A Gathering of Days Essay & Project Ideas

A Gathering of Days Ideas for Reports and Papers

1. How did New Englanders in the 1830s celebrate holidays such as Christmas, New Year's, Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July, and birthdays? How did they observe Sundays? Compare these customs to today's observances.

2. Compile a list of the maxims and sayings quoted throughout the book.

What are the original sources of these sayings? What are the basic attitudes toward life that they represent? Why was it such a common practice to copy and memorize such sayings?

3. What are some of the ways the characters in the novel view death? How do their attempts to cope with death differ? Discuss some of the customs, beliefs, and superstitions about death that were common in nineteenth-century New England.

4. Research Nat Turner and the 1831 uprising of slaves that he led. What were some of the factors that caused the uprising, and what...
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