Task of the religious practitioner1. Amasa DempsterFrom her professional career to her personal life, religion occupies every aspect of Amasa Dempster's life. He is known among the citizens of Deptford for imposing his view of religion on everyone and everything he encounters. When Mary was sick in bed after Paul's birth, her actions reveal that her feelings and religious beliefs often exceed reason. He knelt on the floor next to the bed where Mary lay and prayed feverishly that it would be easier for Paul if his mother accompanied him to heaven. Mrs. Dempster seemed unaffected by his ignorance and narrow-mindedness, but these character traits were significant factors in his ostracism from the community. Amasa had a tendency to drop down at any moment and pray with “intense passion”; Dunstan thought it was indecent and found him frightening because he was believed to walk with God. After discovering that he had taught Paul about maps, illusions, and, worst of all, Catholic saints, Amasa forbade Dunstan from speaking to Paul or entering their house. Dunstan was angry because he belittled his talents to simple cheating and gambling. He also seemed to resent Amasa because of the way he treated Mary. I think Amasa Dempster is the strangest character in the novel. His actions prove that he is neither intelligent nor articulate, further confirming the contrast between Baptist sentiment and Presbyterian common sense. I agree with Dunstan that his sporadic prayers are frightening, but I also think his character is generally strange; he is calm and softly spoken, but every experience the reader is exposed to conveys his frightening nature. The fact that his wife is much younger than him makes him seem even scarier. He acts as if he loves his wife; even when he found her in the pits with a wanderer, he did not question her, he only helped her. Tying your wife to a rope is inhumane and appalling, and makes her look like a pet rather than your life partner. I understand his anger towards Dunstan regarding the card game, it's against his religious morals, but Dunstan was still a young child and he spoke to him as if he should have known better. I find his character very disturbing.2. Donald PhelpsDonald Phelps is the Presbyterian minister of Deptford who replaced Andrew Bowyer. From Dunstan's few meetings with Phelps, it appears that he is a much more contemporary minister than Amasa Dempster..