A Gathering of Days Themes

A Gathering of Days Themes

Ethics

Teaching right from wrong is always something a good parent strives to do. What is right for some is wrong for others. As is the case in this story, what is right for Catherine by her reasoning, is what her father considers wrong. Despite knowing he would do things differently, she chooses to help the stranger in the woods. She chooses to consider him a person in need rather than a person who may or may not be bound to someone else. His immediate need is food and warmth. Catherine, with the aid of Cassie and Asa, answers these two needs for him.

In school, Teacher Holt also tries to teach moral education to the entire class. When problems arise from the conflict it brings, he decides to limit teaching it until after school hours. The teaching he provides opens the eyes, hearts, and minds of the students. The students...
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