In the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s, many immigrants were struggling to make a living. There still was not much industrial work and the means of living were based on farming in the country. This work was long, hard and tedious. The story focuses on the struggles, the positive outcomes, and the hopes and dreams to move on. The book is written with Cather giving us an incredible account of different immigrant families, all enduring their own hardships of survival. With the use of imagery, personification, symbolism, and tone, Cather draws the reader into her writing. The story is so real that it seems as if Cather were writing an autobiography.
In the story Cather uses great detail in explaining what the countryside looks like. The imagery makes it easy for the reader to form an accurate mental picture. When times were hard for Alexandra’s family, Cather describes the land as having roads that “were but faint tracks in the grass, and the fields were scarcely noticeable” (pg 7). After Alexandra’s parents had both passed away, the land seemed to come alive. Cather then describes this as, “furrows of a single field often lie a mile in length, and the brown earth, with such a strong, clean smell, and such a power of growth and fertility in it, yields itself eagerly to the plow” (29). The two descriptions give the reader a sense of the time. The first demonstrates a lack of prosperity while the second description shows the growth and wealth attained. Both of the descriptions leave a vivid picture in the reader’s mind.
The hardships that Alexandra’s family endured led her to a state of mind, which enabled her to raise her baby brother in a completely different way than she and her other two brothers were raised. He did not have the burden of paying off a mortgage. Although she had gained financial security in her life, she wanted her baby brother to move on with his life and live a life she never had the opportunity to live. I think that this was symbolic of what all immigrants who went through this same manner of living felt. After the struggle was over for most, it was time to give the new generation an opportunity for something better. The first generations of immigrants were exactly that, immigrants. The second generation was more American and the sense of where they came from and their culture was being lost.
Many times throughout the story, Cather uses personification. She talks about nature as if it were human and living. “Winter has settled down over the divide again; the season in which nature recuperates, in which she sinks to sleep between the fruitfulness of autumn and the passion of spring” (73). I think that Cather chooses to personify the country and nature to give the readers a deeper connection, to experience feelings that people of that time felt. The immigrants who owned that land and struggled to survive appreciated it more than others. They were able to identify with the land on a more personal basis. They did in fact view their land as alive and this point is made clear through Cather’s use of personification.
The tone seems to be up and down in this story. It starts off very sad. Just as times get better, the tone changes to a happier and more content one. Only it soon becomes sad all over when everything that Alexandra lived for seems to be lost when her brother dies. The up and down tone seems to be significant of the struggles that take place. There was never a constant. Lifestyles and people, wealth and relationships, they all continued to change throughout the entire story.
Writing a story with this type of plot only seems necessary to address readers who are unaware of where the land came from and the people behind it. The food we have today is because of the struggles of yesterday. It came from the hard work of people who came from a long way just to have a better life. Not only did their lives better through the years, but American’s lives benefited as well. This story seems to me like a type of tribute to the people behind all of the blood, sweat and tears which have brought this country to be what it is today.
Cather uses an incredible style of writing. She takes her time to tell the story, making sure that the important details are stated in order to get a clear picture across. The imagery that she uses helps the reader to get a clear mental picture. She stresses emotions and feelings, drawing the reader into her story, causing the reader to feel an attachment to the characters and therefore to identify with the character’s hardships. This in turn makes reading the story more personal and more real than fiction. I felt that this was an eye-opening experience and Cather’s intentions were successful as a writer trying to draw in the attention and understanding of the reader. Definitely, this was a great story.
