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
Glory comes by to warn John that Jack Boughton is home and will stop by in the next day or two. John feels he needs the time to prepare. It was kind of Boughton to name Jack after him, having figured John might never have a son. Whenever Jack’s name appeared in the newspaper, it always got printed as John Ames Boughton.
There’s an ominous feeling about Jack’s impending visit, especially since John hasn’t revealed yet why there is tension between himself and Jack. Boughton intended that Jack would be a sort of surrogate son to the childless John. But this was an ambiguous blessing—it’s not clear, for example, that having his name appear in the paper (as part of Jack’s name) was a good thing.
Themes
John’s father told him stories while they wandered around Kansas, searching for his grandfather’s grave. He told John that after the war, he used to spend Sabbaths with the Quakers. Their own church was half empty, filled with widows and orphans who wept when his father preached about God’s righteousness manifested in the war. But John isn’t sure what else his grandfather could have said. He also thinks it’s honorable that his grandfather came back to his congregation after the war, though many people started going to the Methodist open-air meetings instead.
It’s interesting that John’s father told him stories much like John is writing down stories for his son now. Recall that it was a harrowing journey, and John’s father probably figured he should pass down the family stories in case he didn’t survive the trip—maybe even giving John the idea to do the same someday. He admitted to John that he couldn’t bear to stay in his father’s church after the war, so he worshipped with Quakers (notable pacifists) instead. But John sympathizes with his grandfather and admires his struggle to maintain integrity between fighting in the war and practicing his faith as before.
Themes
John’s grandfather knew his church was dying. He did odd jobs for the needy and tried to get pensions for veterans and widows. At the time, his wife was dying, possibly of cancer, and no one could do much for her, and John’s grandfather did not seem to have much time for her suffering. John thinks his grandfather’s “strenuousness in ethical matters” was both admirable and also the source of his errors. He suffered greatly, but he also sought out trouble.
John’s grandfather seemed to be more attentive to his dying congregation than to his dying wife. John suggests that his grandfather’s inflexible views motivated him to activism, but they also blinded him to needs closer to home.
Themes
John thinks that in the end, his grandfather’s idea of visions was probably too narrow. He thinks sometimes the “visionary” comes to a person in a memory or over time. For example, each time he baptizes a child, he understands the mystery of the act a little bit better. He also thinks that visions come through memory sometimes.
Although John is more sympathetic to his grandfather than his father was, he thinks his grandfather’s passionate convictions caused harm as well as good. He believes in visions, but his idea of them is much broader. In fact, it could be that writing down these memories is a way of sharing “visions” with his son someday, after he’s gone.
Themes
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John Ames Boughton came to visit today. He greeted John as “Papa,” a name he’s called John since childhood, though John doesn’t think Jack really likes him. When Jack introduced himself to John’s wife with his full name, she looked startled, and Jack laughed, remarking that bygones clearly aren’t bygones. John realizes he probably should have told his wife about his namesake. John’s son is fascinated by Jack. John feels embarrassed when Jack helps him out of the porch swing and John sees how much taller Jack is than him.
The tension between John and Jack is immediately evident, and it’s telling that Jack’s visit follows John’s recollection of the estrangement between his father and grandfather—he doesn’t get along with his surrogate son, either. Even though Jack has an affectionate childhood name for John, John doesn’t believe there’s any real fondness in it, It’s also obvious that John never told Lila or their son that Jack is named after him, suggesting that he holds a grudge.
Themes
John remarks that it had been just about a perfect morning until Jack appeared. He notices looks on both his wife’s and son’s faces as they recognize John’s age. The visit with Jack goes fine and doesn’t last very long. John wishes his son could have known him “in [his] strength.”
John’s focus clearly isn’t on the visit—he barely gives any details about it—but on his family’s perception of his age. Something about Jack’s presence prompts this—perhaps John imagining what life with Lila and the boy could have been like when he was still young and strong, like Jack is now.
Themes
