Milkman's symbolic baptism and rebirth at the river complete his transformation from "Milkman" — the immature, irresponsible youth — to "Sugarman" — the subject of Pilate's/Solomon's song; he is the heir to Pilate's role as the transmitter of his people's culture and history. But even at this stage of his spiritual growth, he is unaware of the cost of his quest. For example, when he tells Sweet the story of his great-grandfather Solomon's flight back to Africa, he doesn't understand the meaning behind her question, "Who'd he leave behind?" Not until he returns home and learns his final lesson of love from Pilate is he able to understand that his freedom (like Solomon's) has come at the expense of the people he left behind — namely, Hagar. Consequently, his challenge is not only to reclaim the gift of flight but to break the legacy established by Solomon and followed by Jake and Macon of men who abandon those who love them.
Ironically, despite his transformation and newfound awareness, Milkman's victory is tenuous and has little impact on his family or community. Upon returning home, he learns that Hagar is dead due to his cruelty and inability to love. He also finds that although Pilate is surprised to discover that the bones in her sack are her father's, she is generally unmoved by this knowledge due to her reverence for all life and her close relationship to her father before and after his death.
By giving Milkman the box containing Hagar's hair, Pilate entrusts him with her granddaughter's soul. According to the voodoo religion, the hair and fingernails of the deceased contain the dead person's soul and generally are burned to keep them out of the hands of individuals who might want to harm the soul of the deceased or keep it from finding peace in the afterlife. Pilate's action also reflects her adherence to her father's philosophy: "You just can't fly on off and leave a body." Because Milkman is responsible for Hagar's death, he must assume responsibility for her soul, thus carrying on the tradition Pilate has established by caring for the bones she thought belonged to the white man whom her brother supposedly killed in Hunter's Cave.
