Lighting the Way in Gilead

Duality is prevalent in Gilead and is a tool used to expand the voice of the narrator and the breadth of the perspectives he explores. John Ames throughout Gilead has a graceful and hopeful tone, which is exemplified by the repeated themes of light and darkness.

Throughout the novel, we see Ames finding the beauty in everything as he comes to terms with his impending death. Even something as simple as two young men “propped against a wall in the sunshine”(5) is beautiful to him because he knows that the experiences of life end (for him sooner than later). He is almost reborn in his prognosis of death saying that he is amazed “at the brilliance pouring into my mind through my eyes”(67). Additionally, his son offers him a new lease on life because he can experience the world anew through his life. He gets to relive his “first fundamental experiments with fundamental things, gravity and light” (112). This is important to his voice and to the message that he sends his son about the value of life and the grace in death.

Light is also measured against darkness in Gilead. Ames has experienced dark times, most especially the loss of his wife and child when he was younger. However, he still chose to see these moments of deep loneliness as a kind of light as well, claiming that “The Lord our God is a purifying fire” (100). This is not naiveté, for he has seen the worst in others and himself.  It’s simply that, for him, there is dignity in sorrow without which one cannot experience fully the glory of the earth. To him, every individual is “a singular light within the great general light of existence” (119) and is loved by God. Therefore, while he recognizes that darkness surrounds us, he chooses to focus on the light in his life because it is far more powerful. Light comes from light, where darkness is simply the absence of light.

John Ames regrets that he must leave his son so young in life, and wants to impart what wisdom he has to him before he is gone. He feels that his son will see the beauty in God’s creation even at his lowest points in life. As he says, “Let your works so shine before men” (179).