O Pioneers By Willa Cather Analysis

In the story O Pioneers, the author, Willa Cather, starts the story in a romantic way, viewed by many other writers. Cather builds the story in a naturalistic way, where the “divide” always has ways of making the situation worse without “sympathy” and simply not caring about the main characters. However, even though the story had been written by a writer with such naturalistic views, some areas can be seen and described as romantic. The title of her book, O Pioneers, comes from the romanticised poem by Walt Whitman about the frontier. This probably explains the pieces of romanticism within the story. The novel shows a large amount of naturalism. In the novel, the text states, “He did work; if he felt sorry for himself, that was his own affair”. …show more content…
Just in part I, the readers are already introduced to the story in a naturalistic way. An example of this is near the end of part 1, “But the great fact was the land itself, which seemed to overwhelm the little beginnings of human society that struggled in its sombre wastes. It was from facing this vast hardness that the boy's mouth had become so bitter; because he felt that men were too weak to make any mark here, that the land wanted to be let alone, to preserve its own fierce strength, its peculiar, savage kind of beauty, its uninterrupted mournfulness.” This means that nature has greater power over humans, and the author essentially doesn’t care about the people as much as the forces of nature. Deeper into the story, after Carl leaves, “All at once, in a single day, I lose everything; and I do not know why.” This quote says that life can change in an instant, and Cather has no sympathy for Carl and doesn't care how he does. Cather also may view some aspects on life with romantic thoughts though. Although she has more of a naturalistic mindset, she could also believe life has a way to bring you back up despite the many backsets some may encounter. Cather most likely doesn’t have a realistic view on life. There is no point in the story where any realism takes place, other than the “Prairie Spring” poem. This means Cather doesn’t look at the world with a realististic view. She sees it

Show More

Related Documents: O Pioneers By Willa Cather Analysis

Mrs. Forrester As The American Frontier