Gilead

Lila promises to bring their son up in “the faith” (67) and works to improve her education for his benefit, as she’ll be the sole parental role model when John passes. John recommends some of his favorite books to read and share with their son. Lila also urges John to give their son communion, which he does, commenting, “It was an experience I might have missed. Now I only fear I will not have time enough to fully enjoy the thought of it” (70). Communion is important to John. As a boy, John helps his father pull down a church struck by lightning. His father gives him a biscuit smeared with ash, and John likens it to communion.

When John’s father was a boy, he saw his father and several men, some wounded, emerge with their horses from inside his father’s church and ride away. The grandfather supported radical abolitionist John Brown. A US Army soldier talked with John’s father then rode off in pursuit. The grandfather later admitted he shot the soldier and left him for dead. John’s father felt angry and guilty.

As a grown man, John’s father disagreed with how the grandfather used religion to justify war.