Willa Cather's book "O`Pioneers!" takes place on the Divide of Nebraska and uses the location as a theme throughout the novel. In this paper I will be tracing different aspects of this theme throughout the novel. The novel contains many different aspects involving every character in this book. Whether it's Ivar and his traditional "old world values", or Emil representing the "new world values", there are many different aspects of comparing and contrasting in this novel. There are rich and poor people, educated and not, feminism and sexism, I will be covering all aspects presented in this novel.
Ivar was a character in this book that represented old world values. Ivar lived a life that went along easily with his old world values. When we were first introduced to him, he was described as living …show more content…
The Swedish girls she brought in all respected Alexandra and respected her independence and her personality to strive for the best. Alexandra also went out and bought a Silo even though her brothers both didn't agree with it. It ended up being a great decision and it wouldn't have happened if Alexandra didn't express the rights she felt she had. I believe a lot of Alexandra's attitude about not caring what other people think, and doing what she feels, came from her father. By expressing to Alexandra in his last words how he wanted her to keep the farm alive, I believe it was the father who made Alexandra the way she was later on in the novel.
There was also a display of Sexism throughout the novel. The Sexism came mostly from the brothers of Alexandra, Lou and Oscar. They believed that a girl should not be in charge of the farm. The brothers had to work all their lives in the field trying to pay off all the land that their father had purchased. It wasn't until they were almost out of debt, when Alexandra suggested they should purchase more