Prompt #5: Gilead

Prompt: Often we can learn a lot about a character through his relationship with another character or characters. Discuss a relationship you see between two characters in Gilead and what that relationship tells you about the characters and the novel as a whole.

            A little boy wishes for nothing more than to be like his father when he grows up. Sometimes, this wish stems from a great wealth of respect, and other times because a father is a young boy’s first male role model. Reverend John Ames of Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson, relates to his father with a similar mixture of respect and awe. His strong relationship with his father affects both his development as a character, and eventually, his relationship with his own son. The development of this father-son relationship throughout the novel not only characterizes Reverend Ames, but provides the background to his purpose for writing this letter of his life history: to build a relationship with his own son, even after he passes away.

            The most visible connections relating Reverend Ames to his father are the similarities between the two men. Mutual respect is created between Reverend Ames and his father because both are ministers. They live by the same scriptures and principles. Reverend Ames feels that religion defined a large portion of his father’s life. By sharing the same commitment to spreading God’s word, John and his father are united by common beliefs and goals. The magnitude of the effect of religion on both of their lies is evidenced by the impact of the ministry on their basic personalities and characters. When traveling in the West together, strangers immediately recognize Reverend Ames’ father as a preacher. He recalls, “And they could tell he was a preacher, rough-looking as we were a few days into our desert wanderings, as he called them. […] He was interested that they knew, and wondered a good deal what it was that gave him away” (Robinson 16). Sentences later, he thinks, “I have had the same experience many times, and I have wondered about it, too” (16). Whatever special quality the men share, it immediately identifies them, creating a common link between them. Additionally, Reverend Ames and his father both share the name John Ames. This furthers the similarities between father and son, both literally and symbolically. Simply, they have the same name, but the author seems to suggest that they were nearly the same person in respect to their ideals. Because Reverend Ames and his father share their passion for religion, it becomes apparent that their father-son relationship is so strong because they are similar in multiple respects.

            Though Reverend Ames and his father share the same profession and name, he contemplates the subtle differences between their methods of preaching. One aspect he focuses on is the way ministers write their sermons. He recalls that his father always preached from his notes, whereas he must write his own sermons down completely. Reverend Ames sees his father’s notes and his own sermons as works that could have a future impact. Yet, his father’s sermons can never be relived or repeated because they were never completely recorded. The concept of being able to preserve a sermon forever fascinates Reverend Ames. Perhaps his father’s way of only partially recording his sermons compels him to save every sermon he preaches, so his wife and son may have access to them after he passes away. This contemplation of the method in which his father recorded his sermons is indicative of the way Reverend Ames views his father’s sermons as a part of the man and father he was. For that reason, Reverend Ames is meticulous about recording his own sermons verbatim so they can be saved for his son.

            Throughout his letter, Reverend Ames also returns frequently to positive memories he has of his father. One of his oldest, most sacred memories of his father is when his father fed him a biscuit from his hand during a gathering to repair the church. The act was simple, but Reverend Ames remembers it as if his father was giving him communion straight from his hand. At that moment, he felt blessed by his father and closer to him than before. For this reason, Reverend Ames feeds his own son communion from his hand as a little boy, even though he is too young to have communion or remember the occasion. For Reverend Ames, the situation was a treasured moment with his father, and he wants his son to have the same opportunity. He also often discusses the trip he took with his father as a boy to find his grandfather’s grave in the wilderness. He recounts the night they stood at the grave, with the rising moon and setting sun creating a straight line on the horizon, with the grave and the two men at the center of it. Later, his father told him that everyone observed the same alignment. Looking back at that situation, Reverend Ames says, “Later I realized my father would have meant that the sun and moon aligned themselves as they did with no special reference to the two of us. He never encouraged any talk about visions or miracles, except the ones in the Bible” (48). Reverend Ames seems disappointed by his father’s rejection of the possibility of a miracle, yet at the same time, his religious views are shaped by his father. Now, as an adult and a preacher, Reverend Ames still references his father’s teachings when he considers the possibility of a vision or miracle, showing the lasting impact his father’s teaching has had on him. Reverend Ames wants his own son to learn from his religious teachings as well, just as his father taught him.

            Although he fully respects and loves his father, Reverend Ames also harbors conflicting feelings about his father’s relationship with his grandfather. His father hated his own father for his role in the Civil War. The man often wore his bloody war shirts and his pistol during church services, brandishing them as proof of God’s will in the war. These antics enraged Reverend Ames’s father even after he man had died, leading him to destroy the relics, without regard to respect for the dead. Reverend Ames feels that his father was hiding the “guilt” of his grandfather, saying, “I had so much respect for my father. I felt certain that he should hide the guilt of his father, and that I should also hide the guilt of mine” (85). This shows how although Reverend Ames believes his father had done something wrong in his hatred of his own father, he wanted to respect and to protect him. Reverend Ames does not want his son to have to be responsible for any of his own guilt, and uses this recollection of how he felt about his father’s disrespect to his grandfather as an example of what he has learned about father-son relationships.

            The progression of the relationship between Reverend Ames and his father shows much about the nature of each of the men. The development of their relationship shows how Reverend Ames’s father was a man who held love for his son, as well as the desire to teach him morals and religion. This is evidenced in the gentle way he fed young Reverend Ames from his hand, and how he revealed the guilt of his father to him so he might not repeat similar sins. The relationship also demonstrates how much respect Reverend Ames has for his father. He is very conscious of the relationship between father and son, constantly analyzing it. He respected his father’s profession and his beliefs, showing how his world views derive directly from his father’s teachings. In the context of the novel, the relationship between Reverend Ames and his father shows how impressionable a child is, receiving all of their teachings from their parents. Whether the teaching is good or bad, the child will be affected by it forever. Because Reverend Ames will die before he has the opportunity to teach his own son the lessons taught to him by his father, it is necessary that he records his teachings in the letter. In this way, the relationship between Reverend Ames and his father shows how each man’s character was shaped by his father, and demonstrates the importance of passing knowledge from one generation to the next.

            In Reverend Ames’s case, he strives to be like his father not because he is the only male he knows well, but because he values his teachings so much. From his father, he learned the importance of passing religious traditions to his own son, as well as how to protect his son from holding his guilt. This beautiful relationship validates Reverend Ames’s efforts, because though he will not be alive to teach his son, his wisdom can live on in the words of his letter.

Prompt #4: Charming Billy

Prompt: Though Billy Lynch is the title character of the novel, Charming Billy presents several other well-rounded characters. Choose a character other than Billy and discuss the methods the author uses to create him/her. How does your character contribute to the meaning of the novel?

 

            Human society revolves around the idea of contrasts. From the Chinese symbols of yin and yang, to the juxtaposition of right and wrong in nearly every childhood tale, understanding is often best attained by drawing a contrast. In the novel Charming Billy, by Alice McDermott, lifelong friends Billy and Dennis form their own kind of yin-yang relationship. Billy is wild and romantic, while Dennis is calm and realistic. Although Billy is the title character of the book, Dennis is developed just as richly through direct and indirect methods of characterization, furthering the contrast between the two characters.

            The author uses physical description to directly characterize Dennis, at the same time contrasting his looks with Billy. The narrator of the novel observes, “…Billy thin-faced with black hair and pale blue eyes behind his rimless glasses; Dennis with broad cheeks, eternally flushed, and dark eyes and fair hair that had only begun to thin under his combat helmet, somewhere, he claimed, in northern France. One every inch the poet or the scholar, the other a perfect young cop or barman” (McDermott 63). This direct description helps to identify Dennis’ strong Irish roots by assigning him one of the “…half dozen or so basic versions of the Irish physiognomy…” (63). Beyond that, Dennis’s physical appearance makes him look like a “young cop,” contributing to the way others react to him. As the narrator describes Dennis as a young man, she notes the way drunken men loitering on the streets would move as Dennis approached, mistaking him for a police officer. This glimpse of Dennis’s interactions with the drunken men on the streets foreshadows his dealings with Billy in the future, taking care of his friend each night when he arrives home drunk. Furthermore, this direct characterization draws the contrast between the two men by connecting Billy’s appearance to a poet and Dennis’s appearance to a cop. These occupations are symbolic of each man’s character: Billy, soft and emotional, and Dennis, strong and orderly. By directly describing Dennis’s physical appearance, the author achieves a greater contrast between him and Billy and implies how other characters respond to Dennis’s personality.

            Dennis’s actions are also indicative of his character, showing how selfless he is. Dennis tends to pay attention to other’s needs, making his daily decisions based on how they will affect the others around him. At the opening of the novel, Dennis is first seen at the table next to Maeve, following her husband’s funeral. He is extremely perceptive of Maeve’s needs, getting her more iced tea and communicating with the waitresses and the restaurant manager for her. In this way, Dennis is unlike Billy, who was never able to take care of Maeve. Rather, she nursed him as he became more addicted to alcohol. As the narrator recalls events from the past, Dennis’s differences from Billy become more apparent. Instead of telling Billy the truth about his love, Eva, who has just been married to another man, he decides to tell him that she has died. Dennis does not consider the romance that Billy has treasured, but the long-term, practical effects of telling the truth. The narrator notes, “…he had no real plan. He only knew he didn’t want to deliver the blow with Billy’s two sisters and their husbands and Aunt Ellen, his mother, around. Imagine the night: your life’s plans blasted, the baby crying in the next room, your sister and her young husband stirring in their bed, your widowed mother tapping at your bedroom door hour after hour…” (27). Dennis’s practical assessment of the future leads him to tell the lie instead, showing how he deals with problems in an orderly way, unlike the sentimental Billy. Although this action seems cruel, Dennis shows that he can be kind and selfless. When Billy first met Eva, Dennis approached his wealthy stepfather for a loan for Billy. He procured $500, allowing Billy to send for Eva. Though Dennis does not always understand Billy’s sentimental inclinations, he is willing to do anything that he believes will make his friend most happy. The combination of Dennis’s actions over the years demonstrates how he is helpful by nature, yet very different from Billy and his romantic, unrealistic view of life.

            The most compelling testimony to Dennis’s true character is the way others react to him. The author carefully crafts the other characters’ reactions to reflect the gentle, loyal man they perceive Dennis to be. As the characters reminisce at Maeve’s house after Billy’s funeral, they praise Dennis for his dedication to Billy and Maeve. They say, “And Dennis having to go down to the VA to identify Billy like that. What would Maeve have done, over the years, without your father to call on” (165). This statement shows how Dennis remained loyal to Billy, even when the tasks presented to him were difficult. Nobody wants to identify a dead body – especially that of his best friend. Dennis was always there to help Maeve with Billy, receiving phone calls and visiting late at night, even when his own wife was terminally ill at home. The trust the other characters place in Dennis demonstrates how loyal and reliable Dennis was for his friend, even as the mutual nature of his friendship with Billy was no longer reciprocated.

            By drawing a contrast between the characters of Billy and Dennis, the author is essentially contrasting two ways of life: one very realistic and the other imaginary and romantic. The romantic lifestyle is most exciting, but leads to heartbreak and failure. Billy lives his life spontaneously, investing all of his energy into his love with Eva. Because of his sentimental and childish image of love, Billy eventually becomes helpless. Contrastingly, Dennis is matter-of-fact about everything, helping him to stay in control even as Billy fails to recover from his broken heart. The author captures Dennis’s view on Billy’s imaginary world when he says, “‘Billy didn’t need someone to pour him his drinks, he needed someone to tell him that living isn’t poetry. It isn’t prayer. To tell him and convince him’” (194). Dennis is saying that Billy needed to focus on reality. He needed someone to tell him that unlike the romantic lines of poetry he loved to recite, real life was not always flawless. Because Billy could not understand this way of life, he crumbled when faced with adversity. This is what made Billy the wrong husband for Maeve, and what made Dennis the best husband for her later on. The author contrasts these life views throughout the novel to show how they affect one’s entire life.

            The narrator closes with a statement: “As if, in that wide-ranging anthology of stories that was the lives of the saints – that was, as well, my father’s faith and Billy’s and some part of my own – what was actual, as opposed to what was imagined, as opposed to what was believed, made, when you got right down to it, any difference at all” (243). This quote can be interpreted to mean that whether someone chooses to live in the realistic world or in an imaginary world, the outcome of their life will result directly, and cannot be altered. The underlying meaning of the novel revolves around how characters deal differently with hardship and life, leading to their success or failure. Though Billy’s spontaneity and personable ways made him a favorite with his friends, his unrealistic view of the world was his downfall. Dennis was realistic in every way – from his looks, to his actions, to his interactions with other people. Even as Billy’s complete opposite, Dennis made a reliable, strong friend who was capable of dealing with even the most difficult situations.