Gilead Sin Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Letter.Section.Paragraph)

Quote #4

I think that fierce anger against him was one of the things my father felt he truly had to repent of. (1.7.54)

The anger in the Ames family, which Ames shares, has alienated father and son. It's destroyed solidarity—and in Christian theology, that's a clear sign of the sinful nature of this particular emotion.

Quote #5

These people who can see right through you never quite do you justice, because they never give you credit for the effort you're making to be better than you actually are, which is difficult and well meant and deserving of some little notice. (1.7.90)

Jack has a way of seeing into someone and knowing if they're honest. Ames worries that this ability to understand people's honesty might make people seem worse than they are to Jack. Jack detects the dishonesty in people, but he doesn't necessarily detect others' desire to do better.

Quote #6

My father hated to believe he was the man my grandfather shot, but he did believe it. (1.7.119)

Ames's father can't have closure, because he can't either prove or disprove his own father's guilt. He's probably right, but he still judges himself harshly for assuming the worst.