Pilate sounds a lot like pilot. Morrison notes this in Chapter 11. When Milkman asks Vernell, Small Boy, Calvin, Luther, and Omar if any of them have ever heard of Pilate, one of them (it’s unclear who) responds: “Ha! Sound like a newspaper headline: Pilot Dead. She do any flying?” (283). Given that Morrison recognizes the connection between Pilate and pilot, I think she chose the name for that connection; because Pilate is a lot like a pilot. From the OED, a pilot is both “A person who flies an aircraft, balloon, spacecraft, etc.” and “A navigator, guide, or driver.” I think Pilate fills both meanings of the word in that she guides Milkman’s metaphorical flight: his journey away from Michigan. Pilate guides the beginning of the flight because Milkman only leaves Michigan for Pennsylvania to go find her gold. Then once Milkman fails to find the gold in Pennsylvania, Pilate continues to guide Milkman. He decides to follow the path Pilate took after she left the