I honestly could not believe it when Milkman decided that he would steal from Pilate. She practically raised him as a baby, and was his escape from the brutal world as a teenager. Along with that, she is just a caring old woman that he cares about and looks up to, so it upset me when he set his mind to attempting to steal from her, and taking his father's side. The whole moonlit scene with Guitar and Milkman attempting to rob "gold" was quite amusing, especially at the very end where we inadvertently see Pilate muttering to herself, but only fully realize it's Pilate because we are told she is chewing on a wooden splinter.
After Pilate so graciously bails Milkman and Guitar out of trouble, Milkman can't get the idea of godld and opportunity out of his head. This whole fiasco with the gold seemed to point Milkman in the "right" direction in terms of finding out who he is and going forward in life on his own. As Lena accuses him of never having lifted more than his own shoes, shortly after we see him climbing up steep rocks and tearing his precious clothes, feeling hunger, and helping a man lift a very heavy object, thereby exerting himself. For the first time in his sheltered life, he is forced to make decisions on his own and take care of himself alone, with no one else to clean up after himself.
Though I'm truly not sure how the book will end, I have this feeling that Milkman will find his aunt's relatives in Virginia and find his true calling and feel like he belongs there. However, I want him to have to "suffer" a bit more on his own so he really understands what living is like for the majority of people in his life.
After Pilate so graciously bails Milkman and Guitar out of trouble, Milkman can't get the idea of godld and opportunity out of his head. This whole fiasco with the gold seemed to point Milkman in the "right" direction in terms of finding out who he is and going forward in life on his own. As Lena accuses him of never having lifted more than his own shoes, shortly after we see him climbing up steep rocks and tearing his precious clothes, feeling hunger, and helping a man lift a very heavy object, thereby exerting himself. For the first time in his sheltered life, he is forced to make decisions on his own and take care of himself alone, with no one else to clean up after himself.
Though I'm truly not sure how the book will end, I have this feeling that Milkman will find his aunt's relatives in Virginia and find his true calling and feel like he belongs there. However, I want him to have to "suffer" a bit more on his own so he really understands what living is like for the majority of people in his life.
This whole gold-stealing escapade always makes me think of something out of Scooby-Doo--it's especially funny to go back and reread Guitar and Milkman's big talk about their "heist" in the chapter that precedes their attempt (when, significantly, Guitar points to the peacock and warns Milkman about "vanity" weighing you down). But the fiasco does seem to point Milkman roughly in the right direction--he does, significantly, feel shame about the whole affair, especially the way Pilate has to degrade herself before the cops for his benefit. I see the scene where he's in the bath really examining his own role in the world and feeling shame about the whole thing, along with Lena's dressing-down of him, as combining to send him on his *real* quest in part 2.
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