O Pioneers Book Review- Marina Beacroft, Holy Cross

O pioneers by Willa Cather was published in 1913, it is thought to be one of the great works of regionalism, including many key themes following the American Civil War such as: manifest destiny, the progressive era and immigration. It follows The Bergson family, most vividly Alexandra. She is an immigrant who has hope in the land to sustain the farm her father left her. 

The title O pioneers is based on Walt Whitman’s poem. Perhaps Cather was inspired to name her book after this poem due to the fact that within the poem, Whitman depicts the pioneers’ bravery and fearlessness in their journey to find a brighter future which can also be expressed within Cather’s novel, where the main character Alexandra, a Swedish migrant, has found her own way within the business world and farm industry. She establishes a life and livelihood for herself, despite the struggles and hardships of being a migrant, demonstrating her brave nature and fierce determination.

The novel is also reflective of the economic success and transformations of the USA after the Civil War. Transformations of the USA after the civil war can be exposed through Part 2 of the novel’s opening where ‘telephone wires’ were described to ‘hum along the white roads’. This highlights the progression in terms of electrical power as telephones became more widespread. Furthermore, ‘the light steel windmills tremble throughout their frames’ demonstrates the proliferation of urbanisation and the increase in steel manufacturing which occurred after the Civil War. The setting was described as ‘an iron country’, further accentuating the expansion of industrialisation as there was a large surge in metal establishments.

Another interesting aspect of the novel was Alexandra’s connection to the land. On pages 40-41, the wildlife and naturalistic aspects of the land which add to its distinctiveness bring Alexandra comfort, ‘the chirping of the insects down in the long grass had been like the sweetest music’. Through describing the sounds of the creatures, which live and belong to the land, as ‘music’ it further accentuates the connection between man and nature, she is fond of the land itself as well as the wildlife which comes with it. Furthermore, she feels connected to the land in such a way that she feels as if it is a part of her, “she had felt as if her heart were hiding down there”, using the vital organ of the heart displays how the land is perhaps, her lifeline and she feels a loving connection to it. 

Within later chapters her connection to the land can be expressed through other characters, for example, Carl when he states ‘you belong to the land’, referencing Alexandra. This further emphasises the interrelatedness of herself and the land as it is where she ‘belongs’, meaning it is where she feels most at home and comfortable, it has a sense of power over her. Also, it is the place where she can be most herself, and it drives her creative spirit, ‘it is in the soil that she expresses herself best’.