Friday, November 6, 2009

O Pioneers!



I first read My Antonia by Willa Cather before I was scheduled to read O Pioneers! This romantic and mythic novel deals with the immigration of Swedes to Nebraska, Cather's home state. Most of her writing themes were cause/effect, English common law, Christianity, and democracy of property. Her protagonist, Alexandra can be viewed as an Amazon goddess.

The characters talk about ideas and belief such as Druidism (Nature worship). This novel deals with the concepts of "Seeing the elephant," which means pioneers going bust on the frontier and having to return to their native land, and "Rain follows the plough." What I found fascinating was the tragic Emil and Marie love story.

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