Go Tell It on the Mountain

As the church service continues, the perspective switches to Gabriel, and John’s abusive father remembers his own childhood. He recalls his mother on her deathbed, recalling how her eyes seemed to disapprove of his drunken ways. Shortly after, he experienced a spiritual rebirth. In his early twenties, he was returning to his house after a night of heavy drinking when he felt a sudden need to become a preacher and to share his love of God with the world. He began a new life at this time, guided by his newfound spiritualism. As he spent more time with Deborah, he developed a reputation as a powerful preacher. His passionate sermons quickly made him famous. Gabriel believes that God came to him in a dream and told him that his descendants would bear God’s seal. Believing that he must father a new blessed generation and a “royal line” (63), Gabriel decided to marry Deborah, even though no other man would marry her after a group of white men brutally raped her. He decides that marrying the woman who is marked by “dishonor” will be a demonstration of his faith and his purity (63). She cried when she accepted his proposal.