Sorrow and pain, two things that we as humans try to avoid most. In Gilead, Reverend Ames is musing on his approaching death and passing into heaven. "Sorrow seems to me to be a great part of the substance of human life" (104). Without experiencing pain, would we be human? Would we grow? Many like to blame God for the pain and suffering in the world, at least in western thought, but should it be otherwise? Perhaps we should be thanking Him.