How would you describe Laura’s relationship with Pa? With Ma? (Use examples from the text as evidence.)

Have parents’ expectations for their children’s behavior changed since the time the book was written? If so, how? (Use examples from the text as evidence of 19th-century parenting; general knowledge about modern parenting is sufficient evidence for these purposes.)

What role does Mary play in the book? Is she the antagonist or a positive role model for Laura?

How important is historical accuracy when a writer is using material from his or her own life? In Little House on the Prairie, Laura changed several events, timelines, characters, etc. How do such changes add to or detract from a completely faithful story?

Is this story helpful in understanding relationships between people of different races in 19th-century America? Why or why not?

What role does the prairie landscape play in this book?

Discuss some examples of community in this book and some of the settler community characteristics. In what other settings might you find similar types of communities? Use specific examples from real life or from other works of literature to support your argument.

Is Pa right to say that the stranded settlers the family encounters at the end of the book “shouldn’t be allowed loose west of the Mississippi” (331)? Does he seem to think that there is a certain set of traits that makes would-be settlers “deserve” to settle an area? If so, what are those traits? Use examples from the text to support your argument.