Abstract
This paper describes and analyzes images and portrayals of family in Willa Cather's "O Pioneers." The paper further discusses "O Pioneers" as a story that delves into major themes within family such as autobiographical consciousness, femininity and agrarian life. The paper concludes with a discussion on how this novel encapsulates timeless values and meaning.

From the Paper
" 'I decided not to 'write' at all, - simply to give myself up to the pleasure of recapturing in memory people and places I'd forgotten." Willa Cather, on writing O Pioneers! Willa Cather's O Pioneers! tells the story of the Bergsons, Swedish immigrants who move to Nebraskan farm country at the turn of the century. Written in 1913, Cather was familiar with the time period and the specific struggles of many of the novel's central themes: working within a familial structure, feminism, and the taming of wild land. These themes all fit under the large umbrella of family dynamics, and can be explored within..."

Tags:family, willa cather, o pioneers

Abstract
This paper contends that human relationships are at the heart of the novel "O Pioneers!" by Willa Cather, but at the same time, those relationships are shaped and colored by the vital relationship with the land. According to the paper, the plot of the novel centers on the land as an inheritance and a way of life. Family is also a central theme connected to the land, with Alexandra the focus for the family, just as the land becomes her focus as a substitute for her father.

From the Paper
"Human relationships are at the heart of the novel 'O Pioneers!' by Willa Cather, but at the same time, those relationships are shaped and colored by the vital relationship with the land. The plot of the novel centers on the land, on the land as an inheritance and a way of life. Family is also a central theme connected to the land, with Alexandra the focus for the family, just as the land becomes her focus as a substitute for her father. Alexandra's father dies and leaves the farm to his daughter instead of his older sons, Lou and Oscar. She works hard, taking her new role very much to heart and concentrating on communing with the land to make her father proud of her, even though he is dead. Her ability is much tested as..."

Tags:novel, cather, pioneers

Abstract
This paper explains that the protagonist in Willa Cather's 'O Pioneers!' is a woman, Swedish by birth, who worked her land up to rich production and brought prosperity to her whole family; for the time the novel was written, this was somewhat out of the ordinary. The author is impressed by the way Cather set the mood in her story by beginning with a Great Plains winter scene as the backdrop to the struggle of the Borgson family, which was going to lose their father no matter what anyone did. The paper stresses that, in the time and place O Pioneers! was written, a father was the one with the power, not the mother, and the attitudes expressed by the brothers also provide a clear denunciation of patriarchy.

From the Paper
"Perhaps in our time it is difficult to imagine that people would actually just do what they were told by a dying father but that was the world of late Victorian America and I believe that in setting the story as she did, the case can be made that Cather did criticize patriarchy. She made it very plain. If the father had not commanded, the brothers would have been in charge and Alexandra's fine capabilities would have been relegated to the kitchen. As the story progresses it isn't hard to see what would have happened to the family farm if the brothers had been running things. They are not only easily discouraged, but time and again it is shown that they just plain don't have Alexandra's ability to look at a situation and see a creative, positive way to deal with it. She not only keeps the original homestead, but as others in the areas do give up under drought and other challenges, she mortgages the home farm to buy these places as well."

Tags:lesbian, critics, struggle, cold, patriarchy

Abstract
This paper discusses the novel "O' Pioneers!" by Willa Cather, and focuses upon an examination of the relationship of the characters to the land, and their relationships with one another.

Abstract
This paper examines the theme of human relationships in the novel "O Pioneers!" by Willa Cather. The paper contends that human relationships are at the heart of the novel, but at the same time, those relationships are shaped and colored by the vital relationship with the land, as an inheritance and a way of life. The paper also maintains that family is a central theme connected to the land, with the character of Alexandra the focus for the family, just as the land becomes her focus as a substitute for her father. The paper argues that, although much of the novel seems pessimistic about human relationships, ultimately the novel's protagonist, Alexandra, as an embodiment of the land, shows how the struggle for the land would one day lead to an accommodation between human beings and the land.

From the Paper
"Cather seems to doubt the possibility for human beings to form meaningful and lasting relationships, and in the novel, those who try fail or even die before achieving what they seem to want. There are a number of unhappy marriages in the novel, including that of the woman Emil loves, a relationship that ends tragically for all. The one love that persists is love for the land, though that is also a love that is sorely tested again and again by weather, drought, storms, and other hardships faced by the pioneers, who either last through the crisis of fail and turn back. The novel celebrates the pioneer in America and the way the pioneer went to work and shaped the land, but what the pioneer did was also decided by the needs and wants of the land itself. In the end, the hard realities of pioneer life were anything but romantic, and the lives of the characters in this novel shows how they would often act impetuously and then suffer the consequences as far as human relationships were concerned."

Tags:immigrant, frontier, America, farmer, family

Abstract
This paper compares and contrasts Willa Cather's novel, O Pioneers And Chenua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart. The author examines respective themes, characterizations, settings, and aspects of society, culture, and gender.

Abstract
The paper introduces Willa Cather, who lived in Nebraska in the late 1800s, as having a writing style that was a fresh, new approach to the American experience. The paper reviews her book, "O Pioneers", which is a personification of the Bergson family's life on the frontier. The author concludes that Cather used intense detail to project the main theme, man pitted against nature.

From the Paper
"Alexandra emerged rather quickly as the protagonist of the novel, and evolved into a female heroine. One of the most dominant characters however, wasn't human at all. The land itself was the greatest enemy that Alexandra faced at times. Their relationship was symbolic of the overall theme of the "grand struggle"that existed between humanity and forces out of human control. Alexandra tried to control the land, and tried to exert her wishes upon the land, but the land was bending her at the same time."

Tags:frontier, nebraska, 1800?s, land, character, struggle, imagery, personification, realistic

Abstract
This paper examines how "The Octopus" and the "O Pioneer" serve as eye-openers for our social and economic status. It looks at how Cather's and Norris' works do not serve as merely entertainment; both serve as instigators of public-awareness, and concern for the environment. It discusses how both works show how powerful the influence of environment could be and how lessons are learned not only through people, or experiences, but by the little, ordinary factors that would greatly affect our very lives.

From the Paper
"The protagonist of the story prospered because she heeded her father's wishes and respected the land. However, this accomplishment did not bring her any satisfaction. In the second part of the fourth chapter, Alexandra Bergson expressed her discontent with the seemingly hard toil. She argued that all her hard work would only amount to nothing if she could not give Emil the freedom to live the life he chose to live. It is only a great irony that Emil, granted with the freedom to live any kind of life he chose, was in his own way, unhappy. He yearns to be more than what he currently is. His desire lies beyond the frontiers of what he already has."

Tags:environment

Abstract
This paper looks at how Alexandra Bergson, the main character of Willa Cather's "O Pioneers!", is portrayed as a pastoral heroine. She essentially takes on nontraditional gender roles as she performs and acts like a strong and independent woman. During the time period of the novel, this was unheard of and would be considered behavior appropriate for a man. The paper supports its thesis by using quotes from Willa Cather's "O Pioneers!" and two other sources.

From the Paper
"Carl's decision to come back to Nebraska illustrates his rejection of the scripted male practice of traveling around the country in order to make more money. He ultimately realizes that he belongs with Alexandra, as he settles down to start a new life with her. Arguably, this creates a certain type of role reversal, as the younger, sensitive and uncertain Carl comes back to Alexandra's confident and stable arms. The conventional ending to this story would have entailed Alexandra relying on Carl as the 'man of the house,' but this is not the case. Carl's genuine feelings can be summed up as Alexandra does not belong to him but that she belongs ?to the land [?] now more than ever.? (Cather 307) Cather ends the novel putting both Alexandra and Carl on the same level ..."

Tags:equality, identity, independence, naturalism

Abstract
This paper summarizes the life of one of America's greatest authors, Willa Cather. It explains how a move to the prairie as a child and her subsequent period of growing to adulthood on the prairie were extremely influential in her later life and writing. The paper then discusses two of Cather's most famous novels, both which tell of life on the prairie - "O, Pioneer!" and "My Antonia." The paper examines how Cather's lesbianism might have influenced her work, as well as the central part 'place' plays in her novels.

From the Paper
"Indeed, however, Cather also often spoke of the importance of the ability of the artist to place herself in a supportive community, and it would be easy to see that, while by living in New York she was divorced from the golden memories of her childhood, she was nonetheless able to find a creative environment in which people were more open and accepting of her creative endeavors. Regardless, place is the prime factor in these novels, which very much established Cather's reputation as one of America's greatest writers of all time, and, whether or not it is fair, since she wrote so many novels on other subjects as well, it is for these novels about the Nebraska prairie that she is most well-regarded. Perhaps this is because these prairie novels seem the most uniquely American since they describe a specific time in place in the development of America as it moved from an expanding country that constantly pushed its own frontiers outward into one of the most powerful and impressive nations upon earth. In this way, Cather's novels are now of profound historical interest, because they act as a sort of historical document, capturing one of the most interesting areas in America at a crucial time in its historical development."

Tags:McClure?s, Jim, Burden