Question of Faith

"Mrs. Thompson bowed her hear: 'for these and all Thy blessings.... Amen,' she whispered weakly, and the Thompsons sat there with their eyes down and their faces sorrowful, as if they were at a funeral" (276).

I chose this passage because it is the last prayer the family says together before Mr. Thompson commits suicide and it so happens to be very similar to the first prayer we hear from Mrs. Thompson, only by this point in the story, it is like they are saying a prayer at a funeral and it turns out they were.

The sporadic religious comments that occur throughout the story actually makes the ending with Mr. Thompson committing suicide really interesting. Because by the time Mr. Hatch comes into the story, we really start to get a clear picture of Mr. Thompson as a religious man who will defend Mr. Helton. I love the parallel between Mr. Thompson's murder and Mr. Helton's. It's not the murder itself that I find so interesting though, but how both men dealt with it. Mr. Helton bared it for nine years without confiding in anyone, while Mr. Thompson kills himself within weeks. By the end of the story, both men could be considered "looney."

Obviously Mr. Helton had found peace in life after he murdered his brother, but it seems impossible for Mr. Thompson, who appears to have more faith in religion throughout the story. My question is which man (Mr. Thompson or Mr. Helton) was more religious?