Willa Cather Essay

O Pioneers by Willa Cather is a different novel from those of its time. It is a novel that stands for women equality represented by the main character Alexandra. O Pioneers reveals a story about Alexandra’s struggle against nature and being a strong woman in a male dominated profession and society. She succeeded in establishing her female identity and achieved a sense of female self-fulfillment by transforming the wild land and struggling for her equal rights with men. This paper focuses on the feminist

Alexandra Bergson appears as a symbolization of Willa Cather in more than one way. Cather saw herself as a strong, intelligent, young woman trying to carve a path through a world that did not seem to appreciate her. Cather & Alexandra both found the Realistic, Romantic, and Naturalistic ways of the world. Although this novel had many aspects of Naturalistic views, Realism and Romanticism also appeared in several ways. Intertwined in this novel was an aspect of realism. Realism appears to me as the

In the novel My Antonia by Willa Cather is a book based upon the main characters memories. Many critics have criticized this novel, and have focused on such literary elements as setting,theme, tone and etc. However the strongest argument is the one that states that the foundation of every element in the book is based on the personal memories of Willa Cather. After researching Willa Cather you can discover many biographies that talk about her life. In many instances I found stories about her life

In Willa Cather’s novel My Ántonia, Cather uses the theme of the natural world to further expand on the persona of the character, Jim Burden, and his romantic outlook on life. Jim shows a strong bond to nature because it brings back his idyllic childhood memories and the feelings he had of absolute bliss. By connecting the theme of nature to his childhood, Jim presents the idea that he feels dissatisfied as an adult in the city and misses his life on the farm where he was in union with nature. Moreover

had never shone before, would never shine for her on earth again, that such love comes to one only in dreams or in impossible places like this, unattainable always. This was Love’s self, and in a moment it would die” (Great Short Works, 29). For Willa Cather this is how love exists. Happy relationships are plentiful, but the enchanted, all encapsulating love of dreams only exists in glances. For Eric this glance is enough. He does not regret his decision or the damnation he is sure it will cause. For

Analysis of Lucy Gayheart by Willa Cather Lucy Gayheart is a young, spirited, intelligent music student from Havorford, on the South Platte River. In the winters, she attends a conservatory in Chicago, under the tutelage of Professor Auerbach. In Chicago, she lives in a room above a German bakery, where she takes her breakfasts and suppers. These small quarters do not distress her; indeed, she craves the solitude of her own will, her own piano, her own bed. She walks hungrily through Chicago,

O Pioneers by Willa Cather sets itself apart from other novels of its time because of what its stands for, feminism. It exemplifies women’s equality, represented by the main character, Alexandra, by showing her survival in a male dominated society. She succeeded in building her female identity and achieved a sense of female attainment by revolutionizing the wild land and struggling for her equal rights with all that surrounded her. This paper focuses on the feminist thoughts and the positive attitude

narrator, Alexandra Bergson, shares the same perseverance and feminist perspective as the author Willa Cather does; in addition, the novel reflects the hardships and strengths faced by American pioneers in the 1890’s. Cather was inspired by the vast possibility of the land that she grew up in, and incorporated that important aspect of her life into the novel. Professor Amy Ahearn elaborated that Cather put the “shaggy grass country at the center” of the novel, and allowed the form of the land “to

In her novel My Antonia, Willa Cather, while writing in a sexist time, calls attention to the power of the female in life and society through Antonia, Lena Lingard, Tiny Soderball and Frances Harling and accentuates and celebrates the significance of the matriarchal world by use of Jim Burden as the narrator. Jim holds an enlightened consciousness of the female because, after spending most of his life with these women, he sees how they started with nothing ended with a successful life. In a time

exceptionally important contribution, as it is creates the entire backdrop of their experiences -- socially, economically, and politically. A psychoanalytical look at O Pioneers! by Willa Cather, explains how the social and cultural implications of Willa’s life are transferred to this piece of literature. I believe that Willa Cather created the primary, male characters in O Pioneers! based on the unfortunate experiences she had with men in her early adulthood, which caused these strongly biased characters