What do Dan's father's work gloves represent in the book, High Dive: A Novel?

Dan’s father’s work gloves symbolize a becoming, a picking up of where his father left off, of assuming the work still to be done – both in the garden and politically. Dan tries on his father’s gloves while preparing to garden and considering the past where his father died during a protest march. It is after trying on the gloves that Dan ultimately finds himself a part of the Grand Hotel bombing. However, the gloves do not quite fit Dan, evidence that Dan and his father both approach Irish independence differently: Dan’s father was peaceful, while Dan is violent.