Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Gilead, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Life, Death, and Beauty
Christian Faith, Mystery, and Ministry
Memory, Vision, and Conviction
Estrangement and Reconciliation
Loneliness and Love
Summary
Analysis
John spends a few hours at the church this morning, and when he comes home, he finds that his books and desk have been moved into the downstairs parlor. He knows it’s Jack Boughton’s doing, and he’s okay with this. He’s still bothered by the thought of Jack Boughton in his study. He even has trouble finding his journal at first and feels Jack taunted him by placing it in his bottom desk drawer, though he knows that’s not reasonable.
John is clearly struggling to accept Jack’s sudden—and very personal—reappearance in his life. He tells himself he’s okay with Jack taking the initiative to help, but he also feels Jack’s presence as an unwelcome intrusion and isn’t able to be completely rational about it.
Themes
Today, John gave his Hagar and Ishmael sermon, departing from the text more than he usually does. It may have been unwise, since he lay last night in a kind of paralysis of anxiety and woke exhausted. And then Jack Boughton showed up at church, and John’s son went to sit with him. But John notes that his wife didn’t give Jack a second look.
John continues to struggle with his sleep, implicitly concerned about Jack. Jack’s appearance at church seems to be uncharacteristic of him, but, tellingly, John is more focused on his son’s interest in Jack—and relieved by his wife’s apparent lack of interest. John hints that he’s concerned about Jack’s intentions toward John’s family, though it’s unclear what, exactly, he’s worried about and whether he’s justified in his suspicions.
Themes
John’s point in his sermon was that Abraham was called on to sacrifice both his sons, Isaac and Ishmael, and that in both cases, God sent an angel to intervene. He also sees Abraham’s old age as an important element, since any father, especially an elderly one, has to entrust his child to God’s providence. This takes great faith. He also notes that an old pastor’s anxiety for his church shows he forgets the fact that Christ is his people’s pastor. He changes the subject when he notices some of the women crying.
Though John doesn’t make the point explicit, there could be a parallel in his mind between Abraham’s sons Isaac (the long-awaited, favored son) and Ishmael (the cast-off son) and John’s sons (his biological son and his surrogate son, Jack). His explicit point is that an old man has to entrust his children—or his congregants, as the case may be—to the heavenly Father who loves them most.
Themes
John notes that when Abraham takes Isaac into the wilderness and when he sends Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness, these are the only times in Scripture when a father appears to act unkindly to his children. In practice, John notes, everyone knows fathers who mistreat their children. At this moment, he notes that Jack is pale and grinning. He regrets choosing this text to preach on and wandering from his written notes.
When John muses that neglectful fathers don’t measure up to the model fathers of the Bible, he seems to trigger an emotional response in Jack. The fact that this is a digression suggests that John had something in mind about Jack that he didn’t intend to say out loud.
Themes
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John goes on to note that the Bible does acknowledge that children offer suffer from others’ cruelty, that it doesn’t countenance this, and that even in such circumstances, the child is always within God’s care. He doesn’t know if it’s a sufficient answer to the question; he’s never been satisfied with his attempts. He always worries that when he speaks of God’s providence, he will unintentionally downplay the evil of oppression. But the Bible doesn’t do this, as the Gospel text shows when it speaks of a millstone around the neck of anyone who offends God’s “little ones.”
John wants to make it abundantly clear to his congregation, and to his son reading this, that God never approves of those who inflict suffering, especially on children. In fact, the Bible is emphatic that anyone who hurts children deserves a horrible fate. At the same time, he tries to show that even though we can’t understand the reason behind suffering or its meaning, people should trust that God cares for vulnerable sufferers.
Themes
John notices that Jack just keeps grinning. He’s always found this strange about Jack. Instead of regarding their meaning, Jack decides that words are hostile or not hostile and reacts accordingly. Even though John admits that Jack’s look might have influenced his extemporaneous comments, he still thinks it’s very presumptuous of Jack to assume that he was directing his words at him. He also notices that his wife looks anxious, and he wonders what Jack might have told her.
Jack’s strange smile suggests that he’s trying to mask his reaction to what John is saying in the sermon; John thinks he takes words themselves as an attack, regardless of what the speaker intends. It sounds as though John wants things both ways here—he thinks Jack is making assumptions, but at the same time, he basically admits that he was thinking specifically about Jack as he preached. He’s obviously conflicted.
Themes
