O Pioneers! and A Wagner Matinee

Willa Cather, being at the same time a Realist, is best known for her works concerning the lives of Midwestern folk, which thusly places her and her works in the Regionalist category of Realism. But this is not the only reason she is a Regionalist and Realist for her works show that all by themselves.

Take for example her novel, O Pioneers! Its story is about a family of Scandinavian immigrants who move out West like so many others as pioneers in the desolate terrene formerly dubbed the “American Desert” to take advantage of the cheap land and possibility of farming success. Willa, however, is very stark in her portrayal of it, as any true Realist should be.

In a short excerpt from the novel, she shows how two boys of the family, Lou and Oscar Bergson, attempt to make their life on the frontier work after the death of their father, John Bergson, but how they ultimately fail alongside most of the other farmers of their position and how they wish to go back to someplace more familiar and safe, such as Illinois or Ohio, where they know they could work, live happily, and not have to spur their imagination in order to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

This is an accurate view of the life of a pioneer because it is known that farming in such arid conditions was difficult and success on the frontier required much innovation and imagination for which the boys are obviously not prepared for. This accuracy, along with the fact that the boys are average folk facing common problems such a disappointment and failure, makes O Pioneers! a piece of Realist fiction.

Another work by Cather, this time a short story by the name of “A Wagner Matinee,” rings true with many of the characteristics of Realism and Regionalism.

(TBC)

Works Cited

Califano, Sharon Kehl. "O Pioneers!." In Werlock, Abby H. P., ed. The Facts On File Companion to the American Novel. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 16 Feb. 2011. http://www.fofweb.com.

Cather, Willa. O Pioneers! GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 489. Print.

Cather, Willa. "A Wagner Matinee." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 521-26. Print.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "'A Wagner Matinée'." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 16 Feb. 2011. http://www.fofweb.com.