Essay Instructions: I want you to add three pages to my research paper. That is, I wrote a research paper about Willa Cather's O pioneer. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to read the novel itself . So, I want you to support my research with passages from the novel itself.At least 5 quotations that represent my ideas and then comment on these quotqtions. Don't use any secondary source. the source you can use is the novel itself (Cather's Opioneers!). please connect your comments with the novel itself. all your comments should be about the heroine alexandra and how she represents the frontier female hero.Finally make MLA citation for this novel.
the following is my research which needs to be extended:
Willa Cather's O pioneers and the Frontier female hero
Willa Cather's “O pioneers!” is considered as a good example for the frontier literature. That is, the heroine in this novel represents all female characters who defies the difficult life in the American west at that time. The narrative points out the challenges faced by the female characters of the time as well as their battle to stay relevant to their mission in life. In particular, the author of the story remains particular regarding the discussion of the female personality in the story. Ideally, the story presents the struggles of a female character amidst several challenges in the society. The strength of the woman is demonstrated in this story through the pitfalls and hurdles that the chief protagonist overcomes. It is clear that the author’s intention was to examine the nature and mental capacity of a woman in the face of several challenges. Indeed, the story is crafted to meet the demands of the author in terms of psychoanalyzing the mental capacity of a woman in terms of her ability to withstand opposition and offer leadership skills in the society (Duby, Perrot and Pantel 68). Equally, the author of this story also manages to achieve a study of the feminist theory in terms of examining the factors as well as circumstances that made it a reality at the time the story is set. It is for this reason that the author decides to exemplify the role played by the female characters in the novel. As a matter of fact, the chief protagonist is a female character. Analytically, Alexandra presents an examination of mental, physical and psychological strength exhibited by women who lived in the seventeenth century.
Strong psychological strength is exhibited by Alexandra in the position and quest for land in the story. The psychological strength of Alexandra is clearly visible when her dying father entrusts her with the family’s land. According to father, she is supposed to be take care of the family’s estates when he dies. The father seems to have developed more confidence in Alexandra in comparison to her other brothers, Lou and Oscar. It is for this reason that he makes a will stating that the Alexandra would be the caretaker of the family’s estates once he dies. Surprisingly, the father’s trust in her seems to pay-off when she manages to preserve the land three years after his death during a famine (Freud 23-25). The great strength of the female character is demonstrated in this portion of the story when she manages to intellectually apply her abilities to preserve the family’s estates. The crafting of this character by the author to exhibit great personality to earn the trust of the father is instrumental in terms of understanding the intentions and objectives of this story. Alexandra demonstrates exemplary qualities that make her stand out amongst her peers in the story. There is no other character that the author presents whose qualities can be compared to her. At this point, the exhibitions of these traits bring into mind the psychological and mental stature of this character in the story.
This can be analyzed using Freud’s theory. According to Freud, psychic energy in women can be generated through the libido. In this case, the cathexis force helps an individual to invest in mental energy which becomes the catalyst for making decisions that pertain to life. According to the Feud, the human behavior can be motivated by the drive to live. Amazingly, this theory seems applicable in terms of the examination of the character trait of Alexandra in the story. As a result, it is understandable why Alexandra manages achieve her goals. The author of this story has crafted this character impressively to achieve his goal of demonstrating the nature of women during the seventeenth century (Slote 112). Great psychological strength is demonstrated when Alexandra remains resilient, objective and strong amidst the challenges in the environment that are produced by the famine. According to her, the goal of protecting the family’s estates had to be achieved. This is a demonstration of a strong will. As a matter of fact, Freud’s theory seems to be at play in this case. Alexandra exercises great cathexis force when she generates and invests great mental energy to make the right decisions.
It is clear that the Alexandra’s psychological composition was manly driven by her desire to ensure that she secured the economic future of her family. It is because of this reason that she decides to approach the situation differently as compared to the other farmers in the region. Her drive was the need to preserve life. Having considered this fact, she manages to wisely make decisions that would enable her achieve her goals. This is a true demonstration of Freud’s theory. The decision to engage in adaptive methodologies of farming is another example of a drive to preserve life. Arguably, this is an agrarian society that is facing a major famine. The family of Alexandra largely depends on their farming activity for their livelihood (Lacan 90). As a result, a critical decision needs to the made that would alter the circumstances in a positive way. This happens when she finally decides to practice alternative methods of farming that are adaptive to the weather of that time. Analytically, this is instrumental in terms of developing the character trait of Alexandra in the story by the author since this crafting helps in producing a significant message to the audience.
Moreover, this is demonstrated by decision to mortgage the family’s land and buy more clearly shows great intellectual ability by this character. She manages to convince her brothers that the best decision to make at that time was to believe in the promise of the untamed country. In this regard, she manages to re-mortgage the parcel of land in a bid to buy more. Strikingly, this happens at a time when the land is suffering from great drought and depression. Drought in the land is shown the author states that “The little town of Hanover was trying not to be blown away,” (13-14). Ideally, it takes a rich and strong will to make such a decision. This can be demonstrated by the fact that other people, including men in the story decide to sell their pieces of land in fear of effects of the drought. As a matter of fact, Carl Linstrum makes a decision to sell his land and move away to safer places. However, Alexandra displays a different personality. Her great mental abilities as well as psychological strength allow her to think wisely in terms of the decision to make at point. As opposed to the cowardly idea of fearfully selling their piece of land and moving to safer grounds, Alexandra believes that she can make her surrounding safe instead of running away. As a result, she decides to re-invest the land instead of selling it (Slote 112-115). Indeed, she succeeds by making the right decision especially when the drought is over. It is arguable that that Alexandra is intellectually brilliant. She must have studied the weather patterns of the region for a long time to know the circles of weather in the place. It is upon this understanding that she must have decided to re-invest in their land instead of cheaply selling during the period of depression and drought. The nature of depression is visible when the author indicates that “the record of the plow was insignificant, like the feeble scratches on stone left by prehistoric races, so indeterminate that they may, after all, be only the markings of glaciers, and not a record of human strivings” (Slote 20). In this regard, it is arguable that this character is not only brilliant but also psychologically strong in terms of the decisions she makes as pertains her family and responsibilities.
The Freudian theory also examines the composition of the mind. In this regard, this author clearly states that the mind can be divided into two categories namely: conscious and the unconscious mind. Freud continues to indicate that the conscious mind is responsible for things that a particular individual could be aware about. On the other hand, the unconscious mind of an individual is composed of that the person is not aware about such as hopes, desires, dreams, as well as, memories. This concept is important in terms of analysis and understanding the mind composition of Alexandra (Freud 57). In this regard, the Alexandra operated on both mindsets. First, in the conscious mind, Alexandra was not aware of the outcome of famine of the period of depression. However, she had goal that she wanted to achieve. As a result, in her conscious mind she was not aware of the outcome of the decisions she made. This becomes quite critical in terms of understanding the nature and personality of Alexandra. Through this, it is possible to understand that she is a risk taker. She does not fear the outcome of her decisions. On the other hand, it is also necessary to understand that Alexandra operated in the unconscious mind. She was aware of the desires in her heart. As a matter of fact, it was clear to her that the preservation of the family’s land was crucial for the survival of her family. It is upon this realization that that she develops the desire to protect the estates of her family. This enables her to make critical decisions about life.
Freud’s theory of discussion regarding the stages of development is also significant in terms of analysis of the character and personality of Alexandra. According to this scholar’s theory, the development of children is guided by a series of various psychosexual stages. Every stage of development becomes pivotal in terms of focusing the pleasure-seeking energy of the libido to other parts of the body. This scholar continues to admit that successful completion of every stage of development promotes healthy personality as an individual grows into adult. Arguably, this information is helpful in terms of understanding why Alexandra is an exemplary character. As a matter of fact, this is traceable in the story when the father begins to seek her counsel at a tender age. Biologically, it can be argued that the great personality of Alexandra was due her proper physical development as a young child. This means that the great intellectual development as well as reasoning ability demonstrated by her is as a result of a good childhood that was given to her by the parents. Additionally, this information is lofty to attain since it helps to gain an understanding about the reasons why the author exemplifies the character trait of this character in the story. Consequently, the author is justified to include those qualities in the crafting of this multifaceted character. At this point, it becomes clear that there is no exaggeration in terms of qualities of this character. This makes this character effective in terms of commuting the message of the author in the story.
Defense mechanism theory as fronted by Freud is another issue that is worth discussion in terms of understanding the outstanding character trait of the chief protagonist of the narrative, Alexandra. According to this author, the defense mechanism is often used by individuals in their attempts to cover for their wrong doings (Freud 67). In this process, several people tend to rationalize issues in an attempt to protect their egos after making mistakes in terms of decision making about issues of life. As a result, this concept is important in terms of understanding the character trait of Alexandra in her role play in the story. In this respect, Alexandra appears to be straight forward in terms of her dealing with people in the story. She does not have anything to hide or be ashamed about. As a result, this character has a pure conscience that allows her to make wise decision regarding the role given to her by the deceased father. Alexandra does not have any self defense mechanism because she has nothing to protect. Her relationship with other members of her family is good, thus making her develop a clean conscience in terms of dealing with different people. Analytically, this instrumental in terms of helping the audience to appreciate the role of the chief protagonist in the story as well as decision of the author to create this type of character in the story. As a matter of fact, the combination of qualities attached to Alexandria makes her meaningfully and understandably justified to possess the mentioned qualities. This means that the author is justified to create a character of the stature of Alexandra.
According to Freud’s theory, Alexandra seems to exhibit great traits of an individual who exercises cathexis strength. Indeed, she generates mental energy which allows her to make wise decisions in the midst of challenges. It is clear that she uses the challenges before to create a mental momentum that allows her make the right decision in this trying moment. As a result, it can be noted that the author of this story had the intention of portraying the female characters of the seventeenth century as women who possessed great intellectual skills. Reasonably, Alexandra not only preserves her family’s land but also advises her brothers to adopt innovative techniques of farming. This is another demonstration of the Freud’s theory of mental energy. Ironically, instead of bowing to the pressure and selling the land, Alexandra sees an opportunity to make most out the land resources. It is for this reason that resorts to adaptive methods of farming in order to deal with land stress at the time. This is brilliant. The ability to see an opportunity in a place whereby other men fear for a calamity is a true demonstration of mental strength that is exhibited by Alexandra. It is upon this premise that she qualifies to be called mentally strong. As a result, she is a true demonstration of what Freud’s theory dictates.
Similarly, the understanding of the exemplary personality of Alexandra can be seen through the anticathexis theory that is fronted by Freud. In this concept, this scholar argues that an individual who exhibits this type of nature tends to repress desires as well as urges to accomplish certain tasks. As a result, the libidinal energy is mainly directed into the process of accomplishing useless tasks. However, it important to note that this concept does not apply to Alexandra since she appears to act cathexis theory whereby her libidinal strength is directed towards the accomplishment of worth tasks. This is demonstrated in the story through her concerted efforts to ensure that she accomplished her goals and conquered all her fears. Her strengths in terms wise counsel and intellectual understanding are directed towards the achievement of a better future for her family (Laplanche and Pontalis 56-58). This is through preserving and multiplying the pieces of land as well as resorting to adaptive measures that can help them survive and succeed in farming during the depression time. As a result, it is clear that the character display of Alexandra is not an exaggeration. The author provides enough evidences to convince the audience about the extraordinary ability of the chief protagonist in the story. This makes this work art effective since the author does not rely of deceptive ideas or great exaggeration in order to appeal to the audience. The author gives reason for every decision made in terms of crafting of the characters in the story as well definition of their respective roles which makes the story interesting. As a result, the author does well to achieve this purpose.
On the other hand, it is important to examine Alexandra’s triumph in the land issue on the platform of feminism. First, it is important to note that the story is set in the seventeenth century. According to history, it is well known that this was a time when the society was mainly male chauvinistic. This means that the society completely disregarded the plight of women. In such times, women’s roles were mainly related to wifely and child bearing and rearing. The men were considered the head of their families and sole decision makers in terms of matters that concerned the economic and social stability of their homes especially regarding the difficult issue of land. The land in the story “wanted to be let alone, to preserve its own fierce strength, its peculiar, savage kind of beauty, its uninterrupted mournfulness” (Slote 21). This means that matter to do with land needed strong-willed individuals. As a result, it is right to indicate that Alexandra’s story is exemplary. This is because she features as a strong female character in a time when the voice of the female characters was considered useless in the society (Freedman 78-79). As a result, her story demonstrates many aspects of feminism beginning to rise at this time history.
Secondly, it is important to note that the female character is portrayed as strong, brilliant, and psychologically strong. This is a demonstration of feminism. In spite of the low position held by women in the society during this time, Alexandra appears to be different. As a matter of fact, she is more brilliant than several male characters in the play that lack ideas and make wrong decisions. She is more brilliant than her brothers. It is because of this strength in character and personality that her dying father leaves the administration of the family’s estates in her hands. Additionally, her immense brilliance in comparison to her brothers is also visible during the depression and drought. She offers a better counsel as compared to her brothers in terms of what to do in the midst of famine and economic crises. Moreover, Alexandra’s exhibition of strength can also be seen in terms of his ability to make wiser decisions than men in the society. This shows the rise of feminism in the society from this time. While men in the society appear cowardly and panicking, Alexandra demonstrates great skills of leadership when she decides to re-invest the pieces of land instead of selling them away as most men in the society did. As a result, this shows great intellectual strength is women of this age. Alexandra demonstrates the capacity of women in the society at this point. It also important to note that feminism is shown in the text through Alexandra’s demonstration of great intellectual abilities. In a male-dominated society where women’s opinions are disregarded, Alexandra appears to be exemplary since she appears to offer a great intellectual challenge to the men of the time. Consequently she features as a demonstration of the potential of women if given a chance to exercise the responsibility of decision making in the society. This means that Alexandra clearly demonstrates the potential of that lies untapped by the society (Beard and Gload 34-36). Indeed, she represents the forgotten potential and voices that can make a great difference in the society. As a result, her role in the story clearly demonstrates the rise of feminism in the society of this time.
It is also important to examine the significance of the triumph of Alexandra over the land issue in terms of the author’s goals and objectives. First, the decision of Alexandra’s father to make her the administrator of the family’s estates when he eventually dies is significant in terms of the author’s message to the audience. Her determination to achieve the goals gives her strong desires for farming when she begins to feel “the joyous germination in the soil” (Slote 56). Based on the setting of this narrative, it is clear that this happens at a time when women were disregarded for such roles in the society. As a result this looks ironical in terms of the decision of the father to trust a woman with administrative affairs. This leaves the audience guessing why the author decided to display this in the story (Woodress 20). Analytically, this is significant in terms of educating the audience regarding the power of women in the seventeenth century. The story helps the audience to realize that the rapid changes in the ancient society were only a function of the hard work by men but also the immense contribution by women in the society. As a result, the audience gets to appreciate the role of women in the society.
Secondly, decision of Alexandra to re-invest the family’s land during depression and famine is significant in terms of the author’s intention to communicate a message to the audience. In this regard, it is important to note that this decision was exemplary. It showed great leadership abilities of women in the society. In this respect, it is clear that the author’s intention was to educate the audience regarding the mental and psychological prowess of women in the seventeenth century. According to the story, women are portrayed as individuals who can make great decisions that can change the economic and social destinies of a particular place. In this regard, the role of women in the political and social affairs of the society is visible. As a matter of fact, the author’s intention at this point is to educate the audience about women’s ability to be good leaders who can direct the economy of a nation to great heights (Woodress 59). In this regard, is important to note that the author is clear in this mission to educate the audience about the position of women in terms leadership in the society.
This is further demonstrated by the advice Alexandra gives regarding the use of other adoptive techniques in farming during farming. Indeed this a demonstration of an intellectual woman who had studies the weather patterns as well as the farming techniques in the region during that time. Her intellectual prowess clearly shows that women have the ability to critically analyze the situation and offer good solutions that can help to preserve a dying nation. As a result, it is important to note that the author’s intention at this point was to educate the audience regarding the ability of women to be good analyzers of situations who can offer long-lasting solutions to problems (Nnaemeka 80-113). The author categorically crafts this character to show the audience the leadership skill of women is a talent that they have had from the ancient times. This depiction of women can show that the author is a feminist. Arguably, the descriptions and script displays in this in this respect clearly shows the author has high regards for women in the society. The author is clearly a champion of women’s rights.
Alexandra is a female hero whose immense abilities were visible from a tender age. This portrayal of this character is also important in terms of understanding her roles in the story. Her mental and psychological abilities were noticeable even from a tender age. This is shown by her father’s decision to seek her counsel when she was twelve in age. It is important to note that the author intentionally uses this illustration to show that the female character was superior even at a tender age. Understandably, the author sets the story in the seventeenth century when the female gender was considered weak and useless. As a result, the author’s decision to depict high intellectual abilities in Alexandra is a demonstration of the intention to educate the audience that the girl child was equally brilliant in as much as they were considered inferior in the society. The author displays a society that had little regard for women. As a matter of fact, the society described in the play seems to be male dominant and offer little attention to the women (Nnaemeka 80-113). It is ironical that the author chooses to depict the opposite regarding what is going on in this society. Arguably, this is intentional since the author clearly seeks to demonstrate to the audience that the female gender had a significant role to play in the society. It is because of this that the father decides to make her the head of the family upon his death. The author is clearly trying to make the audience to understand that the female gender had qualities to function in the same capacity as the men of that time.
In conclusion, Alexandra character in the story is a typical demonstration of mental, physical and psychological strength exhibited by women who lived in the seventeenth century. Strong psychological strength is exhibited by Alexandra in the position and quest for land in the story. This can be analyzed using Freud’s theory whereby she exhibits cathexis energy, conscious and unconscious mind composition, and the great personality of Alexandra which is due her proper physical development as a young child. On the other hand, it is the examination of Alexandra’s triumph in the land issue on the platform of feminism reveals that the female character is portrayed as strong, brilliant, and psychologically strong. She is more brilliant than her brothers. It is because of this strength in character and personality that her dying father leaves the administration of the family’s estates in her hands.
Alexandra clearly demonstrates the potential that lies untapped by the society. Indeed, she represents the forgotten potential and voices that can make a great difference in the society. As a result, her role in the story clearly demonstrates the rise of feminism in the society of this time. Lastly, the examination of the significance of the triumph of Alexandra over the land issue reveals the author’s goals and objectives in writing the story. The story helps the audience to realize that the rapid changes in the ancient society were only a function of the hard work by men but also the immense contribution by women in the society. As a result, the audience gets to appreciate the role of women in the society. In summary, this narrative presents the plight of women in the society and can be used as a case tool to champion for the rights of women.
Works Cited
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