Home

Glory describes the cemetery where Reverend Ames’s wife Lila cares for the graves of the Boughton and Ames family. She references the grave of Jack’s daughter, whom he abandoned. She compares Jack to Cain, who was pardoned by the Lord for his sin of killing his brother Abel. Glory continues to read her Bible faithfully to please her father and considers the messages of God’s faithfulness and the importance of home that her father ingrained in his children. She contemplates her empty dreams of creating a new home for herself with a husband and children.

Jack interrupts Glory during one of her Bible reading sessions. He asks if she still prays and if she is “going to try to save my soul” (103). Lightheartedly, they discuss religion. One day in the kitchen, Jack shares with Glory his hopes for the future. He hopes to fix his father’s car, find work near Gilead, and move there with a woman named Della. Glory now feels self-conscious about reading her Bible openly around Jack and ponders “what a soul is” (110). One night, their father cannot sleep, so he asks Glory to find Jack and have him play the piano for him.