The Question of God

The characters' struggle with faith and the existence of God in a dead world.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Man's Anguish

The Prayer The Whisper The man kneels in the ashes and whispers: 'Are you there? Will I see you at the last? Have you a neck by which to throttle you? Have you a heart? Damn you eternally have you a soul? Oh God, he whispered. Oh God.' The Doubt He does not believe, but he cannot stop addressing God. The boy is his only warrant. He says if the boy is not the word of God, God never spoke. The Silence There is no answer. The world is godless. The man must create his own meaning.

Ely's Atheism

The Prophet The Statement Ely says: 'There is no God and we are his prophets.' The man is struck by the paradox. Ely means that humans create God in their own image, and in the absence of God, they become prophets of nothing. The Last God Ely says that if the boy were a god, it would be terrible to be on the road with the last god. The man wonders if the boy is a god. The Rejection Ely rejects the idea. He says he is past all that. The man thinks about Ely's words long after they part.

The Boy's Faith

The New Belief The Woman's Words The woman tells the boy that the breath of God passes from man to man through all time. The boy accepts this. He talks to his father. The Prayer The boy tries to talk to God, but the best thing is to talk to his father. He does not forget. The Mystery The story ends with the brook trout, a memory of a world that was older than man and hummed of mystery. The boy carries that mystery forward.

early in the journey

during the encounter with Ely

after the father's death