Let me preface by saying that while this does center around a paper I must write for a class, I am in no way hoping or asking for help in the writing process, but rather to help get the ball rolling, as the topic just isn’t presenting itself well to my creative side.
I’ve recently read Willa Cather’s My Antonia and now have a paper due in which I must use the novel, as well as some secondary sources, to prove or refute a certain mythology or stereotype held to all pioneers, a la Little House on the Prairie.
My problem stems in being able to select a myth to work with.
I ask you then, fair readers, to offer up some of your initial thoughts in regards to typical myths and stereotypes when you think of the pioneers that settled Nebraska and points west.
Mod’s, if you deem this more a poll, I apologize, but I thought it might be more a discussion on a novel and it’s subject matter.
Thanks for any assistance 
I adore Willa Cather.
Are there any myths or stereotypes left about pioneer life?
I don’t know. Seems like books and movies have done a pretty good job de-romanticizing those days, to the point where there shouldn’t be many myths or stereotypes left.
Glendon Swarthout wrote a fine novel about early settlers called “The Homesman”. The homesman is the guy that was in charge of taking pioneer wives, mothers and children back east to civilization after they’d gone crazy from loneliness, desolation, hardship, starvation, death, disease, and dirt. And flies. The flies must have been awful.
I suppose one myth might be that most settlers traveled west by choice, “for a better life.” I don’t have anything (except some well-researched fiction) to back this up, but probably quite a few were running from debt, the law, or family responsibilities. Pretty much the same reasons lots of people move around today.
I remember being shocked when I started reading in the adult section about “the good old days.” So if people haven’t been paying attention, maybe they think Little House is typical.
Judging by the consensus of my classmates and the few friends and family members I polled, it seems the most commonly held stereotype is that all pioneers were Caucasian and magically spoke English. I suppose that can no doubt be traced back and attributed to such things as Little House.
That’s not something I want to write the paper on, as it was discussed in class, if momentarily, and I know that all the unimaginitive types are flocking to it because it was handed to them.
That’s an interesting topic though, AuntiePam, I’ll look into the moving for a “better life” aspect and see if I can find some secondary sources to back it up. Shouldn’t be a problem, I’m sure history is full of examples.
And as far as evidence from the novel, I think I can use Otto Fuchs and the two Russians, Peter and Pavel, to demonstrate the point adequately.
Thanks for the input
I’m a Cather fan and love My Antonia; O Pioneers is one of the few Cather books I haven’t read (not sure why).
Cather’s west is pretty realistic, it seems to me. What’s missing from it are the stereotypical cowboys and Indians. You could therefore use her works to disprove these “myths.”
A Lost Lady is the book most about the west before and after settlement (the lady of the title declines in nobility as the west develops, loses her railroad money to land schemes and double deals with the Indians–she’s supposed to be a methaphor for the west itself). My Antonia is more, IMHO, about childhood memories and how they shape one’s outlook.
The story about the Russians, the wolves and the wedding party may be the best (meaning worst) horror story I’ve read.
Love Cather. Love her.
The first thing that popped into my head was the myth of self-sufficiency. In the early Little House books, the Ingalls lived in very isolated circumstances and had to fend for themselves. Charles would take a several-day journey to town every now and again, but they were pretty much on their own. Moving to Walnut Grove (where the TV show takes place) was quite a big change for them.
Another myth is the idea that all of the pioneers were strong, both mentally and physically.
In the Little House TV show, everybody was relatively prosperous. The Ingalls were supposed to be “poor,” but they had a good house and plenty of food. I imagine that a lot of real pioneers lived in abject poverty.
If you want to discuss pioneers that went to the far west, you might want to check out a book like Lillian Schlissel’s Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey (or something like that). The journals show a pretty gritty view of life on the Oregon Trail.
Agreed Humble Servant, the wedding party story was pretty horrifying. I can’t imagine having to live with that experience for the rest of my life. It’s no wonder Pavel had to get it off his chest while on his deathbed.
I thought about the absence of the Native peoples in the novel at all, but I couldn’t really figure on how to use My Antonia to prove or refute the myth of “Cowboys and Indians” that the Lone Ranger and such promoted. I suppose I could have pointed to the absence as a promotion of the ignorance, but that strays from what my professors want and delves more into the historical accuracy, or inaccuracy, of what is taught in modern day schools, etc.
I’ve already dug up some secondary sources to help support my attempts to refute the myth that all pioneers moved west by choice or for a “better life”, but perhaps I can incorporate too the prosperous myth that you suggest Green Bean. Afterall, who would, with their first choice, choose to live in a sod house (as the Shimerda’s and many other neighbors do), especially when originally coming from much more comfortable living conditions. Prosperous indeed.
Thanks all for the input, it’s much appreciated. Now it’s back to the annotated bibliography and then on to the paper itself! Wish me luck