O Pioneers!

Part 1

Reading Check

1. A man’s coat (Part 1, Chapter 1)

2. John Bergson’s “Old-World belief” is that owning land is itself valuable, no matter how difficult the land is to till and farm. (Part 1, Chapter 2)

3. Carl (Part 1, Chapter 4)

4. By selling their cattle and corn (Part 1, Chapter 5)

5. Oscar is worried about Alexandra’s plan to expand the Bergson farm because of the debt that the family will take on. (Part 1, Chapter 5)

Short Answer

1. Carl is embittered by his home in Nebraska because at age 15 he already feels that the land is uninhabitable. He believes that it is foolish for people to try to bend the landscape to their will. (Part 1, Chapter 1)

2. In the Bergson family, Alexandra is the leader because she is intelligent and hardworking. Alexandra’s mother is the nurturer in the family; she believes in preserving their dignity through poverty, protecting their moral compass, and providing a respectable home. (Part 1, Chapter 2)

3. The Bergson family disagrees about moving away from Nebraska. Lou and Oscar want to get away from the inhospitable environment, but Alexandra believes the farm has potential for success if the family is imaginative and committed to their work. The children’s mother doesn’t want to go through the effort of moving again, and she doesn’t want to be far away from her husband’s grave. (Part 1, Chapter 4)

4. Alexandra is excited about her plan to expand the family farm because she has discovered an intimate connection with the land itself. She is inspired by nature and motivated by her own work ethic and intelligence to make the family farm a beautiful and thriving enterprise. This reveals Alexandra to be intelligent, pioneering, ambitious, and nurturing. (Part 1, Chapter 5)

Part 2

Reading Check

1. When Ivar loses his land through his own mismanagement, Alexandra takes him into her own home. She arranges a makeshift abode in the barn so he can have his privacy. (Part 2, Chapter 2)

2. Frank (Part 2, Chapter 4)

3. Emil (Part 2, Chapter 11)

4. In a year (Part 2, Chapter 12)

Short Answer

1. Nebraska has changed significantly since John Bergson’s death. In those 16 years, houses have been built, telephone wires have been set up, and fields of crops flourish around the town. (Part 2, Chapter 1)

2. Carl dreads returning to Nebraska because of his difficult memories there. He also has not become the success he dreamed leaving would enable him to be, so he feels shame and regret about returning. His anxiety also highlights Carl’s distance from the natural world, which he still equates with his struggles to survive. (Part 2, Chapter 4)

3. Oscar and Lou confront Alexandra about her relationship with Carl because they worry that Carl is only interested in marrying Alexandra for her money and land. Because the land is at its heart a family business, a man taking over Alexandra’s fraction of the investment directly threatens Oscar and Lou. Their argument with their sister reveals that despite her success and leadership, they feel a woman shouldn’t be involved in business. Oscar and Lou see themselves as superior simply because they are men. (Part 2, Chapter 11)

Part 3

Reading Check

1. Marie feels that she and Frank are ill-suited as husband and wife because their personalities don’t complement one another; she also believes that Frank is not his true self because of this conflict. (Part 3, Chapter 1)

2. Mexico (Part 3, Chapter 1)

Short Answer

1. Marie hopes for a happier future by focusing on the promise of spring after a long and difficult winter. Cather uses the symbolism of changing seasons to emphasize this: Though winter (representative of personal reflection and internal conflict) may be rough, there will always be spring (representative of regrowth and new beginnings). (Part 3, Chapter 1)

2. Alexandra privately fantasizes about being held and cradled by a man. This adds a new layer to Alexandra’s characterization because it subverts her subversiveness. Alexandra fulfills traditionally masculine roles in her life and on her farm; she is also unsentimental about love, while other women in her time period are raised to be wives and mothers. Alexandra’s desire for a partner complicates this characterization, demonstrating that while she may not feel she needs a man, she still has romantic dreams. (Part 3, Chapter 2)

Part 4

Reading Check

1. At the Catholic fair, Marie and Emil finally kiss. (Part 4, Chapter 1)

2. Appendicitis (Part 4, Chapter 5)

3. Emil and Marie embrace under the white mulberry tree, where Frank finds them and shoots them dead. (Part 4, Chapter 6-7)

4. He sees Emil’s horse loose in the yard. (Part 4, Chapter 8)

Short Answer

1. Marie is conflicted about Emil’s impending departure. Though she loves and will miss him, she feels their current situation is untenable and wants to make her marriage work. (Part 4, Chapter 2)

2. When Emil sees Frank at Amédée’s funeral, he decides that Frank doesn’t know how lucky he is to have Marie. Furthermore, since (Emil believes) Frank doesn’t understand or appreciate Marie, there is no “sin” in Emil loving her, so he decides to go to her. This idealism underscores Emil’s youth and naivete. (Part 4, Chapter 6)

3. Frank is agitated, confused, and desperate. Although he clearly recognizes his wife, he doesn’t fully acknowledge who she is—either because it is too painful to recognize her infidelity or because verbalizing her identity would make shooting her more difficult. In the aftermath of the murders, Frank is even more horrified and dazed. (Part 4, Chapter 7)

Part 5

Reading Check

1. After Emil and Marie die, Frank receives 10 years in prison for unpremeditated murder. (Part 5, Chapter 1)

2. Alexandra promises Frank that she will petition for his release. (Part 5, Chapter 2)

3. From an old newspaper (Part 5, Chapter 3)

4. Carl and Alexandra decide to marry. Alexandra will travel with him for work, but they will eventually settle on her farm in Hanover. (Part 5, Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. Alexandra blames Emil and Marie for their deaths. She can understand why Frank reacted the way he did, whereas she finds the idea of pursuing an extramarital affair difficult to conceive of. This reveals that Alexandra is more conventional than her subversive character implies. Though she loves Emil and misses him, she is disappointed in him. Alexandra sides with Frank, revealing an empathy for her brother’s murderer that also reflects her own loneliness. (Part 5, Chapter 1)

2. Frank says he would like to return to his home country and see his mother when he is released from prison. This reveals that Frank is conflicted about life in America. He was not well liked in Hanover, and his only ally—Marie—betrayed him. In prison, Frank doesn’t practice English, suggesting that he has lost his will to make the American Dream work and misses his home country. This emphasizes the lonely and unmoored experience of many immigrants to America. (Part 5, Chapter 2)

3. Alexandra’s character does not change. She is still empathetic, reflective, and committed to her land. Alexandra’s steadfast character is the reason why her farm has continued to prosper. This characterization also emphasizes the connection between Alexandra and the land around her, which is likewise unchanging. (Part 5, Chapter 3)