Understanding O Pioneers! and My ntonia: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Willa Cather's novels Oh Pioneers! and My ntonia are at once accurate representations of life on the midwestern prairies in the era of their first settlement and continuations of a literary tradition that stretches back to Virgil and other classical writers who celebrated nature and pondered humanity's place within it. Both novels are given full literary treatment here with close examination of the timeless themes of love, loss, the transience of youth, and the influence of the land itself on people's lives. For readers who want to go beyond the subjects of these novels, to enter the places and eras Cather immortalized in her writing, this casebook also situates the two novels within their historical contexts with a rich array of documentation. Letters and journals from the late 1800s and early 1900s help readers understand the hardships and rewards of everyday life on the plains. Poignant personal accounts as well as government reports document the special challenges women and immigrants faced on the frontier. Readers will also be able to explore how the issues in Cather's novels continue to shape American culture today. Reports from congressional hearings and personal interviews give varied perspectives on the disappearance of the family farm and an USDA timeline chronicles the causes and ongoing ramifications of this important issue. Students and their teachers will find a wealth of valuable information for their classroom discussions and research projects in this interdisciplinary casebook. Each topic chapter offers ideas for oral and written exploration as well as lists of further suggested readings. Students will not only gain a better understanding of Cather's novels here, but will be able to make connections between their thematic concerns and contemporary social issues.

Reviews

.,."bring issues presented in the novels, up to the present day, highlighting the enduring relevance of the works. Most of the excerpts are brief and accesible but also timely and interesting, making them ideal for assignments."-School Library Journal
...bring issues presented in the novels, up to the present day, highlighting the enduring relevance of the works. Most of the excerpts are brief and accesible but also timely and interesting, making them ideal for assignments.-School Library Journal
In addition to critique, students will find period and modern selections on topics related to the American frontier. This accesible volume will help readers place Willa Cather's work in the context of her time and appreciate her continuing relevance.-Curriculum Connections
Meyering's casebook should prove a valuable asset to undergraduate students of both history and literature. The book opens with a very brief analysis of Cather's two novels, and then, more important, it offers historical materials related to the fiction: documents of Cather's own prairie experiences, things that hampered the progress of early pioneers such the invasion of locusts, the struggle to establish new communities, and the contrast in roles and expectations of men and women who expended these efforts. ...designed to invite young scholars to mull Cather's themes of "the passage of time and the (healing) power of memory" and to pursue knowledge about the places, eras, and issues relevant to American culture.-Choice
The topics may interest social studies teachers as much as the literary analysis will interest literature teachers. Recommended-Gale-Reference Reviews
..."bring issues presented in the novels, up to the present day, highlighting the enduring relevance of the works. Most of the excerpts are brief and accesible but also timely and interesting, making them ideal for assignments."-School Library Journal
"In addition to critique, students will find period and modern selections on topics related to the American frontier. This accesible volume will help readers place Willa Cather's work in the context of her time and appreciate her continuing relevance."-Curriculum Connections
"The topics may interest social studies teachers as much as the literary analysis will interest literature teachers. Recommended"-Gale-Reference Reviews
"Meyering's casebook should prove a valuable asset to undergraduate students of both history and literature. The book opens with a very brief analysis of Cather's two novels, and then, more important, it offers historical materials related to the fiction: documents of Cather's own prairie experiences, things that hampered the progress of early pioneers such the invasion of locusts, the struggle to establish new communities, and the contrast in roles and expectations of men and women who expended these efforts. ...designed to invite young scholars to mull Cather's themes of "the passage of time and the (healing) power of memory" and to pursue knowledge about the places, eras, and issues relevant to American culture."-Choice

Author Bio

SHERYL L. MEYERING is Professor of English at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville and associate editor of the literary journal Papers on Language and Literature. She is the editor of Charlotte Perkins Gilman: The Woman and Her Work (1989), Sylvia Plath: A Reference Guide (1990), and A Reader's Guide to the Short Stories of Willa Cather (1994). She has also written extensively on Nathaniel Hawthorne as well as on several 19th-century women writers.