Macon strongly desires to leave home and make his own way in the world. He tries to explain this desire to his father when he says, “I just want to be on my own. Get a job on my own, live on my own” (163). His father protests, citing all the advantages of staying home and continuing to work at his real estate business. Macon tells Milkman that one day the business will be his, and it’s to his advantage to learn as much as he can about the business now, not take a year off. But Milkman continues to ask for money, urging his father not to hoard it as Pilate does with her “green sack” (163). Macon suddenly focuses his full attention on this revelation about the green sack hanging from Pilate’s ceiling, a sack that holds, according to what Hagar told Milkman, her “inheritance” (163). Macon immediately demands to know more about this green sack.

As Macon listens to Milkman, he becomes convinced that the green sack is full of gold. He explains to Milkman why he knows this, sharing a childhood secret. After their father was killed, Macon and Pilate were first taken in by Circe, a servant at a nearby farm.