The Central Theme of Gilead

While reading Gilead I felt incredibly confused. At first the book seemed incredibly disjointed and I could not figure out what tied everything together. Upon finishing the book and while discussing it in class I was still completely unsure what the central theme of the novel was. To me the book seemed to be divided into two disjointed pieces. One seemed to be about the narrator's father and grandfather, and the other about Jack Boughton. Yet, I could find no central theme which tied these two sections together in a satisfactory manner, and also conveyed a message worth writing a book to one's son about. After thinking about this problem for an inordinate amount of time I arrived at a conclusion which while I am still not sure is correct, is the best I could do.

After much thought, I finally decided that Gilead is, at its core, about leaving a legacy. This theme is pretty clear in the first section. First, the focus is almost entirely on the narrator's childhood. The narrator almost appears to be born into the cloth saying "My mother's father was a preacher, and my father's father was, too, and his father before him, and before that , nobody knows. but I wouldn't hesitate to guess. That life was second nature to them, just as it is to me" (6). The narrator is clearly born into a very specific legacy and chooses to continue this legacy. However, there is no indication that the narrator regrets this fact at all. In fact, there is a direct juxtaposition between the narrator who decides to continue his familial legacy of preaching and his brother Edward who goes off to college and becomes an atheist. Although the narrator indicates that this causes the family great pain at first saying "And there I was with Edward, trailing along after him, another grief to my parents, or so they might of thought" (27). However, the narrator also indicates Edward is forgiven saying "My father telling himself and the all the rest of us that Edward's transgressions were trivial beside his own" (194).  This coupled with the narrator generally speaking of Edward relatively positively (for instance he says "Edward, for example did have a mind of his own, a mind worthy of respect" (125). While the narrator goes on to question the first part of that statement he still clearly loves and respects Edward. As such, perhaps the first section is the narrator trying to communicate to his son that while he does come from a great legacy of preachers he doesn't necessarily have to continue this legacy.

The second section is much more unusual. The second session focuses primarily on Jack Boughton who thus far in his life has left a somewhat confusing legacy. On one hand he father's a child who he promptly deserts and who then dies at age three. The narrator describes this as "a bitter story, and one that left us all with much to regret" (159). On the other hand he also has another wife and child who he seems to love very much and actually care for. When the narrator hears Jack's full story he says "I wished there were grounds for my old dread. That amazed me. I felt as if I'd have bequeathed him wife and child if I could supply the loss of his own" (233). As such, it is safe to assume Jack Boughton has already gone about leaving a complex legacy and one which I think is meant to make the reader question what a person can do to better their legacy and what makes a good legacy.

While there are certainly other potential themes, such as race relations, in my opinion the theme detailed in this blog post makes the most sense in the context. It is important to remember that the book is a message from father to son. As such, the theme of novel should communicate something to the son. Furthermore, many of the competing overarching themes, such as race, can actually fit into the theme of leaving a legacy. As such, I believe the book is a father trying to tell a son to forge his own legacy in the world and give some advice at how to best do so while the father himself grapples with what legacy he will soon leave.