Literature Help: Gilead

By Students' Academy

“Gilead” by Marilynne Robinson was first published in 2004. It was the second novel written by the author. Her first novel was “Housekeeping” and it had been published in 1980.

When the novel “Gilead” was published, it was greatly admired by both critics and readers. The book was the winner of the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005. It was also the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in the same year.

Literature Help: Gilead
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Major Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Chapter Five: Thematic Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Apr 13, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311986283

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Literature Help: Gilead

Copyright

Literature Help: Gilead

Students’ Academy

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Chapter One: Introduction

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson was first published in 2004. It was the second novel written by the author. Her first novel was Housekeeping and it had been published in 1980.

When the novel Gilead was published, it was greatly admired by both critics and readers. The book was the winner of the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005. It was also the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in the same year.

It happens to be an epistolary novel, the fictional autobiography of the Reverend John Ames. He used to be an elderly pastor in the small and secluded town called Gilead, in Iowa. The pastor learns that he is dying of a heart condition.

When the book opens, the date that the author establishes is in the year 1956. The pastor informs the reader that he is writing an account of his life for his son who is only seven years old. The Reverend thinks that his son will have few memories of him.

The author defines the fictional town of Gilead as Hill of testimony that is mentioned in the Bible, Genesis 31:21. This fictional town is based on a real town called Tabor, in Iowa. That town is located in the southwest corner of the state of Iowa. The place has its significance because of the abolition movement.

The narrator’s grandfather happens to have been inspired by the real life story of the Reverend John Todd. The pastor used to be a conductor on the Underground Railroad. However, he used to store weapons, supplies, ammunitions, and several other things that the abolitionist John Brown used in his invasion of Missouri in 1857. He and his men had invaded Missouri to free several slaves.

It is noted that Gilead is a personal favourite of President Barack Obama. He had awarded the author the National Humanities Medal in the year 2012. The President is reported to have admired Robinson on a number of occasions.

Most of the critics from the different parts of the world admired the work and sent highly positive reviews after the publication of the book.

Writing for the New Yorker, James Wood mentioned that there is something highly remarkable about the writing in Gilead. He added that it is not just a matter of writing well, although Robinson shows that talent on every page of the book...it is not just the care with which the author can relax the style to a Midwestern colloquialism. Likewise, David E. Anderson, writing for PBS, mentioned that Gilead is better than a good book. He added that it is a slim, spare, and yet exquisite and wonderfully realized story that will long stand as one of the fiction’s finest reflections on the sacramental dimensions of life, particularly the Christian life lived in the routines and wonderments of prayer. He concluded his review by mentioning that Gilead is a good sermon and a passionate meditation.

There is no doubt that the book was admired all over the United States and in the different parts of the world. It soon became the topic of discussion among the scholars and study circles.

Chapter Two: Plot Overview

The book is in the form of an autobiography. It gives the