O Pioneers! Themes

There's no getting around the fact that the Divide is a lonely, isolated place. Though we now call it America's heartland, Nebraska seems more like the edge of the world in O Pioneers! Its "Genius"...

Let's remember for a second that O Pioneers! is also a story about the immigrant experience in America. This isn't a fairy tale about a strange, far-off place called "the Divide;" it's a chapter of...

While there's no shortage of frustrated, disappointed settlers on the Divide, O Pioneers! reminds us that there are still those heroes and heroines, like Alexandra, who doggedly choose to persevere...

If you know where to look in O Pioneers!, there's some serious gender bending going on. Think back to the first physical descriptions of Alexandra and Carl. Alexandra is portrayed as sturdy, "hands...

As we've mentioned elsewhere (see "Theme: Dissatisfaction"), O Pioneers! is a classic narrative of the modern immigrant experience. A big part of that experience is having to adjust your dreams, ho...

One of Alexandra's most obvious characteristics is her uncanny connection with the natural world. The beauty, power and restlessness of the Divide seem uniquely reflected in her. But the centrality...

In our section on "Tone," we talk a bit about why this novel seems anti-political. For one, the way Lou Bergson and Frank Shabata are portrayed as resentful "agitators," in addition to being the no...

Unlike, say, politics, religion doesn't necessarily get a negative treatment in O Pioneers! But it's not exactly front and center, either. Religious life is portrayed as an integral part of frontie...

"Flaming"! "Singing"! "Flashing"! Youth! The poem at the beginning of O Pioneers!, Cather's own "Prairie Spring," is more than a little excited about young people. So, what does that mean for the r...

So maybe you don't think the prairie is much to look at. Suit yourself. But in O Pioneers!, at least, there's almost no place in the world more spectacular than the Divide. The novel is chock-full...