Discussion Questions

Thoreau in Phantom Bog

 

1. Why were some Northerners against the Underground Railroad?

 

2. What does Thoreau mean when he refers to "the bloom of the present moment?"  (Page 86)

 

3.  Is Julia overstating her situation when she claims that a wife is no better off than a slave?

 

4. Why do you think kindly Miss Prouty (Tansy and Rose's owner) broke her promise to them?

 

5. Did Tansy make the right decision regarding Prouty?

 

6. Of all the characters in the book, who did you find most sympathetic? 

 

7. Do you think any of the murders in the book were justified? 

 

8. Is Thoreau more a scientist or a mystic?  

 

9. Do you believe Mawuli is guilty of murder?

 

10. At the end of the book, should Adam and Julia remain in Plumford or eventually head West?