It's tough to keep a family together. Gilead features three families facing especially difficult times: the head of the Ames family is slowly dying; the Boughtons have a prodigal son; and Jack Boughton has a family, far away, that he loves but can't provide for. What makes a family? Why does family matter? These are some of the big questions the novel tackles. In fact, the whole book is framed around the question of family: it's a letter, written by a dying father to his young son, giving the boy the history of his family and their family's friends.
Questions About Family
- Why is Jack hesitant to tell his father about his new family?
- Why is Ames so concerned with Jack's return?
- How is Ames like his father and grandfather? How is he different from them?
- What is the wilderness that Ames speaks of sending his son into?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Ames is more like his father.
Ames is more like his grandfather.