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 cave: “She took the gold. To Virginia. And maybe somebody in Virginia would know. Milkman followed in her tracks.” (258).
In Virginia, Pilate continues to guide Milkman. When he gets back to Shalimar after visiting Susan Byrd he’s pretty much hit a dead end because he doesn’t know where to go to find the gold or to find out more about his family. Then the children’s song gives him new ideas. The song isn’t just any song though; it contains the song that Pilate sings all the time. Milkman calls part of this song “Pilate’s song” (303). Since the song pretty much belongs to Pilate in the world of the book, it guiding Milkman is akin to Pilate guiding Milkman.
I have two ideas about how Pilate’s piloting might fit in to the end of the novel.
First, Pilate ripping out her earring that contains her name symbolizes her giving up her role as a pilot. She does pretty much give up piloting at that point because she dies immediately afterwards.
On the other hand, Pilate even pilots Jake’s end (or what could potentially be Jake’s end) because it is her death the impels him to “leap” (337).
What do you guys think about Pilate being Milkman’s guide? What do you think this means for the ending?
I agree with your first idea but I feel like Pilate gives up her role before Virginia. The roles of who is the pilot switches as Milkman brings Pilate back to Virginia to bury her father's bones. It is Milkman's decision and Pilate follows along and so the ripping of the earring would be like the final concession.
ReplyDeleteI definitely see Pilate as Milkman's pilot. Not only does she lead him through his teen years and through his formative adult life, but he also lets her lead him too. Part of what makes pilots figures of authority is how much trust others put in them. I think it's clear Pilate's power over Milkman is because he trusts her judgement because she had never led him astray. Great post, Annemily!
ReplyDeletePilate is also the person who wakes Milkman up to his wrongdoings, when she comes to save his ass from jail, Milkman realizes (at least sort of) how selfish he has been his entire life.
ReplyDeleteAs you said, I feel like Pilate's name is definitely something intentional on Morrison's part. She certainly guides Milkman in his physical journey to Pennsylvania and Virginia, and as a result ends up guiding him towards his enlightenment, in which he finds real purpose in his life through his family's past. I feel like Pilate is the one character that guides Milkman down the best path (compared to his father or Guitar, for example).
ReplyDeleteWe talked a little bit about it in class, but I definitely thought that Pilate was extremely vital in playing the role of (as you talk about) Milkman's kind of navigator or pilot through his journey of self-discovery. I definitely agree with you that Morrison chose this name ironically, but also in a way that still fit with her character (with the whole name thing) in the book [Morrison is so good omg]. Milkman's whole world is opened up with Pilate, and visiting her home and becoming opened up to a world of love and a new meaning to family. Pilate was a central role in the upbringing of Milkman in my opinion, and in that way was also Milkman's pilot even before setting out to find the gold. Great post though, it's a very interesting detail to explore.
ReplyDeletePilate's name represents how, unlike the Dead family, she is able to be a good person and have healthy relationships. Milkman isn't able to "fly" like he does at the end when he jumps down to meet Guitar until he embraces Pilate's perspective on life. Whereas his family is stuck on the ground because they're negative, rely too much on their privilege, and full of toxic relationships. Nice post :)
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