How we cite our quotes: (Letter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I don't know why I should expect to have any idea of heaven. I could never have imagined this world if I hadn't spent almost eight decades walking around in it. (1.5.26)
Ames doesn't dwell on images of heaven. He doesn't see the point. Why not? Well, he expects heaven to be entirely unlike the popular images of it.
Quote #2
I suppose we really should have stolen her. (1.15.13)
Jack's first child died because he abandoned her and she wasn't raised in a safe home. Ames believes that Gilead would have been a better home for her, even if the child had been separated from her mother's family. He thinks Gilead would have created a community for her.
Quote #3
All that time, though, I think he was just finding his way to Edward, and I really can't blame him for it. He did try to take me along with him. (1.15.115)
Ames's father drifts away from his ministry vocation. Once devout, he loses touch with his former conviction. The church is no longer home to him. His home is with his son Edward.