Milkman's greed and contempt created by his vanity hinders him from following down the path to flying. He will only be able to fly once leaves the world of the wealthy and enters the realm of self-identity. .
Regardless of his past, Milkman is able to learn for himself that what he really needs to feel content is not money, but a realization of who he really is. By losing sight of his original goal to seek out the gold from Solomon's Leap, Milkman is able to walk down a path of his lineage. By letting go of riches and looking for a way to find where he belongs, Milkman is symbolized once again by the peacock, as the narrator describes, "A peacock soared away and lit on the hood of a blue Buick" (283). Once again, the beautiful peacock symbolizes Milkman's life. Because he let go of his vanity and stepped into the world where he can find out family history, Milkman is closer to being able to soar. The peacock is able to fly once Milkman realizes he does not need to have wealth to fly. Because it symbolizes Milkman's past, the peacock flying indicates that Milkman, too, will be able to fly. Likewise, Milkman sees that he has the ability to fly away after he is well acquainted with his lineage. His self-knowledge played a big role in his opportunity to soar. By letting everything go, Milkman is able to soar, as portrayed, "For now he [Milkman] knew what Shalimar knew: if you surrendered to the air, you could ride it" (337). If he lets himself go, Milkman can soar. By riding the air, he could escape from all reality and leave the world with the knowledge of how his family came to be. Even the people of Shalimar knew of the answer to flying that Solomon had left behind for them to figure out: only by surrendering to the air could you learn to fly. Leaving behind all riches, family, and previous lifestyles, Milkman soars into the air, only with his self-knowledge and a little taste of freedom.