Radical Anti-Establishmentarianism
In her younger years, Day has a keen distaste for the government. She aligns herself with many radical groups, including anarchists, socialists, pacifists. Born with an immense desire to accomplish social change, she remains always an advocate for the underprivileged and oppressed peoples. She worked with organizations which staunchly opposed the government and the military, as the enemies of the people whom they were trying to help, the communities of the poor and the lost. In university, Day rejects the expectation that she conform to their schedules and procedures. She refuses to make herself fit their desired model of a good citizen, so she leaves to do things her own way. Later in life, this anti-establishment attitude leads her to several relationships with equally radical men -- Moise, Tobey, and Batterham -- each of whom are part of some radical group.
Compassion through Religious Devotion
Aside from radical social change, Day's only other consistent focus is the Catholic religion. She chooses to read the Bible as a child, even though her family is not religious. In her instruction about Jesus and the apostles, Day sees a lifestyle worth emulating. The compassion which she sees demonstrated in the religious model becomes her own goal in life. By the time she has her daughter, Tamar, Day is committed to leading a devoted religious life, one which would enable her to reach people on a personal level, not just a political one. Her love and concern for people leads her to found the Catholic Worker Movement, in which she works side by side with Maurin to help people enter into lasting community and to learn to treat one another respectably and peaceably. This movement is Day's proudest accomplishment, serving people in both physical and emotional ways.
Departure from the Norm
From childhood, Day is an oddball. She feels no need to conform to the "normal" and chooses a life of radical adventure. Starting in college, when Day drops out because academia was too localized and impractical for her appetite, she writes. Her writing becomes a primary focus through her life, but Day feels no need to settle upon a career. She lives among peers in communal living situations in near-poverty conditions, volunteering all of her time in activist groups. When she really steps into adulthood, she pursues unconventional relationships with three men, marrying one -- Tobey, -- but quickly divorcing him. She chooses the church over marriage in the end because her ideas are more important to her than an ideal of domestic life, for which she has never felt a profound need. Finally, she founds the Catholic Worker Movement to inspire Catholics and immigrant populations to reject the capitalist expectation and retreat into simple communities where they may enjoy freedom to slow down and to help one another.
