O Pioneers!

• Genre: Fiction; historical classic
• Originally Published: 1913
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 930L; grades 9-12; college/adult
• Structure/Length: 5 parts; 30 chapters; approx. 159 pages; approx. 6 hours on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: In the late 1800s, a young woman, Alexandra Bergson, struggles with loss and love as she attempts to develop a successful farm on the Nebraska prairie.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Murder; intolerant/insensitive language choices

Willa Cather, Author

• Bio: 1873-1947; moved from Virginia to Nebraska at age nine; worked as a journalist and teacher before turning to full-time writing; novelist, poet, and short story writer; known for her stories of life on the American Great Plains
• Other Works: My Antonia (1918); One of Ours (1922); Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927); “Neighbor Rosicky” (1930)
• Awards: Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours (1922)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Respect the Power of the Land
• Sacrifice of Self for the Good of the Community
• Loneliness Is a Double-Edged Sword

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of different meanings and connotations associated with the term pioneer and use this knowledge in analyzing the novel’s premise and characters.
• Understand and analyze the author’s use of weather and nature as literary symbols.
• Consider and evaluate societal norms regarding gender and diversity in connection with the novel’s characters and situations.
• Analyze and discuss in structured essay responses the impact of the changing seasons and landscape, the connection to the land, the immigrant experience, and other key ideas with respect to the novel’s plot and characters.