Theory on Milkman's Influences

For the duration of Part I in Song of Solomon,  Milkman's world is compressed entirely within his own familial ties. Besides Guitar, he only really even speaks to his parents, sisters, aunt, and two cousins. Truthfully, he barely even talks to his sisters or Reba; Ruth, Macon, Pilate and Hagar are the four living forces that dictate his social life. Narrowing further, Hagar's purpose (to Milkman) is fairly one-dimensional, and her world is so intrinsically involved with Pilate's that she becomes a more of a product of Pilate's sphere. As he moves through his childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, Ruth, Macon and Pilate all pull him towards their own lives and enforce certain qualities. I'll make the case that the majority of the Milkman coming-of-age is dictated by these three main adult figures in different phases, and that their influence determines his character. 

The first phase of Milkman's life is largely influenced by Ruth. Considering his youth, the narrative of Song of Solomon doesn't follow his thoughts in earlier sections, but readers can still observe their close relationship and what it creates for his character. Specifically, right from when Freddie utters "A milkman. That's what you got here, Miss Rufie", Milkman's literal name and identity are altered from his breastfeeding activities with Ruth (15). Even though her actions have little to no influence on his thinking or mindset, they begin Milkman's sense of self and give him the groundwork for a personality.

Milkman's adolescence to early adulthood is guided by Pilate and Macon's influences simultaneously. Macon rules the house life rather aggressively, while Pilate's world is the downtime of Milkman's life. A description right before they first enter Pilate's house illustrates their separate yet coinciding influences on Milkman. 

All those unbelievable but entirely possible stories about his father's sister - the woman his father had forbidden him to go near - had both of them spellbound. Neither wished to live one more day without finding out the truth, and they believed they were the legitimate and natural ones to do so. (36)

Milkman's absolute fascination with Pilate along with the mention of his father's control over his life show their combined impact on his world. Ruth is distant from Milkman at this point since he has been weaned from her early mother-child relationship, and Macon dominates the household as the loud and aggressive bread-winner. Whenever Milkman is absent from his company, Pilate's world of familial love, familial intrigue ( from the unbelievable stories of his relative), and Hagar takes up his time. Macon and Pilate are forces in Milkman's life that add both discipline and leisure, and balance his agenda between a free-spirit and a man deeply entrenched in society.

In this line of thinking, Part II can be seen as a departure, or final stage in becoming his own person. He is isolated from these]adult figures for the majority of his journey, and he meets an entirely new cast of characters, whether alive, dead, mythologized, or any combination of the three. However, Ruth, Macon, and Pilate created the man that set on the quest by telling him each their own accounts of the same stories, thereby changing his perspectives on his identity.