O Pioneers Effect of the Land
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Willa Cather's O Pioneers! captures the struggle of people to prosper in the West during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Most of the characters are down to earth people who farm the land that they lived on their entire lives. Only a few glimpses of idealism are portrayed through characters such as Carl and Emil who have grand plans to one day escape the everyday toil of life on the Divide. The character of this novel is realistic because it focuses on the paths of those who strain to make a decent living through the backbreaking work they endure while searching for a new and better life.
Millions moved to the West in order to start new life where past mistakes may be reconciled. This holds true for John Bergson who left his life as a ship builder in Sweden to start anew with his family in Nebraska. However, he was in a constant battle to turn the unforgiving land into a profitable farm. When first arriving to the land he was optimistic of taming it but as his life progressed, he found the idea as more of a dream than a tangible reality. "His cattle had perished in a blizzard...