The same goes for brothers and sisters who have experienced family trauma together. In the Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison Macon Dead and Pilate Dead came away from the death of their father with very different views and personalities. Their differences carry over into their family life as adults. Through the use of literary elements Morrison contrasts Macon and Pilate's families in the over all tone of the family, the way they they interact with one another, and the way they measure success.

When Morrison first explains the Macon Dead family dynamic the reader almost immediately senses the callous, overbearing tone Macon brings to the family. His volcano like attitude becomes evident when he enters house "Solid rumbleing, likely to erupt with out prior notice" and his air of supiriority shows in the dissapointment...